On this Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, take a moment to gaze at an image of the Sacred Heart. As I was writing this reflection, I found myself lost in time as I searched online through numerous images of the Sacred Heart. I was particularly intrigued by one of the earliest images by Charles Joseph Natoire in 1726. (See picture at top of reflection, Hektoen International, Frontispiece to De Culto Sacro)
What is intriguing about this illustration is how anatomically realistic it is drawn. You get the sense that you are looking at a fleshy heart, a poignant reminder of what Christ’s heart suffered for love of us. Somehow, the illustration draws you into both the physical and emotional suffering experienced by the heart of our Savior. The heart, although tightly constricted by a thorny crown and sliced on its right side, still emanates strength and power as it bursts with His fiery love.
Pray and Meditate
The verses below are taken from today’s readings. Pray each one, slowly and meditatively:
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.
-Deuteronomy 7: 7-8
Abba Father, even before You sent Your Son into the world, you set your heart on me, chose me and loved me. As the hymn resounds: What Wondrous Love is this, O my soul? I cannot understand this, but that does not mean I cannot accept it. O, open my heart wide, Father. Let this truth be the foundation of my heart, the context from which I live: I am CHOSEN. I am LOVED by You, O, Lord!
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,
for I am meek and humble of heart;
and you will find rest for yourselves.
-Matthew 25: 29
Unite My Heart
My Beautiful Jesus, You came in the flesh to be present to me, to unite my heart to Yours. Holding my heart in Your own Sacred Hands, immerse it in the flames of Your fiery heart. Let me burn with love for you. Let me imitate You – to be a servant to all, to rely on You for everything, to be gentle – so powerfully gentle in love – that all are drawn to You.
Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us,
and his love is brought to perfection in us.
This is how we know that we remain in him and he in us,
that he has given us of his Spirit.
-1 John 4: 12-13
Incredible Gift
Sweet Holy Spirit, what a gift you are – the most incredible gift Jesus gave to us, as he promised, before ascending to Heaven. You are the answer to every question, the force of Love, which is renewing the face of the earth. And how our world desperately needs You! This is your age – the age of the Holy Spirit! Come, Holy Spirit! I welcome you into the depths of my heart and soul. Keep my heart always in the Divine Will, basking in the love of the Father who created me and the Son who redeemed me. Sanctify me, O Holy Spirit, that I may be a channel of love to every soul I encounter. Amen! Alleluia! Amen!
As we close this meditation for today, I am reminded of an old prayer my parents taught us to pray every day as we ended the family Rosary. I have not thought of this prayer for many years, but it is resounding in my heart now, and I offer it to you in honor of today’s special feast of the Sacred Heart.
If so inspired, take the time to look it up online. I have seen it called by slight variations of title, both – Renewal of the Consecration of the Family to the Sacred Heart of Jesus or Sacred Heart of Jesus Enthronement Renewal Prayer. Though I have not prayed this prayer regularly since my childhood, it is amazing how once I said the first line (“Most sweet Jesus, humbly kneeling at thy feet…”), the rest flooded out of my heart, word for word. What a gift we can give back to Jesus, by consecrating our families, including those far from faith to His Sacred Heart every day of our lives!
