Love and the Sacred Heart
This Friday, we celebrate the feast day of Sacred Heart of Jesus!
This sort of devotion might seem morbid for many of those who are not Catholic or are new to Catholicism. After all, the common image of today is either a disembodied Sacred Heart, or of Christ exposing His Heart. This heart is typically flaming and bleeding and often surrounded by thorns. It typically has a cross on top of it. Which may make anyone feel uncomfortable! After all, the Sacred Heart is not generally depicted like one of those cutesy hearts on Valentine’s Day. It is an anatomically correct heart that is bleeding and tortured.
And yet…Â the heart has traditionally been associated with love. So, when we celebrate the Sacred Heart, we contemplate the great love that Jesus had for us. And how great was His love? John 3:16, one of the most famous lines of the bible, says this:
NABRE
John 3
16For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.
This heart, this tortured heart of Jesus bled for us so that we might live. And we should never take this sacrifice lightly!
So! In honor of today, I would like to share one of my favorite images of the Sacred Heart of Jesus:
It is an image of the Holy Trinity in glory, with all of Heaven below them, worshipping! But, in the middle of the Holy Trinity is the Sacred Heart of Jesus. As with most of the images of the Sacred Heart, it is bleeding. The Crown of Thorns wraps around it. Light seems to emanate from it. A cross is on top of it.
And it’s a beautiful reminder of what who God is and of the promise of Heaven.
It is love that connects each member of the Holy Trinity and unites them in that special, mysterious way that is still difficult to understand.
It is for love that Christ’s Sacred Heart bleeds for us.
It is that love and mercy that we experience when we repent and are forgiven.
And it is that love that we hope for when we think of and hope for Heaven… to be united with God in love.
And so, may our eyes always look toward Heaven and may we contemplate the love of God as we meditate on the Sacred Heart of Jesus today!
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This artwork is used in my book, The Glorious Mysteries. Check out this link to learn more about this book, as well as pre-order it!
