Each summer, usually in June, nineteen days after Pentecost, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. In the Gospels, Jesus’ heart is moved with pity for the crowds (Matthew 9:36) and He tells us that He is gentle and humble of heart (Matthew 11:29). The Sacred Heart of Jesus that began beating in the womb of the Blessed Virgin more than 2,000 years ago still beats today in the glorified humanity of the Risen Christ. And it will pulsate forever, pumping out the grace, mercy, and life of God to all of humanity. The identity of her heart is what forms the themes of Fatima’s message: humble holiness, charity, and undying obedience to and faith in God’s will.
In the apparitions of the Sacred Heart of Jesus to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, Jesus revealed His heart, burning with love for humanity. Pierced and crucified, Jesus’ heart longs for us to offer our love and devotion in return. While some distorted forms of spirituality focus only on God’s punishment, the Sacred Heart emphasizes His mercy. If many believers inordinately fear God, here divine love and joy are manifest. If Jesus had seemed distant and unapproachable before, the Sacred Heart beckons us to enter into the divine furnace of charity.
St. Margaret Mary described her experience of the Lord: “My divine Heart is so passionately fond of the human race and of you, in particular, that it cannot keep back the pent-up flames of its burning charity any longer. They must burst out through you, and reveal my Heart to the world, so as to enrich mankind with my treasures.” Following this revelation, Jesus united her heart with His in a fusion of mystical love and joy.
As St. John reminds us God is love, the One who empties himself out for others, desiring our eternal salvation, seeking out the lost and carrying the wandering sheep home. Christ’s coming into the world is a mission of mercy, as the Son, in radical obedience to the Father, becomes incarnate in our flesh, preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom, healing the sick, forgiving the sinner, feeding the hungry and, ultimately, offering His life on the cross. Every word, action, gesture, and attitude of Jesus manifests a perfect, pure, and selfless love for all of us. If love means willing the good of others, completely free of self-interest, we see the perfection of such charity in the burning heart of Christ.
Lest we think that such a love is naive, simplistic, or easy, the Sacred Heart shines forth, crowned with thorns, pierced and bleeding. The crucifixion of Christ is the terrifying path through the valley of darkness and evil that God himself walks, embracing everything sinful, broken and dead, everything that ensnares and destroys us. By remaining silent before His persecutors, praying for His killers, loving a dying thief, and asking forgiveness for sinners, Jesus shows that the unconditional, infinite, and divine love of His heart is the only force that can heal the world of its hatred, sin, and rejection of God. By taking upon himself the totality of human evil committed by every person of every time, Christ refracts this overwhelming darkness into the light of the Resurrection.
I read somewhere that the martial art Aikido is a good analogy for Jesus’ act of redemption. I am no martial artist, so forgive me if I don’t get this totally correct. Aikido is a form of martial arts in which the goal is to leave one’s opponent disarmed, unhurt and lying on the ground laughing! By absorbing and deflecting the aggressive negative energy of the attacker, the aikido wrestler disarms the opponent by turning violence into a gentle yet firm force that hurts no one yet still stops the aggression. Is this not what Jesus did in His passion and death? He absorbed all the violence, evil, hatred and sin of the world into himself, letting it kill Him and seemingly destroy His vital force of love, healing, and peace. But by taking in all the darkness, Jesus conquered its power in one supreme offering of self to the Father on the altar of the cross. The death and resurrection of Christ is the gentle yet powerful absorption, deflection, and transformation of violence into love, sin into grace, hatred into forgiveness, and death into life. The triumph of the Sacred Heart is the ultimate victory of love.
What does devotion to the Sacred Heart consist of? How do we understand it today? Formal consecration, a daily offering, celebration of the Eucharist and reconciliation on consecutive First Fridays, displaying and honoring an image of the Sacred Heart, all comprise some of the specific practices linked to this profound devotion.
Like any religious consecration, one made to the Sacred Heart is an extension of our baptismal commitment. In the waters of baptism, we put on Christ, anointed with the Holy Spirit to live as a new creation in the life of the Blessed Trinity, to embrace the goodness of the Gospel. Consecrating ourselves to the Sacred Heart is a personal and loving way to renew and live our baptismal vows. We acknowledge Jesus’ sovereignty in our lives, pledging our love back to Him who has so graciously and sacrificially loved us.
The daily offering is a simple prayer in which we give God our day: its prayer, work, joy, and sufferings. This oblation of the heart renews our consecration and reminds us to live in holy mindfulness that what we do, say, value, and embrace should be a worthy return to the Lord who has done so much for us. I remember praying the Morning Offering in grade school. This daily ritual reminded me that what I did in school, at home, on the playground, with family and classmates, all mattered to God, inspiring me to want to offer my very best.
Coming at a time when many of the faithful receive the Eucharist infrequently, Jesus’ request that we confess our sins and receive Communion every First Friday points to the Eucharist and the sacraments as the fundamental way to encounter the love of the Lord. In the Eucharist, Jesus completely gives himself to us, literally entering into our bodies, souls, and lives. We enter into the One that we eat and drink, deeply united to Christ. In the Sacrament of Reconciliation, we experience the mercy and forgiveness won for us on Calvary; we receive the tender embrace of the Lord and the healing power of the paschal mystery. Through these sacraments, Jesus draws us into His heart and allows us to experience in this life the love and joy of heaven. All the riches of God’s inner life are manifest in the Heart of Christ and are offered to us in the Mass and in confession.
Sacred Heart devotion is not magic nor some automatic ticket to heaven; it is a sacred way for us to encounter the fullness of the Gospel, the good news of God’s saving love poured out for us in Jesus Christ. As we steadily progress in our knowledge and communion with the Lord, we will fall ever more deeply in love with Jesus and live out that transforming and redemptive relationship in every detail of our lives. This devotion unites our minds, hearts and wills in one great act of oblation, a total gift of self to the One who has first offered himself completely to and for us.
May God Bless You and Grant You His Peace!