A heart on fire with love


Like many Catholic homes, my parents prominently displayed in our home the image of the Sacred of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary.  It was a powerful image to gaze upon as a child – the rays of love and light flowing out from the wounded heart of Jesus were both a comfort and a strength.  As Catholics, we believe that in Jesus’ heart we discover our deepest place of safety and security. There we are to make our home. He is the one who lights our way and illumines a path in the darkness.  

This devotion to the Sacred Heart became popularized in the Church when St. Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647-1690), a Visitation nun, had a personal revelation involving a series of visions of Christ as she prayed before the Blessed Sacrament. She wrote, "He disclosed to me the marvels of his Love and the inexplicable secrets of his Sacred Heart." Christ emphasized to her His love -- and His woundedness caused by Man's indifference to this love. He promised that, in response to those who consecrate themselves and make reparations to His Sacred Heart, that:  

  • He will give them all the graces necessary in their state of life.
  • He will establish peace in their homes.
  • He will comfort them in all their afflictions.
  • He will be their secure refuge during life, and above all, in death.
  • He will bestow abundant blessings upon all their undertakings.
  • Sinners will find in His Heart the source and infinite ocean of mercy.
  • Lukewarm souls shall become fervent.
  • Fervent souls shall quickly mount to high perfection.
  • He will bless every place in which an image of His Heart is exposed and honored.
  • He will give to priests the gift of touching the most hardened hearts.
  • Those who shall promote this devotion shall have their names written in His Heart.
  • In the excessive mercy of His Heart that His all-powerful love will grant to all those who receive Holy Communion on the First Fridays in nine consecutive months the grace of final perseverance; they shall not die in His disgrace, nor without receiving their sacraments. His divine Heart shall be their safe refuge in this last moment.
What we celebrate today is Love who is God and poured out upon all of us.  “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in Him may not perish but have eternal life.”  (John 3:16).  Jesus has a heart on fire with love for His Father, seeking the Father’s will and always at One in His heart with the Father. At the same time, His was a heart on fire for our world, especially for those most in need. The Gospels are filled with the accounts of Jesus’ compassion, His service of the poor, and His loving outreach to those who seemed furthest from God.  It was out of love for the world that he went to the Cross. To bring us, once more, access to the Father’s house. From his wounded side flows blood and water, a sign to us of that great gift of the Sacraments, born from the open heart of the Savior.

It is this loving heart, broken open for the redemption of mankind, that pours forth into our lives the boundless, unconditional mercy of the Father.  We know we are weak and sinful. Many times we fail, we fall and stumble. We get things wrong. We hurt others and need to seek forgiveness. All this the Lord knows, but He continues to call us. We are to deepen our own intimacy with Jesus, to rest in His heart and find there, the home which we need. It is through the Sacred Heart of Jesus that we are made holy and called to be for others a manifestation of the heart of Jesus.

As Pope Francis said this morning: “Do not be afraid to present to him all the intentions of our suffering humanity, its fears, its miseries. May this Heart, full of love for men, give everyone hope and trust.” How important with all that is happening around us, with so many fears and darkness clouding our hearts, as we witness division, hatred and even violence, that we turn with devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the font of God’s all powerful love that has indeed triumphed over sin, evil and even death.  As we gaze on the loving heart of Jesus we live with confident hope that He will light the path and guide the way for us to gain eternal life.

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