Find Meaning in the Sacred Heart
Four Ways to Find Meaning in the Heart of Christ
Mt. 11:28-30 "Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light."
"From the Heart of Christ, man's heart learns to know the genuine and unique meaning of his life and of his destiny, to understand the value of an authentically Christian life, to keep himself from certain perversions of the human heart, and to unite the filial love of God with love of neighbour" (Pope John Paul II, Message to the Society of Jesus, 5 October 1986; L'Osservatore Romano English edition, 27 October 1986, p. 7).
Know the genuine and unique meaning of life. When do we know who we truly are? The other day I was speaking to somebody who had moved to Europe for work. She noticed that her faith life had decreased in the years since she had left home. Was it because she was in a new country? Was it because of the place where she was? Which is the more authentic version of her: the faith-filled woman living in a country where the faith is vibrant, or the more secular-minded modern woman of Europe? If we take these words from St. John Paul II, we will have to conclude that we know ourselves better when we are in the context of the Sacred Heart. This can be one of the great challenges we can take to Eucharistic Adoration. We spend time before Jesus and let him tell us who we truly are.
The Sacred Heart helps us to appreciate genuine Christian life. The other day, I was speaking with somebody with fertility issues. She mentioned how difficult it was to face all of this with a Catholic viewpoint. I sympathized with her difficulties, but at the same time encouraged her to see the blessing that God was giving her through her fidelity. We are so prone to judge our lives according to a high sense of control. But really, we must let go and let God. When we give in to the Sacred Heart, we can recognize the value of the sacrifices we have to undertake to live our faith out in a real and concrete way.
The Sacred Heart helps keep us away from some perversions of the heart. It is so easy to let ourselves be consumed by lust, envy, jealousy, anger, and hate. These are all perversions of the heart. If we allow ourselves to be ruled by the Sacred Heart, we have a better chance of defending ourselves from these perversions. Instead, we learn to love purely and to give of ourselves without counting the cost.
Finally, the Sacred Heart helps us to unite ourselves to the filial love towards the Father and to love our neighbor truly. One of the greatest challenges in our spiritual life is to learn to treat God as a good father. So many of us may be held back because we do not have the personal experience of a good father. This gives us an excellent opportunity to ask the Sacred Heart to help us purify our hearts and place ourselves entirely in his care.
There is so much that we can learn from the Sacred Heart. Now, one of the deep realities that we live tonight is that many people do not recognize the value of God in our lives. Some go so far as to make fun of God and of the people that serve him. This mass is an effort on our part to put our lives in his hands and to console his heart for all the people who injure him with their lack of love. Sacred Heart of Jesus, make my heart more like yours!
