PIERCED SIDE
Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus
Jn 19:31-37
The “love of God” is different from “God Himself who is love” (Deus caritas est cf. 1 Jn 4:16). The devotion to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus is not only the devotion to the love of God but to God Himself who is love. Thus, the devotion to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus is the highest form of devotion. If all devotions in the Catholic Church were to be gone, the devotion to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus would prevail. Karl Rahner, a respected Catholic theologian, rightly said that the devotion to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus is summa religionis.
Even before the Lord Jesus appeared to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque from 1673 through 1675, the image of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus had already been revealed. The Gospel today gives us the icon of our devotion as Jesus hangs on the cross between heaven and earth, between life and death. The fundamental image of our devotion is the pierced side of Christ. Unlike in His apparition to St. Margaret Mary in Paray-le-Monial, France, the Lord did not have His heart exposed on top of Mount Calvary. However, from Calvary, love was already exposed for all the world to see – yes, it was not merely the love of God but God Himself who is love, offering life and salvation to all men and women.
We see in the pierced side of Christ, the heart of God. It is a heart that is both human and divine in the person of Jesus Christ. In it man’s deepest cry to God and God’s greatest response to man meet. Karl Rahner wrote, “The infinite emptiness which lies at the innermost center of man cries out to be filled with the infinite fullness of God. The Sacred Heart of Jesus is the heart that has been pierced, weighed down by angst, drained to its last drop, overcome by death and yet it signifies a love which is selfless and beyond all conception, the love which is victorious in failure, which triumphs when it has been deprived of its power, raises to life when it has been slain. Such is the Heart of Jesus. It is the love that is God” (not only “of God” but is God)! Thus, “When we say ‘heart of Jesus’”, Rahner said further, “we evoke the innermost core of Jesus Christ, and we say that it is filled with the mystery of God. We say…in a way that contradicts all our experiences of emptiness, futility and death, that there reigns in this heart the infinite love of God’s fundamental mystery…”
Authentic devotion necessarily involves a persevering struggle to become like the focus on the devotion, the devotion to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus essentially achieves its ultimate purpose when we become more and more like Christ. Very appropriately, the prayer to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus is “Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make our hearts like unto Thine.” The measure of our devotion to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus is the measure of our daily cooperation with the grace of God and our day-to-day struggle against the pull of our basic instinct for self-preservation to love as Jesus loves. Indeed, the devotion to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus gives us the mandate to love as Jesus loves.
In all Catholic churches, chapels, and oratories, the Act of Reparation to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Ordo prescribes, is to be prayed by the faithful. While reparation indeed is an essential component of the devotion, we must realize that the devotion to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus cannot and should not be reduce to mere reparation. Reparation is the role of Jesus. Our role is to configure our selves to Him.
Are we ready to have our side pierced? And if it were pierced, would blood and water flow out as it was with Christ on the cross, signifying that His supreme act was not merely life-sacrificing but, most importantly, life-giving?
Jn 19:31-37
The “love of God” is different from “God Himself who is love” (Deus caritas est cf. 1 Jn 4:16). The devotion to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus is not only the devotion to the love of God but to God Himself who is love. Thus, the devotion to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus is the highest form of devotion. If all devotions in the Catholic Church were to be gone, the devotion to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus would prevail. Karl Rahner, a respected Catholic theologian, rightly said that the devotion to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus is summa religionis.
Even before the Lord Jesus appeared to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque from 1673 through 1675, the image of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus had already been revealed. The Gospel today gives us the icon of our devotion as Jesus hangs on the cross between heaven and earth, between life and death. The fundamental image of our devotion is the pierced side of Christ. Unlike in His apparition to St. Margaret Mary in Paray-le-Monial, France, the Lord did not have His heart exposed on top of Mount Calvary. However, from Calvary, love was already exposed for all the world to see – yes, it was not merely the love of God but God Himself who is love, offering life and salvation to all men and women.
We see in the pierced side of Christ, the heart of God. It is a heart that is both human and divine in the person of Jesus Christ. In it man’s deepest cry to God and God’s greatest response to man meet. Karl Rahner wrote, “The infinite emptiness which lies at the innermost center of man cries out to be filled with the infinite fullness of God. The Sacred Heart of Jesus is the heart that has been pierced, weighed down by angst, drained to its last drop, overcome by death and yet it signifies a love which is selfless and beyond all conception, the love which is victorious in failure, which triumphs when it has been deprived of its power, raises to life when it has been slain. Such is the Heart of Jesus. It is the love that is God” (not only “of God” but is God)! Thus, “When we say ‘heart of Jesus’”, Rahner said further, “we evoke the innermost core of Jesus Christ, and we say that it is filled with the mystery of God. We say…in a way that contradicts all our experiences of emptiness, futility and death, that there reigns in this heart the infinite love of God’s fundamental mystery…”
Authentic devotion necessarily involves a persevering struggle to become like the focus on the devotion, the devotion to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus essentially achieves its ultimate purpose when we become more and more like Christ. Very appropriately, the prayer to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus is “Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make our hearts like unto Thine.” The measure of our devotion to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus is the measure of our daily cooperation with the grace of God and our day-to-day struggle against the pull of our basic instinct for self-preservation to love as Jesus loves. Indeed, the devotion to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus gives us the mandate to love as Jesus loves.
In all Catholic churches, chapels, and oratories, the Act of Reparation to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Ordo prescribes, is to be prayed by the faithful. While reparation indeed is an essential component of the devotion, we must realize that the devotion to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus cannot and should not be reduce to mere reparation. Reparation is the role of Jesus. Our role is to configure our selves to Him.
Are we ready to have our side pierced? And if it were pierced, would blood and water flow out as it was with Christ on the cross, signifying that His supreme act was not merely life-sacrificing but, most importantly, life-giving?
posted by Fr. Bobby @ 3:00 PM
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