The Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus
It was not because you are the largest of all nations that the LORD set his heart on you and chose you, for you are really the smallest of all nations. It was because the LORD loved you and because of his fidelity to the oath he had sworn to your fathers, that he brought you out with his strong hand from the place of slavery, and ransomed you from the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. Deuteronomy 7:7-8
In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as expiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also must love one another. 1 John 4:10-11
"Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for your selves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light." Matthew 11:28-30
PietySacred Heart of Jesus, formed by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mary, have mercy on us.
Studyhttp://www.usccb.org/nab/readings/053008.shtml
What do you do for the ones you love?
You take care of them physically with a house, warm clothes, and good food.
You support them socially and spiritually.
You help them gather a network or community of friends and supporters around them.
You provide for their education and growth.
You provide money so they can have nice things in life.
You support them when they are upset or depressed.
You help them to become what they want to become in life.
If we can decide to do all this and more for those we love, how much further will the Lord go for those whom He has chosen as “peculiarly his own?”
Today, we celebrate the Sacred Heart of Jesus – in this week when hearts have had such a significant role to play for one special member of our community. We have everything we have in life not because we are Christians or Catholics. Instead, we have what we have because God has loved us.
Included in those gifts are our burdens, illnesses, weaknesses, and sins. God not only loves us in spite of these, God loves us because of these. He invites us to turn in the burdens we carry from the world and trade those in on the burdens Jesus offers to us.
Whenever society demands more of us, God demands less. He offers to lift the burdens we feel. In return, all God asks is for obedience to his word not to millions of pages of laws, tax codes, traffic regulations, etc. All God asks for is humility…a humility that will help us take on the countenance of little children, to be the last among others.
According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church (478): Jesus knew and loved us each and all during his life, his agony and his Passion, and gave himself up for each one of us: "The Son of God. . . loved me and gave himself for me." He has loved us all with a human heart. For this reason, the Sacred Heart of Jesus, pierced by our sins and for our salvation, "is quite rightly considered the chief sign and symbol of that. . . love with which the divine Redeemer continually loves the eternal Father and all human beings" without exception. "
Rather than marking this special day with reflections on the material or physical realities, it also is important to remember that Jesus heart was not only a human heart, but His heart also was a meta-physical heart that transcended earthly being. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, "The worship, although paid to the Heart of Jesus, extends further than the Heart of flesh, being directed to the love of which this Heart is the living and expressive symbol."
Jesus heart is not only a symbol of the unity of His followers, it also is depicted as wounded.
Since the Heart of Jesus appears to us as the sensible sign of His love, the visible wound in the Heart will naturally recall the invisible wound of this love. This symbolism also explains that the devotion, although giving the Heart an essential place, is but little concerned with the anatomy of the heart or with physiology.[1]
ActionJesus’ real and physical Heart is a natural symbol of His infinite charity. The heart is a vital organ which beats within all of us and is the cornerstone of our existence. Jesus’ love was rejected and unrequited. However, we all know that “the stone which the builder’s rejected has become the cornerstone.” Thus the Sacred Heart is the cornerstone of this solemn day.
Prayer devotions to the Sacred Heart today. Make this a regular part of your spiritual and prayer life and you will benefit from the Twelve Promises Jesus made to Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque.
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