The Sursum Corda
‘Lift up your hearts’
’We lift them to the Lord’
“An ancient command to orient your entire self—mind, body, spirit—toward God’s presence, used for 2,000 years at the Eucharist and available to you every moment of every day.”
Why it matters
It’s the foundation of all Christian worship
The Sursum Corda is the oldest, most universal element in Christian worship.
It dates back to at least the 3rd century and appears in virtually every Christian tradition: Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican, Lutheran, Reformed, for over 2,000 years.
Billions of Christians over thousands of years have stood and said these words.the Latin ‘sursum corda’ literally means: ‘Hearts up!’
It isn’t just a catchy and uplifting slogan - though it is that! - it is grounding us in the ancient Christian faith.It reorients our whole self. We live in a world constantly pulling us downward: to our worries, our phones, our tasks, our anxieties, our responsibilities.
“Hearts Up” is a call to turn ourselves upward:towards God
towards light and life and love
towards what matters.
It is not gentle suggestion for the church. It’s a summons.
“Lift up your hearts,” God says.
”Hearts up!”, we reply.
Here we are, God.
It’s spiritual stretching
When we say ‘Hearts Up!’ we’re participating in what the early Christians called “the ascension of the heart.”
We’re not just thinking about God - we’re internally climbing. Our soul is reaching upward to join the heavenly liturgy, the worship happening around God’s throne.“If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.”
- Colossians 3:1-2
We’re aligning ourselves with actual spiritual reality.It’s resistance
St. Cyprian, (an early church father), understood that saying ‘Hearts up!’ was an act of resistance against spiritual distraction.
The devil, he said, is constantly prowling around during prayer, seeking to induce distraction and earthly concern. By lifting our hearts, we’re actively resisting the temptation of distractions and worries.
We’re fixing our attention on God.
Every time you say it, you’re participating in intentional spiritual resistance. You’re choosing God’s Kingdom over the world’s noise.It prepares us for Communion.
In the Eucharistic liturgy, ‘Hearts up!’ is the beginning of the Eucharistic prayer: the Words of Institution (what Jesus said at the last supper with his disciples - ‘do this in remembrance of me’ and the Epiclesis (the invocation of the Holy Spirit upon the bread and wine).
The priest says: “Lift up your hearts.”
The community responds: “We lift them to the Lord.” THEN: “Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.” This sequence is not accidental. The community MUST have lifted their hearts before they can properly offer thanksgiving. They must be spiritually prepared, internally ascended, before they can approach the mysteries of Christ’s body and blood. It’s the spiritual prerequisite for communion itself.
How to do it
Daily Practice (Individual - as part of your Daily Anchor):
Every morning: Open your eyes, welcome the day, and say aloud: ‘Hearts up!’
What you do: Lift your gaze slightly. Feel your shoulders lift. Feel yourself turning inward, then upward.
What happens: You’re setting your intention for the day. You’re saying: ‘God is above me, around me, calling me. I orient myself toward God’s presence and power.’
Throughout the day: Whenever you feel distracted, anxious, pulled downward, pause and say: ‘Hearts up!’
Before a difficult conversation
When anxiety rises
When you feel shame or self-criticism
When you’re tempted to despair
When you’re about to react in anger
Simply to reset and remember: God is calling you to remember what’s real.
The practice: becomes automatic. We start to see that we don’t have to think about it anymore. We just turn our hearts towards God.
And towards the whole Christian community, and the fundamental sacrament - the Eucharist - that brings us to the table and sends us out in Jesus’ name.
Scriptural basis
Old Testament:
Lamentations 3:41. “Let us lift up our hearts and hands to God in heaven.”
This is the direct source for the Sursum Corda .
Lamentations was written when the Israelites were in captivity. It is about suffering and confession.
Yet in the midst of corporate suffering and sin, the call of God comes:
‘Hearts up!’
Psalms 28:2, 134:2. ‘Hear the voice of my supplication as I cry to you, as I lift my hands toward your holiest shrine’; ‘Lift up your hands to the holy place and bless the Lord.’
The image of lifting hands in worship is deeply embedded in Jewish prayer tradition.
Lifting is not just physical - it’s spiritual orientation.
New Testament:
Colossians 3:1-2. ‘If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.’
This is the theological center of “Hearts up!”
It’s about aligning our souls with the reality of God’s Kingdom.
