Today, as the Congregation of Holy Cross, we celebrate the Sacred Heart of Jesus to whom our priests are consecrated. It is a propitious time to reflect on what the "heart" means in the light of our spirituality. Our founder, Blessed Basile Moreau, invites us to remember that “surely, in the eyes of faith, nothing deserves our respect and adoration more than the Sacred Heart.”

From this statement, I can say without fear of misspeaking that to have the Heart of Jesus is to find the security of taking refuge in him. However, at many times in life, the inevitable question arises: how can I be safe when my own heart feels insecure? This question touches on the deepest frailties of our interior life. However, the time shared with young people, the ministry in the parish, the accompaniment in formation houses, and the different places where I have served have led me to a certainty: it is in the midst of our insecurity where we find our powerful and fruitful strength. There we find the pouring out of the Heart of Jesus, saying to us in silence: "I am with you.”

On the other hand, this is a Heart that invites us to look with eyes of faith. These days I've been listening to the song Huracán by Hakuna, a Spanish group that has touched the fibers of many young people. In one of its stanzas, they sing: “I am here, in silence; I am here, in this wind; I am here, I am this piece of bread; I am here, in your lament; I am here, in this echo.” These lines make me feel that the faith of many of us is thirsting for a heart capable of seeing Jesus in every daily experience, even in silence and contradiction.

It is a respectful and prayerful heart; that is, a heart that looks to Jesus with devotion, with overflowing enthusiasm, and with a spiritual depth that touches the most intimate part of our religious consecration. In Holy Cross, when contemplating and feeling the beating heart of Jesus, there is nothing left but to experience a profound respect that moves us to kneel. With a humble and grateful attitude, we thank God for reaching the hearts of so many people in the manner of our Redeemer.

Finally, I can say that, in my few years of ministry, the Heart of Jesus has taught me to feel and think with a new logic, that is, an overflowing logic. His Heart has no limits; his mercy surpasses human understanding and is installed in the life of each person. It shows us that the living Cross of Jesus leads us, at times, along difficult paths, but always with beautiful endings, charged with a light of hope. It is a Heart of flesh that beats in our spirituality to remind us of who we really are and what our mission is: to be men with hope to bring.

Fr. Pedro Carreño, C.S.C., a member of the U.S. Province’s community in Mexico, wrote this reflection for the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which is the patronal feast of the Priests of Holy Cross. Fr. Pedro currently serves as the Assistant Director of the Congregation’s Santa Cruz House of Formation in Santiago, Chile.