When I was a child, a beautiful picture of the Sacred Heart of Jesus hung in the prayer room of our house. A warm, smiling Jesus lovingly pointed to His heart, pierced and crowned with thorns, in an eternal gesture of invitation. Whenever I looked at that picture, I felt good, embraced, loved, and cared for as if the Lord were inviting me to step into His joy and peace. His gaze was on me and never left me as long as I gazed on Him and on His eyes. This gave me a confidence as a child that He was always present to me with His tender love.
Our family had a great devotion to the Sacred Heart. Every First Friday, my father would lead us in praying the prayer of consecration and surrendering the entire family anew to His love and mercy. The Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is one of my favorite feasts of the year, mainly because it reminds me of the heart of the Christian message, which is Love. Our holy founder, Blessed Basile Moreau, gave this feast as the patronal feast for all the priests and seminarians in the family of Holy Cross.
When we hear the word “heart”, we think above all about affections, emotions, and sentiments. The heart—both a physical organ and a symbol of love and compassion—holds a profound significance in human understanding and imagination. It is a vessel that pumps life-giving blood throughout our bodies, sustaining our existence. But beyond its biological function, the heart has long been revered as the seat of emotions and the core of our being. In biblical language, it indicates the entire person in his or her awareness, intelligence, and freedom. The heart indicates the person’s interior reality, as well as our desire to think and relate to others. It is the seat of memory, the center where choices are made, and projects come to fruition.
Celebrating the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, we are invited to contemplate the depths of divine love that flows from the heart of Christ. This feast invites us to ponder the immeasurable compassion and mercy that emanate from the Sacred Heart, reminding us of the boundless love that God has for each one of us. It is a celebration that beckons us to open our hearts and receive the transformative power of Christ’s love, allowing it to permeate every aspect of our lives. Thus, we are called to encounter the Heart of God Himself, a Heart that beats with a love so profound that it can heal, restore, and bring us into communion with Him.
The first letter of John tells us that God is Love, and remaining in His love means loving others as He does (cf 4:7-16). In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus commands us to love our enemies, just as our heavenly Father loves them. From the cross, He even prays for the forgiveness of those who crucified Him.
Sometimes people have hurt me; it’s hard enough to forgive them and even harder to love them. It is also hard to love those who irritate me or who behave obnoxiously or cruelly. With effort, I succeed in being kind and fair to them maybe 70 or 80 percent of the time, though that percentage drops off quickly if I’m tired or disappointed. Sometimes I want to say to Jesus, “This yoke doesn’t seem easy to me.” I know that I’m not the only person to feel this way, but that doesn’t help. Jesus didn’t say, “Love each other just like most people do,” but He said, “Love one another as I have loved you” (Jn 13:34).
And that’s why this feast day is so important. With years of effort, maybe I’m up to 85 percent of the time loving my enemies and those who hurt me. But at least I’ve come to realize that, even if it’s a supernatural goal and requires supernatural help, even if every step of progress makes us realize just how much more we have to go, it’s always worth the effort to seek the Heart of Jesus.
As we celebrate the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, let us take a moment to reflect on the immense love that flows from His heart and open our hearts to receive this love and allow it to transform us. Let us emulate the Sacred Heart of Jesus by extending mercy, forgiveness, and compassion to those we encounter. May our hearts become more like His, reflecting the love that He has poured out for us. May the Sacred Heart of Jesus be our source of inspiration, comfort, and strength as we strive to love one another, to live as disciples of Christ, in union with Him now and forever.
Let us continue to pray, “Jesus, give me your heart.” Amen.
Fr. Emmanuel Kallarackal, C.S.C., a member of the Province of North East India, is currently the Congregation’s Vicar General and First General Assistant. He wrote this reflection for the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which is the pastoral feast of the priests and seminarians of the Congregation of Holy Cross.