Dr. David Richo, a psychologist, teacher, workshop leader, and writer based in San Francisco, was the presenter for two Lenten Hours of Recollection March 14 and 15. As with previous seasonal Zoom events, one hour was for SCJs and the second was for province employees and other collaborators. Both focused on the theme of “Calling and Charism: Being Sacred Heart in the World” and were held in conjunction with Founder’s Day, the anniversary of Fr. Leo John Dehon’s birth on March 14, 1843.
Dr. Richo began each of the reflections with a quote from Pope John XXIII: “Jesus, I now think of myself as living solely for your Sacred Heart.”
“Our calling is to have the hearts of Jesus and Mary come alive in ourselves here and now and for the rest of our lives,” said Dr. Richo during the first presentation. “There couldn’t be any higher calling than that.”
He elaborated on that the next day, noting that “The calling from the Sacred Heart is to have His Heart in us. It is not supposed to be something outside that we adore, it is something that is to be a combination of adoration and interior realization that this same heart is in me, and I want to love the world in the same way that Jesus did and does.
“The way we love the world is to contribute in any way we can to having there be more justice and less prejudice, more peace and less war, more love and less hate and division…
“I am completely open to anything that might happen to me today and trusting that whatever happens to me is an opportunity to open my heart more and more. If I have a bad moment today I ask, ‘how can I come to this with heart, how can I open my heart more and more and give a loving response to everything that happens to me today no matter how triggered I am to anger?’
“This is how I show my love to everyone. And when we do this, that means that the hearts of Jesus and Mary are alive in us.”
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