Circumcise your hearts (Deuteronomy 10:16)

The Lord our God said to the people of Israel: "Throughout the ages, every male among you, when he is eight days old, shall be circumcised … Thus my covenant shall be in your flesh as an everlasting pact" (Gen 17:12-13). On January 1, the Catholic Church commemorates the circumcision of Jesus, the son of the people of Israel. We read in the Gospel of Saint Luke: "After eight days had passed, it was time to circumcise the child; and he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb" (Luke 2:21). But together with circumcision of the flesh, the Scriptures – the Word of God – invite us to a circumcision of heart: "Circumcise your hearts, therefore” (Deuteronomy 10:16).

The prophets of the Bible also refer to this circumcision of heart, underlining that the external ritual should become an expression of the inner spiritual condition. "For the sake of the Lord, be circumcised, remove the foreskins of your hearts" (Jeremiah 4:4). That is – in your heart, consecrate yourself to the Lord. How can the faithful do this? We find the answer in the Law of Moses: "And now, Israel, what does the Lord, your God, ask of you but to fear the Lord, your God, and follow his ways exactly, to love and serve the Lord, your God, with all your heart and all your soul, to keep the commandments and statutes of the Lord which I enjoin on you today for your own good" (Deuteronomy 10:12-13).

Saint Paul, following the ancient prophetic tradition, also preaches about the importance of this spiritual act – the circumcision of the heart: "For it is not he is a Jew, who is so outwardly: nor is that circumcision which is outwardly in the flesh. But he is a Jew that is one inwardly and the circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit not in the letter: whose praise is not of men, but of God" (Romans 2:28-29). God expects from us the fullness of faith, devotion, obedience, love for our heavenly Father and for our neighbor.

The words of Scriptures are inspiring and very convincing, but for us, human beings, a question arises: how to put the words into practice? Even after we have chosen the right path, it is not so easy to follow it. The answer is found in Him, who is "the way and the truth and the life" (John 14:6), in Him, who in his great compassion said to us: "Learn from me, for I am meek and lowly in heart: and you shall find rest for your souls" (Mathew 11:29). Jesus reveals to us that peace of mind and soul is in meekness and humility of heart. By his own example, living a human life, He inspires hope and confidence that "the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live" (Deuteronomy 30:6).

That we may live – because, the true life is in a circumcised heart.

Indeed "You stoop down to make me great" or perhaps more literally “Your gentleness has made me great” (Psalm 18:36).