Hearts up! Troubleshooting

What to do when it's not working

Fr. Cathie Caimano

Jan 01, 2026

Common Struggles & Solutions

You’re learning something new. Your soul is stretching in ways it hasn’t before.

This is normal. Here’s how to work through the most common struggles.

1. ‘I forget to do it throughout the day’

Try This: Set Alarms

Set 3 phone alarms: morning (when you wake), midday (lunch), evening (before bed)
Label them simply: “Hearts up!”
When the alarm goes off, say it aloud before you do anything else
After 2 weeks, the rhythm becomes automatic

Or: Attach to Existing Habits

Every time you:

Open your car door
Start your computer
Walk through your front door
Pour your morning coffee

Say ‘Hearts up!’

The practice piggybacks on something you already do automatically.

2. ‘It feels awkward or forced’

That’s normal. You’re learning a new language. Your soul is stretching.

Remember:

Billions of Christians have said this for 2,000 years. You’re joining them.
Physical exercise feels awkward at first too. Keep practicing.
The Early Church understood: this is training, not natural instinct.

Try This: Make It Physical

Say it more physically:

Stand up
Lift your actual hands
Lift your gaze to the ceiling
Make your body participate

Sometimes the body leads the spirit.

3. ‘I don’t feel anything when I say it’

Good News: You Don’t Have To

This isn’t about feeling. It’s about orientation. It’s about where you’re pointing yourself, not what emotion you generate.

St. Cyprian would say: The enemy wants you to think it’s not working because you don’t “feel” anything. That’s the distraction.

The question isn’t:

‘Do I feel close to God?’

The question is:

‘Am I turning toward God?’

If you said “Hearts up!” and turned your attention toward God for even 5 seconds - it worked.

4. ‘What if I’m in public and can’t say it out loud?’

Say it internally. The ancient church understood: the ascension of the heart is an internal movement.

Or whisper it. Or mouth the words silently.

But when you can say it aloud (in your car, at home, in nature) - do.

There’s power in the spoken word. Your voice participates in the prayer.

5. ‘How does this connect to Eucharist if I don’t go to church regularly?’

The daily practice you’re doing alone is preparing you for the communal practice you do with the church.

When you do gather for Eucharist (whether weekly, monthly, or occasionally), you’ll recognize:

‘This is exactly what I’ve been practicing every day.’

Many church-goers say: ‘We lift our hearts to the Lord’ at every Eucharist without realizing they are participating in one of the earliest communal prayers of the Christian faith.

The liturgy is calling you to the very practice you’re developing through your spiritual exercise.

6. ‘I keep getting distracted even after I say it’

This is spiritual warfare. It may seem like dramatic language to us today, but St. Cyprian said the devil is constantly prowling, trying to pull you away from God.

It’s an inclination away from the thing we most want - to feel that connection, peace, and direction. To know the love of God.

Try This: Say It Again

Every time you notice distraction returning, say it again:

‘Hearts up! This soul is closed to the adversary.’

You’re not drifting - you’re under attack.

Fight back.