Love made Flesh

THE WORD AND THE FEAST

June 19, 2020: Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Deuteronomy 7: 6-11; 1 John 4: 7-16; Matthew 11: 25-30

Today we celebrate the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, the fount of love, the most symbolic expression possible of our relationship with God. The great devotion that we have for the Sacred Heart, has come from and passed through immense experience of God's love in a concrete manner. Sr. Margaret Mary Alacoque was chosen as the champion and apostle for this devotion and today we have a treasure in its form, to reflect upon, to learn from, and to attach ourselves to.

The Sacred Heart symbolises...

1. Covenant: God's initiative in love towards humanity, towards you and me. The heart reminds us of the covenant we have with the Lord - to belong to the Lord, to be people of the Lord! "It is you that the Lord our god has chosen to be God's own people out of all the peoples on earth," says the first reading. 

2. Compassion: God's continued relationship, filled with compassion towards us. The compassion which calls us to 'come and rest'; the wounded, scarred, pierced heart, that offers to heal, soothe and fill our hearts. "Come to me," calls the Lord and promises, "I will give you rest." 

3. Commitment: God's invitation to imitate the total, self-giving love of God. Loving one another is a commitment, not merely a sentiment or a wishful feeling. It is a concrete commitment towards the over-all well being of each other. Only when we love, are we born of God's love; if not, our very sonship or daughtership in relation to God becomes null and void. Anyone who lives in love lives in God, says John in the second reading today. 

Love made flesh, Most Merciful Sacred Heart of Jesus, fill us with the same love that your heart burns with - Amen.