Love made Flesh

THE WORD AND THE FEAST

June 16, 2023: Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Deuteronomy 7: 6-11; 1 John 4: 7-16; Matthew 11: 25-30

Following the feast of the Body and Blood of Christ that we celebrated last Sunday, we remember today the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, the fount of love, the most symbolic expression of our relationship with God. The great devotion that we have for the Sacred Heart, has come from and passed through immense experiences 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! We see the indication of this in the first reading today and the key here is relationship - love made flesh and brought alive in every relationship we build, promote and sanctify in our lives. 

2. The Compassion: God's continued relationship filled with compassion towards us, reflecting the covenant that we have with God. The compassion which calls us to 'come and rest'; the wounded, scarred, pierced heart, offers to heal, soothe and fill our hearts. The call we find in the Gospel reading, is a call that continues for all our life. The Lord makes it clear that he has come to us rendering the love that God has for us real and concrete. It depends on us to go to that love or not - willing to taste that love made flesh and offered to us in ways without end.

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. The second reading today reminds us of this call and invites us to relate to the love made flesh and be transformed each us in our lifes - into love made flesh! 

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