Part 2: Take up your cross and follow
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Break our heart for what breaks yours!
2.1 Before entering Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, Luke recalls how Jesus stopped and wept for the people of Jerusalem. (Luke 19:41) A Church (Dominus Flevit) stands in this location today. Daily we pray and intercede, asking God to break our hearts for what breaks his, crying out to God for a revival in this generation and asking the Spirit to lead our work. As Moses identified with his people begging to exchange his place for theirs (Exodus 31:1), we spend time identifying with young adults listening and interceding for their needs and petitions.
2.2 Our agony comes when we see the high suicide rates, loneliness’ and lack of hope, faith and love many face within this generation in our Church. When we see the church congregations with few young adults, when we hear about a lack of fellowship within this generation, when we hear about disillusionment and disappointment within the Church our heart breaks.
2.3 Early in the history of the Sacred Heart Fathers congregation Fr Dehon asked Rome’s permission to take a fourth vow, Victimhood. Whilst Rome turned down this request, the spirit of this vow lives on within the Dehonian family. The idea behind the vow is both spiritual in term of reparation and forgiveness, and also practical, embodying the principle of availability for service and oblation. He pledged with Christ to undo sin and the neglect of love in the Church and in the world, by work, prayers, suffering and joys. We also try to live this vow. Through our prayers, we ask for forgiveness and mercy. Though our work, we try to reunite twentysomething Catholics to Christ’s Church, Christ’s bride.
2:4 Fr Dehon’s offers hope through his research into human misery. Having carefully studied the cause of sickness in society he identified the root cause as being the rejection of the love of Christ. Fr Dehon, overwhelmed by this neglected love, responded by an intimate union with the Heart of Christ by working for the establishment of His kingdom in human hearts and in the world at large.
2.5 We try to imitate this response, building trust and relationships by identifying and agonising with our young adults, serving them and offering the heart of Christ. With the Church we can continue to build a kingdom of love in our cities across the country.