By Sister Teresa Margaret, O.C.D.
Lent invites us to ask the Lord for a new heart—one that sees as He sees and loves as He loves. Through the words of the prophet Isaiah, “a bruised reed he shall not break and a smoldering wick he shall not quench” (Isaiah 42:3), God reveals something of His own Heart. Where we might see weakness, failure, or disappointment, God sees something fragile but precious: a wounded heart still capable of life. So often our human tendency is to dismiss, judge, or quietly write someone off. Yet God never sees a person merely through the lens of their sin, addiction, broken relationships, or shattered dreams. Beneath all of it lies a bruised reed and a smoldering wick—a heart that is hurting. Lent becomes a time to pray: Lord, break my heart for what breaks Yours.
This prayer asks for a profound shift in perspective. God does not deal with weakness the way we do. When He encounters the bruised reed, He does not snap it in two. When He sees the faintly burning wick, He does not extinguish it. Instead, His Heart is deeply moved. He bends close, nurturing what is fragile, protecting what still burns, breathing life where the flame has nearly died. He enflames, enkindles, and restores. To pray “Lord, break my heart for what breaks Yours” is to ask to see through His eyes—to look beyond the surface of pain and failure and recognize the wounded heart hidden beneath.
This was the grace that shone so clearly in the life of Venerable Mother Luisita. She learned to see from God’s perspective, allowing her heart to be moved by what moved His. When she looked upon the poor and the sick, she did not see burdens or problems to solve—she saw the suffering Heart of Christ. When she witnessed the anguish of her people during the persecution in Mexico, she allowed her heart to be broken not only for the faithful but even for those caught in violence on every side. Whether among the Federales soldiers or the Cristeros, she recognized the same human woundedness. Her constant prayer seemed to echo: Lord, break my heart for what breaks Yours.
From that prayer flowed her deepest desire—that God be loved as He deserves and that many hearts would love Him. It was this longing that led her to found our religious family, so that the love of the Heart of Jesus might reach those most wounded and forgotten. During this Lenten season we can ask for that same grace: Jesus, help me to see beyond the wound, beyond the addiction, beyond the suffering. Help me to see the bruised reed and the smoldering wick hidden within. Help me to see my own wounds as You see them, and the wounds of others as You see them. May I never crush what is fragile, but instead love it with the tenderness of Your own Heart. Lord, break my heart for what breaks Yours!
