When we were kids the only TV show my brother and I agreed on watching together was Superman. We sat side-by-side, mesmerized by the mighty man from another planet who was “more powerful than a locomotive,” and “able to leap tall buildings in a single bound.”
We were reminiscing recently about our favorite episode in which Superman converts an ordinary lump of coal with his bare hands into a magnificent diamond. Of course we tried this for ourselves, rushing off with our buckets to gather those black lumps from the railroad track at the end of our street.
First, we tried squeezing the coal chunks with all our might, sweat running down our grimacing faces. Then we tried placing our buckets filled with heavy rocks on the coal, and then we stood and jumped on the coal, even setting a board piled high with a stack of our World Book encyclopedias on top. By suppertime we had convinced ourselves that we did not have the means or the power to exert the kind of pressure it would take to turn the coal into diamonds. It was a disappointing but obviously memorable day.
Sharing this childhood memory with my brother made me think about how long ago this happened. I am becoming more aware of the passage of time, the condition of my inner heart. With age, I hope to get better, not bitter as the saying goes.
A favorite daily prayer includes the request, “Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make my heart like Your Heart.” What is the condition of my heart when I find myself withholding compassion and empathy for others? When do I refuse to take the time to listen and consider viewpoints different than my own or to at least understand how one gains one’s perspective? How will I know when I have gone too far in letting the pressures and stress of daily living slowly convert my living heart into a hardened black lump of uselessness or worse?
In the fourth step of humility of the rule for beginners Benedict encourages us to bear with “difficult, unfavorable, or even unjust conditions.” This takes mighty strength which is why Benedict goes on to remind us to be brave and rely on God (Ps 27:14). Humility, obedience, and perseverance are the quiet and invisible forces needed if we are to keep our hearts as strong and precious as diamonds, softened for courageous commitment to compassion and mercy.
This is the same resilient heart that recognizes and stands up for truth and justice. Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s….!
By Noel Poston, Oblate OSB