THE WORD AND THE FEAST
June 24, 2022: Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of JesusEzekiel 34: 1-11; Romans 5:5-11; Luke 15: 3-7
Today we celebrate the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, the fount of love, the most symbolic expression of our relationship with God, or rather God's relationship with us. 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. The 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! God has never ceased to remind us of the covenant that God has made with us - that we will be God's people and God will be our loving Father and Mother. How many miracles and how many signs...the Sacred heart is one such splending revelation and symbol.
2. The Compassion: God's continued relationship is filled with compassion towards us. The compassion which comes after us, not only when we are lost, but even when we decide to go aways from God. God calls us to belong to Godself, although we are lost, wounded and scarred. The pierced heart, offers to heal, soothe and fill our hearts with love and compassion.
3. The 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. God has filled our hearts with love and that love has to overflow towards others, if we are truly people of God.
Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, fill us with the same love that your heart burns with - Amen.