Heart Speaks unto Heart: the Quiet Evangelization of Mothers

Sarah Appleton reflects on how Saint John Henry Newman’s motto describes the witness of mothers. 

Saint John Henry Newman's core motto was Cor Ad Cor Loquitur in Latin: "Heart Speaks unto Heart." Newman looks at this motto in two different ways. First, God's heart speaks to our hearts in only the way that God's heart can. When we give the Lord time to speak into our heart, our hearts become like His.  

Second, our hearts are called to speak to each other's hearts. The world is full of preachers and teachers, but the greatest witness of our time is US in love with the Lord, setting other hearts on fire. Mothers, we are the witnesses of our children’s time. Newman's phrase is a lived vocation for us mothers. 

Listening for God’s Voice and Being Transformed in Motherhood 

St. John Henry Newman chose “Heart speaks unto Heart” as the motto to go on his coat of arms when he became a cardinal in 1879. Inspired by these words spoken by Saint Francis de Sales, Newman calls us to hear God speaking to our hearts and to listen for our mission from God. With the busyness of mothering, it can be hard to find time to reflect and meditate on what God is speaking to our hearts.  

And yet, Newman reminds us that God does not wait for ideal circumstances to speak. He speaks in the midst of ordinary life, in the very duties entrusted to us. For mothers, this means that God’s voice is not confined to quiet chapels or holy hours, but is often found in the rhythm of our days whether that’s in rocking a baby to sleep, in wiping counters, or in driving to and from appointments. When we invite God into these moments, even briefly, our hearts are slowly shaped by His. 

Newman had a deep trust in the formation of the conscience, the place where God speaks personally and uniquely to each soul. For mothers, conscience is formed not only through study and prayer, but through love offered repeatedly in small, hidden ways. God’s heart speaks to ours when we surrender our impatience, when we choose gentleness over frustration, when we ask for grace in moments we feel we have none left to give. Over time, this quiet listening transforms us. 

How Our Hearts Speak and Evangelize to our Children 

But Cor Ad Cor Loquitur does not stop with our interior life. A heart formed by God naturally begins to speak to other hearts. In motherhood, this happens whether we feel prepared or not. Our children are watching us long before they understand our words. They learn what faith looks like not just through instruction, but through presence, through how we pray, how we forgive, how we handle suffering, and how we love. 

This can feel daunting. Many mothers carry a quiet fear that they are not doing enough, not praying enough, not forming their children well enough. God works patiently. Hearts are not converted all at once, but slowly, through repeated encounters with love. Even our failures can speak heart to heart when they are met with humility and repentance. When our children see us return to God, they learn that God is always someone to whom we can return. 

God Works Through Slow Formation and Hidden Fidelity 

Living Cor Ad Cor Loquitur as a mother does not require elaborate prayer plans. It may begin with something as simple as offering God one moment of listening each day, even if it lasts only a minute. It may look like choosing presence over distraction during a small interaction with a child. It may be an intentional act of mercy toward ourselves when the day does not go as planned. 

God can form hearts through mothers whose hearts are learning to listen to His, and who, in turn, speak that love into the hearts entrusted to them. Heart speaks unto heart, and in this hidden exchange, God’s work unfolds. 

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Copyright 2026 Sarah Appleton
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