Other heavenly worship Scripture:
Ephesians 2:6. ‘And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.
Hebrews 12:22-24. ‘But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn... to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant.’
Revelation 4:1. ‘After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard like a trumpet called out, ‘Come up here.’’
These passages show that when we lift up our hearts, we’re not escaping reality - we’re entering into actual reality.
From the Gospels:
Luke 4:16. ‘Jesus came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. As was his custom, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up to read.’
Jesus participated in Jewish worship practices, which would have included lifting hearts and hands.
John 17:1. ‘After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed, ‘Father, the hour has come.’’
Jesus himself lifted his gaze heavenward in prayer. We follow his example.
How the early Christians practiced
The Sursum Corda appears in the earliest written Christian liturgies we have:
Apostolic Tradition (attributed to Hippolytus, ~215 AD, though possibly compiled later): Contains the full Eucharistic dialogue:
Priest: Lift up your hearts.People: We have lifted them up to the Lord.
Priest: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
People: It is fitting and right.
Then the priest proceeds with the Eucharistic prayer.This structure has remained virtually unchanged for 1,800+ years.
Early Church Theology: The Sursum Corda was understood as a spiritual necessity. Before the community could offer thanksgiving and receive communion, they had to be spiritually prepared.
They had to lift their hearts.Cyprian of Carthage (d. 258 AD): Saw the Sursum Corda as spiritual warfare—resistance against distraction and earthly concern during the most sacred moment of worship.
Justin Martyr (~155 AD): Described the Eucharistic liturgy and emphasized the community’s unified response and participation.
The Early Church Fathers: Understood that the Sursum Corda was effecting something real: the community’s consciousness was being lifted to join the heavenly worship. This wasn’t metaphorical. It was mystical reality.
Universality:
What’s remarkable is that virtually EVERY Christian tradition retained the Sursum Corda, even when they disagreed on other things:
Catholic Church: Every Latin Mass, every day.
Orthodox Church: Every Divine Liturgy.
Anglican/Episcopal: In the Book of Common Prayer and modern liturgies.
Lutheran: In traditional liturgies.
Methodist: Some traditions retain it.
Reformed: Some Presbyterian churches include it.
Even Protestant churches that don’t use full liturgy: Many have adapted it into their worship.
For 2,000 years, across cultures, languages, theologies, Christian traditions—this one thing remained constant: Lift up your hearts. / We lift them to the Lord.
It is a fundamental practice of Christian worship.
The gym parallel (why we practice it at Trexo)
‘Hearts up!’ is your spiritual warm-up and reset button.
At a physical gym, you warm up. You stretch, get your heart rate up, start with a few lighter movements.
It’s is the same for your soul.
The morning ‘Hearts up!’: This is your spiritual warm-up. You’re waking up your spirit, orienting your mind to God, preparing yourself for the day.
Throughout the day, these are your reset moments. Like pausing between sets at the gym, you pause to refocus. You shake off distraction and recommit to what matters.
Eucharistic ‘Hearts up!’: This is the preparation for the deepest spiritual communion - with God and the church. Just as a physical warm-up prepares you for heavy lifting, the Sursum Corda prepares your entire being for the mystery of communion with Christ.
The connection to your Workout/Rule of Life
‘Hearts up!’ is part of the Daily Anchor Practices:
Hearts up! = The moment of ORIENTATION. You’re pointing yourself toward God.
Jesus Prayer = The moment of COMMUNICATION. You’re talking with God constantly throughout the day.
Bodily Prayer = The moment of ENGAGEMENT. Your whole self—body, mind, spirit—participates in prayer.
How ‘Hearts up!’ relates to the Weekly/Seasonal Practices:
Sabbath: ‘Hearts up!’ starts your day.
Table/Eucharist: When you gather for communion, you literally say the Sursum Corda.
Vigil (Advent/Lent): During these seasons, ‘Hearts up!’ becomes especially urgent. You’re staying awake, watching, waiting for Christ. Your heart is lifted in expectation and readiness.
The daily practice you’re doing alone is preparing you for the communal practice you do with the church. The church’s ancient liturgy is the context that makes all your daily practice meaningful.
Many church-goers say “Lift up your hearts” at every Eucharist without realizing: this is exactly what Trexo is teaching you to do every single day. The liturgy is calling you to the very practice you’re developing through your spiritual exercise.
