The Blasting Heart
One
I remember many years ago while working at a Catholic Goods store, a customer made a comment regarding an image of the Sacred Heart hanging over our cash register: “What’s up with that blasting heart? That’s so weird!” This surprised me so much I began to stammer. I stumbled through a response along the lines of, “As Catholics we venerate and adore the Heart of Jesus who is God made man. His heart is the source of Divine Love and Mercy for us sinners.” Or something to that effect. Unphased, she mumbled, “well I’m Catholic,” shrugged, and left. Her shocking reaction articulated what many non-Catholics AND Catholics believe about Catholic devotions in general, and this image in particular—it seems weird! Why all the emphasis on the fleshy, the bloody, the gory? Why not a more spiritual, serene devotion. In fact, why not just focus on the spiritual, without all the religious trappings and institutions. I’ve pondered the answer many times, and the beginnings of an answer fall on a careful reading of the Gospels. The reality of the Incarnation and Passion of our Lord is physical, fleshy and bloody. It is dangerous to spiritualize at the cost of the physical. We have a fallen tendency to downplay the humanity of Jesus and His Church so that we don’t have to encounter our own physical, messy weaknesses. If we remain in a world of ideas, we never have to come down to a life of actions. Jesus of course knew this. Catholic devotions to Him emphasizes the reality of His humanity and suffering, and therefore leads us to the only antidote: His Mercy. Our fallen souls will not be healed without our fallen bodies. The customer was right— The image of God’s suffering heart is weird and shocking; as weird and shocking as my own brokenness. May I be shocked into repentance and openness to the Merciful love of His suffering Heart.
Two
The Sacred Heart is the divine remedy for Lukewarm souls. Our Lord appeared to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque in the 17th Century to counter the growing apathy in the lives of Christians. She writes, "I do not know of any other exercise in the spiritual life more calculated to raise a soul in a short time to the height of perfection, and make it taste the true sweetness that is to be found in the service of God; if it were known how pleasing this devotion is to Jesus Christ, there is no Christian, however little his love for our amiable Savior, who would not begin to practice it immediately." The Devotion was also to be a reminder of God’s suffering to a suffering Church. Jesus warned St. Margaret Mary of the coming calamity for France as more and more people began to turn from Him. Exactly one century later, the French Revolution erupted in 1789 and Louis XVI and his Royal wife Marie Antoinette were guillotined, along with thousands of priests, monks and nuns. But their blood was not in vain, and their sacrifice revived the faith of many. Almost a Century after that, in 1873, the Archbishop of Paris called for the construction of a Basilica on the site of so many martyrs of France, naming it Sacre Ceour, or Sacred Heart, a beacon for all as a call to repentance and peace. The Blessed Sacrament has been Adored there everyday since 1885. If we wish to set the world on fire for Love, and to endure any persecution, let us keep the image of the Sacred Heart in our homes to remind us of the kind of Heart we want to have ourselves. Oh Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on me.
Three
Our world is rife with loneliness and fatigue. Few know how to have community, and fewer know how to find rest. But Our Lord has told St. Faustina the solution to loneliness and fatigue, “My daughter, know that My Heart is mercy itself. From this sea of mercy, graces flow out upon the whole world. No soul that has approached Me has ever gone away un-consoled” (Diary, 1777).
Again, Christ calls out to us in the scriptures:
"Jesus stood and cried out, saying, 'If any man thirst, let him come to Me, and let him drink that believeth in Me. As the Scripture saith: Out of his heart there shall flow rivers of living waters.” (Jn 7:37).
The heart of Jesus provides consolation, He will quench our thirst for meaning, and allow us to help him bring meaning to others. It is meaning in suffering that will bring back a lukewarm world to Him. All this if we but come to His heart. But what does it mean to come to His heart? How do I do that? The first step to anything important is to pay attention. Empty yourself of distraction and stop monologuing to yourself. Be still, and rest with him. In this decade, lets entrust our thoughts and worries to Him. Lord, give me rest and consolation. Bring me into your heart.
Four
The question of suffering is not a matter of if, but when. In the image of the Sacred Heart, our minds are invited to encounter the image of one who is able to bear suffering well. Even at the height of Christ’s brutal execution, He never stopped loving. I want to do the same, to have a heart that can love ceaselessly, able to bear any and all suffering. And so I must stay near Him, and learn from His example. If we wish to receive rest and consolation, we must pay attention to Him, and stay with Him in prayer. We should spend at least 30 minutes with Him each day. And if we aren’t yet strong enough to do this out of love for Him, then at least do it out of the desire to find rest and consolation and learn how to bear suffering well. Not matter what your life has looked like up to now, Your heart is still able to be transformed. Let us listen to the Words of Saint Theresa of Calcutta:
“Do not let your past disturb you, Just leave everything in the Sacred heart and begin again with Joy.”
Five
When I was young, I abandoned the Lord, who I did not know. I lived poorly and suffered much because of it. But the Lord came to me in mercy. Though at one time in my life, it seemed I would never return to God, He found me and, through His mother, brought me back to himself. My life has become immeasurably better, immeasurably more meaningful. I still suffer, and just ask my family, I am still broken. But I testify to the truth of Jesus’s words. I have found Consolation in Him. I have spent much time in front of the Image of his Sacred heart, and it has brought me much peace, and God only knows the graces I have been able to receive by opening myself to His heart. I want to share this Prayer of St. Therese, a prayer I lived: “You heard me, my only friend… To win back my heart, you became man. You shed your blood, a supreme mystery… And you still wait for me on the Altar. When I cannot see your brilliant face, or hear your sweet voice, O my God, I can live by your invisible grace. My soul finds rest in your Sacred heart.” Lord, thank you that your Heart is blasting for me. May it explode my own selfish heart so that you may fill it with rivers of living water.