Fill the Hearts of Your Faithful

I shall give you a new heart, and put a new spirit in you; I shall remove the heart of stone from your bodies and give you a heart of flesh instead. 
Ez.36:26

God is promising to transform and restore the nation of Israel. How? From the inside out.

That's how God transforms not only nations but people. From the inside out. We have just completed running an Alpha Course. People are naturally curious and ask, "How did it go?" There's an easy answer and another that is harder to give. The easy answer is, people turned up, the venue was good, technology worked, and the food was great. The harder answer involves what happened on the inside, in people's hearts. This is sometimes clear but many times not. The seed of faith can take years to germinate and someone else does the harvesting.

The inside work is the work of the Holy Spirit. I can just help create an environment where the Holy Spirit can be invited in.

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful
and kindle in them the fire of your love.

Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created,
and you shall renew the face of the earth.

Let us pray.

O God, who have taught the hearts of the faithful
by the light of the Holy Spirit, grant that in the same Spirit we may be truly wise
and ever rejoice in his consolation.

Through Christ our Lord.
Amen.