The Lord Our God Is Lord Alone

Each one of us comes into this world with a broken heart. Though we are made for eternal happiness, we have inherited broken hearts that are fragmented and, therefore, they often lead us away from the happiness we so desperately desire. We know from our mistakes that something isn’t right; we know that we are broken.

Trying to navigate our way to happiness with a broken heart is like navigating to the summit of a mountain with a broken compass. In the darkness we look to our compass for direction, but the needle is swaying. Often we try to follow it anyway, knowing it’s not quite right and thinking it’s the only guide to take us to the summit.

But the more we follow a broken compass the more we lose our way. What we need is to recalibrate our hearts. We need to fix them securely on something that will shine light on our path and dispel the darkness.

When ancient explorers needed to find their way, they in the darkness, they would look to the morning star. It was the brightest in the night sky and can be seen in both hemispheres. It is called the morning star because it appears just before dawn, when the night is darkest, when hope seems to dwindle.

Christ also calls himself the morning star: He brings the dawn to shed light on those who dwell in darkness. In today’s Gospel, Christ tells us to put God first. He will not only shine light on our paths but he will fix our broken hearts. When we put God, who is goodness itself, first we reject all else that stands between us and His goodness. And when we remove the obstacles to goodness we climb securely to the summits of eternal happiness.

By allowing Christ to be your guide—by recalibrating your heart, soul, and mind to him—you become an Alter Christus, another Christ for others. You will in turn shine light on their paths, loving them as you love yourself in your journey to the summit. Then, you will not be far from the kingdom of God.