Finding one’s heart
“My heart has rejoiced in the Lord” (1 Sam 2:1). When Anna says “my heart,” she surely is speaking of her mind’s freedom. Wicked people do not possess their own hearts; the devil does. That’s what is said of the betrayer: “The devil had now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, to betray him” (Jn 13:2). If Judas, and not the devil, had possessed his own heart, he would have put something good into his heart rather than the evil the devil put there….
Whenever we seriously sin, we no longer possess our own hearts. That’s why Jeremias criticized the Jewish people for their serious sin: “Hear this, foolish people, who do not have your hearts” (Jer 5:21); it’s why another prophet confessed to God, “Your servant has found his heart” (2 Sam 7:27). That is why Anna said: “My heart has rejoiced in the Lord” (1 Sam 2:1), describing the freedom of mind without which she could not worthily praise God. (Gregory I, On First Kings, Book II, ch. 1, 2; PL 79, 77)
St. Augustine talks a lot about “heart”, and I had always thought he was talking about our deepest wills as that which loves. But here he seems to be emphasising heart as “freedom”. Is this linked to his notion of “Love God and do what you will”? (I see a certain sense in that, but it does present some problems.)
I don’t see heart as intrinsically free when it comes to loving. We can’t help loving what we love. Freedom comes into play when we think about *how* to act with respect to what we love or what to do when we have to choose among the things we love..
Apparently this is not from Augustine but from Gregory the Great. Funny that you spotted the differences in nuance right away!
But here, I thought the emphasis was not on “heart” but on “my”…
Ann: “Heart” (cor in ancient Latin referred as much (or more) to the mind as to the emotions; the seat of the latter was considered to be the viscera, the guts, or bowels.
Isn’t it a little odd to think of loving as not a free orientation? Isn’t love a self-commitment.
I chose this text because of that idea that we can lose possession of our hearts, and have to find them again. A good metaphor for self-alienation and reconciliation.
JAK ==
Thanks for the information. I had no idea “heart” meant mind in classical literature.
I don’t find it strange to call loving “unfree”. Some loving is automatic, e.g., the love of chocolate or cocaine (I assume) when being experienced. Addictions become quite automatic. Evne loving persons can be automtic in the sense that in some cases we have no choice. It’s the committing to the good of the beloved and acting for the beloved’s good that is not automatic.