DIVINE LOVE
Jesus
makes visible the perfect love of God; a God Who cares intensely. All we need
to do is share that love with others; that love that flows from His Sacred
Heart!
The celebration of the Sacred
Heart of Jesus is centered on the physical Heart of Jesus as the obvious symbol
of Christ's love for us. And Christ's love for us, of course, is an aspect of
the love of God for all His people. The first reading from the Prophet Ezekiel
is an obvious one for this feast: "Thus says the Lord God: I Myself will
look after and tend My sheep" (Ez 34:11).
We pray that in celebrating
this Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the hearts of those who are feeling
hopeless and do not believe in Him, will be opened to receive His love and
mercy. Jesus provides an undying source of hope and the fact of God's
well-attested love for us. The infinite love and mercy of God is shown in many
different ways and symbols. First of all, His undeserved mercy is shown in the
fact of the Incarnation: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only
Son, so that everyone who believes in Him might not perish but might have eternal
life" (Jn 3:16).
The Church expresses the love
of Christ through the parable of the Good Shepherd who laid down his life for
his sheep. Recently, the Sunday after Easter has been designated as Divine
Mercy Sunday. This day commemorates the lavish and undeserved love of God. In
his Letter to the Romans, St. Paul expresses this love: "But God proves
His love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us. How
much more then, since we are now justified by His Blood, will we be saved
through Him" (Rom 5:8 - 9a).
The symbols of this love vary
from age to age. The Medieval Period used the symbol of the crucifix, which
showed the tortured body of Jesus. In the Sixteenth Century, the symbol of the
Sacred Heart of Jesus began to be used. Whatever the symbol, let us always
remember the reality that God loves us from all eternity. My Father gave me a
picture of the Sacred Heart of Jesus that belonged to my Grandma. He gave it to
me when she died. It was a great gift and meant a lot to me. Looking at Jesus'
pierced Heart gave me hope and strengthened my trust in Him. I look at the
picture often as part of my prayer and reflection time and have for many years.
In today's Gospel
Acclamation, Jesus' words suggest some of the qualities that the devotion to
the Sacred Heart of Jesus requires of us. "Come to Me...And I will give
you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am meek and humble of
heart" (Mt 11:28 - 29). True devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus will
manifest itself through gentleness and humility. Jesus' prayer also warns us of
pride, which can keep us from the love and knowledge of God. What makes us
ignorant and blind to the things of God? Certainly intellectual pride, coldness
of heart, and stubbornness of will shut out God and His Kingdom. Pride is the
root of all vices and the strongest influence propelling us to sin. It also
closes the heart and mind to God's truth and wisdom for our lives. What is
pride? It is the inordinate love of oneself at the expense of others and the
estimation of one's own learning and importance.
Jesus contrasts intellectual
pride with child-like simplicity and humility. The simple of heart are like
"babes" in the sense that they see purely, without pretense, and
acknowledge their dependence on and trust in the One Who is greater, wiser, and
more trustworthy. They seek one thing, the "greatest good," Who is
God Himself. Simplicity of heart is wedded with humility, the queen of virtues,
because humility inclines the heart towards grace and truth. Just as pride is
the root or every sin and evil, so humility is the only soil in which the grace
of God can take root. It alone takes the right attitude before God and allows
Him, as God, to do all. We need to submit to God's Word with simple trust and
humility. Once we have done that then we show our gratitude and appreciation to
Him by sharing His loving Heart in a humble way with others.
Jesus makes visible the
perfect love of God; a God Who cares intensely. All we need to do is share that
love with others; that love that flows from His Sacred Heart!