A reflection on the unions of the Sacred Heart. To know also the charity of Christ, which surpasseth all knowledge—Eph. 3:19
Love naturally tends towards union. The lover desires to be with his beloved and even to be one with his beloved. You can look at the things one has united himself with and tell from that what he loves. You can also grasp the degree he loves it by the intensity and closeness of the union as well as the things he has been willing to undergo or forgo to bring that union about. With these truths in mind, let us consider the Sacred Heart of Our Lord.
Union with Humanity
It is immediately obvious that the Sacred Heart is a human heart. It is a product of the Incarnation. Jesus chose to use this image to show forth His love, not only because we naturally associate ‘the heart’ with love and the core of one’s being, but because it is the product of His perfect love. God has so closely united Himself with His beloved, man, that He has taken unto Himself his nature and has a human heart. Such a perfect and complete union can only come from a love which burns as the Sacred Heart does with an unquenchable fire of love.
Union with Suffering
It is also immediately striking that the Sacred Heart is not one untouched by suffering. On the contrary, it is crowned with piercing thorns and pieced through by a lance. Drops of blood flow from these wounds without ceasing. Look and behold what God was willing to suffer to bring this union about! There was no price that could stay the power of the Divine Love. He has united Himself with untold suffering for the sake of drawing us to Himself.
A Mutual Union
All unions require there to be more than one to start, otherwise there would be nothing to unify. In unions of love, the union is only perfect to the degree that both sides give themselves to it. We are called on this holy solemnity of the Sacred Heart, to move our union with Jesus towards perfection. Make many acts of charity, make an act of consecration, give yourself to Him Who has stopped at nothing to give himself so fully to you. We have no cause to fear rejection, and every blessing to expect for receiving the advances of this Divine Lover.
[Readings: Hos 11:1, 3-4, 8c-9; Eph 3:8-12, 14-19; Mt 11:29ab]
