Monday of the Sixth Week of Easter
There was a Jewish woman named Lydia in the city of Phillipi. She was the head of a household, probably a widow, and a small business owner, dealing in luxury goods, especially purple cloth. One day, while she was performing the customary Jewish washing rituals down by the river, she met Paul, Silas and Timothy. The holiness of these men struck her, and Paul’s preaching, especially, touched her heart. She had herself baptized, together with her whole household.
According to the book of Acts, “the Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what Paul was saying” (Acts 16:14). Oh, for the gift of an open heart! So many others heard Paul speaking but their hearts were closed. For example, the Athenian philosophers gathered at the Areopagus were not persuaded by Paul’s message. Another example, in our own day, are those who close their hearts to Paul’s teachings on homosexuality and women’s ordination.
The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius Loyola are directed to this end: the opening of the human heart before the holy word of God to receive the grace it needs.