Spiritual heart attack calls for heroic action

This past January, a young 24-year-old football player on the Buffalo Bills named Damar Hamlin collapsed during a game after suffering from cardiac arrest. It caused discussion about the importance of heart health and the life-saving role we can play when someone is suffering a heart attack.
 
Just as important as the beating heart in our chest is our spiritual heart. In the Gospels, Jesus often speaks about what is in people’s hearts. In life, the heart of the matter is the matter of our heart. The world’s problems begin with what is in our hearts. Where do jealousy, anger, and hatred begin? They start in the human heart. 

A lot of us don’t check our hearts enough. Many have hearts attacks and don’t know it — not physical heart attacks, but spiritual heart attacks. One artery is blocked by hate, another by anger, another by jealousy. How are our hearts going to pump with the love of God when they are so blocked? 

The story that unfolded on that football field is not just about the heart attack, but also about what people of good will do when given the opportunity to love. If that young man of 24 had died, the story would have been over in a week. But the real story is that he lived because of the heroic actions of those who saved him. We find a similar story in the Gospels, where Jesus cured a paralytic man. It’s not the faith of the man but the faith of those who brought him to Jesus that moved Jesus to save him. Their love for the paralytic man moved them to action. 

Are we willing to do that? Are we willing to do extraordinary things to get people whom we love and who need healing to encounter Jesus in the Eucharist and to be healed by Him in the confessional? 

Are we moved to heroic actions, ready to respond to someone having a spiritual heart attack on the field of life? The first thing Jesus did was to forgive the paralytic’s sins. He knew this was the most important impediment to heal, not being crippled. Faith cures the sick in the Gospels because forgiveness of sins clears the arteries of our heart and allows us to be children of God, children of love. 

Remember the importance of heart health and the role we can play in saving someone suffering from a heart attack, physical or spiritual.

SURF & TURF SLIDERS • serves 4-6

Ingredients
Seafood Sliders:
½ lb cooked shrimp, diced 
½ lb cooked crabmeat, diced 
1-2 large avocados, peeled and diced 
1-2 cups mayonnaise 
1-2 fresh lemons, juiced 
1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
1 tbsp plain bread crumbs 
6 slider rolls

Beef Sliders: 
1-2 lbs ground beef 
Salt and pepper
6 slices cheddar cheese 
3 strips turkey bacon, cooked
Guacamole
6 slider rolls 

Fresh Tuna Sliders: 
1-2 lb tuna, cubed
¼ onion, sliced 
Sweet vinaigrette
Wasabi sauce
6 slider rolls 

Directions
Beef Sliders: 
1. Place the beef in a bowl. Salt and pepper to taste.
2. Size meat to sliders and form patties. 
3. Place sliders on grill and cook to preference. 
4. After grilling, top with cheddar cheese, a dab of guacamole, and a piece of bacon. Enjoy! 

Seafood Sliders: 
1. Mix well in a bowl cooked shrimp, crabmeat, diced avocado, mayonnaise, juiced fresh lemons, chopped fresh parsley, and plain bread crumbs. 
2. Scoop good portions into slider rolls and enjoy! 

Fresh Tuna Sliders: 
1. Place onions in a heated pan and sauté with sweet vinaigrette. 
2. Sear the tuna cubes on a grill. Tuna should be served rare. 
3. Place cooked tuna on slider rolls. 
4. Top off tuna with sauteed onions and a dab of wasabi sauce. Enjoy!