Daily reflection _ for the solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

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!
Deacon John Ruscheinsky
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!