A heart of stone is a protective measure often resulting from trauma.

How many of us I wonder are experiencing a type of trauma from the pandemic? I can feel it. It creeps in quietly. I have less to bemoan than many. Still, there it is. Encroaching. Pervasive.

I have been finding comfort in the prayers of saints that have gone before me. This morning I pray with St Ambrose for a heart of flesh.

O Lord, who has mercy upon all, take away from me my sins, and mercifully kindle in me the fire of thy Holy Spirit. Take away from me the heart of stone, and give me a heart of flesh, a heart to love and adore thee, a heart to delight in thee, to follow and to enjoy thee, for Christ’s sake.
Amen.

St. Ambrose of Milan (339-397)