By Leon Bent –
The devotion to the Sacred Heart, also known as the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, is one of the most widely practiced and well-known Roman Catholic devotions, taking the heart of the resurrected Body as the representation of the love by Jesus Christ God, which is “his heart, pierced on the Cross”, and “in the texts of the New Testament is revealed to us as God’s boundless and passionate love for mankind”.
The Sacred Heart is often depicted in Christian art as a flaming heart shining with divine light, pierced by the lance-wound, encircled by the crown of thorns, surmounted by a cross, and bleeding. Sometimes, the image is shown shining within the bosom of Christ with his wounded hands pointing at the heart. The wounds and crown of thorns allude to the manner of Jesus’ death, while the fire represents the transformative power of divine love.
To appreciate this rich symbolism of the heart, we must remember in Judaism that, the word heart represented the core of the person. While recognized as the principle life organ, the heart was also considered the centre of all spiritual activity. Here was the seat of all emotion, especially love. As the psalms express, God speaks to a person in his heart and there probes him. This notion of the heart is clear when we read the words of Deuteronomy 6:5-6: “Therefore, you shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength. Take to heart these words which I enjoin on you today.”
Shortly thereafter, the devotion escalated due to the fervour surrounding the apparitions of our Lord to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647-90). For example, on December 27, 1673, our Lord revealed, “My Divine Heart is so passionately inflamed with love… that, not being able any longer to contain within Itself the flames of Its ardent charity, It must let them spread abroad through your means, and manifest Itself to man, that they may be enriched with its precious treasures which I unfold to you, and which contain the sanctifying and salutary graces that are necessary to hold them back from the abyss of ruin.”
In 1899, Pope Leo XIII consecrated the world to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Since then, his successors have exhorted the faithful to turn to the Sacred Heart, and make acts of personal consecration. They have also begged the faithful to offer prayers and penances to the Sacred Heart, in reparation for the many sins of the world.
True piety to the Sacred Heart that leads to holiness comprises:
1. Consecration – In mediating on the Sacred Heart of Jesus, we realize the depth of God’s sacrificial love for us.
2. Enthronement – The tradition of enthroning our hearts, our lives and our homes, to the Sacred Heart is an excellent way to express the kingship of Christ.
3. Reparation – One way we can show love to the Sacred Heart is by making acts of reparation for the abuse that Jesus receives.
4. First Fridays – When our Lord appeared to St. Margaret Mary and revealed the devotion to the Sacred Heart, he requested the practice of attending mass, going to confession, and receiving him in the Eucharist on the first Friday of 9 consecutive months.
5. Frequent Prayer – Prayer to the sacred heart can be as lengthy as a novena or litany, or as simple as a spontaneous, “Sacred heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.”
6. Imitation – It means loving and forgiving our enemies and those who persecute us. It means laying our life down for others.
7. Missionary activity – Finally, loving the Sacred Heart of Jesus means bringing its love to others. It means bearing our crosses lovingly and patiently.
Now, this gold nugget! In the burning and wounded Sacred Heart, we see that God’s heart is consumed with love for us—so much so that, he was willing to suffer and die for us in the most gruesome manner. The Sacred Heart teaches us that true love is always costly, but it always gives life.
The Punch Lines! There are two things that must always be found together in the devotion to the Sacred Heart: Christ’s Heart of flesh and Christ’s love for us. True devotion to the Sacred Heart means devotion to the Divine Heart of Christ, insofar as, His Heart represents and recalls His love for us. The Heart of Jesus never ceases to love us in heaven. He sanctifies us through the Sacraments. These are inexhaustible fountains of grace and holiness which have their source in the boundless ocean of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
And, this final flourish! Each saint is on a mission, planned by the Father, to reflect and embody at a specific moment in history, a certain aspect of the Gospel” (Gaudium Exsultate, 19).
Leon Bent is an ex-Seminarian and studied the Liberal Arts and Humanities, and Philosophy, from St. Pius X College, Mumbai. He holds Masters Degree in English Literature and Aesthetics. He has published three Books and have 20 on the anvil. He has two extensively “Researched” Volumes to his name: Hail Full of Grace and Matrimony: The Thousand Faces of Love. He won The Examiner, Silver Pen Award, 2000 for writing on Social Issues, the clincher being a Researched Article on Gypsies in India, published in an issue of the (worldwide circulation) Vidyajyoti Journal of Theological Reflection, New Delhi. On April, 28, 2018, Leon received the Cardinal Ivan Dias Award for a research paper in Mariology.