Our three and six year old granddaughters live with us. They frequently say, “I love you so much in my little heart.” To be loved with this kind of purity shocks me, and yet it is the same unconditional love that Jesus offers when we unite our hearts to His.
Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus extends back to the Church fathers, but the current feast day, always a Friday in June, but moveable due to the Easter season, was established by Pope Pius IX in 1856 based upon revelations of Our Lord to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque in 1675.
Our Catholic community recites a particular devotion each day after each daily Mass, with the Prayer to the Sacred Heart on Wednesdays, the service which I regularly attend. Often, I hurriedly recite the prayer, anxious to move on with my day and frustrated that reciting it means rifling through my purse for a copy.
A week before last year’s feast, I began a novena to the Sacred Heart on the Halo app. Around the same time, I received a Sacred Heart prayer card in the mail with a Word on Fire promotion. My young adult daughter and I were spending some time in Ohio, and I was using the time for prayer and writing. A day before beginning the novena, I looked online for a nearby church with a noon Mass. I found Sacred Heart Catholic Parish.
Some would call these “God moments.” Others would say they were just a coincidence. But rivers of redemption run through our lives. We can jump on a raft and ride the rapids, or we can stand on the side and watch it pass us by. This period of my life provided a revelation in which rejection was replaced with rejoicing, and I embraced the radical richness of reform, rather than returning to regret.
The second reading from the first letter of John tells us that “whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love.” In his Sacred Heart, Jesus can unite to our hearts and reignite our flame. Everything that flows from Him and to Him has purpose.
Today’s Gospel proclaims, “I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to little ones,” My little granddaughters carry this wisdom in their hearts.
Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.
Nuestras nietas de tres y seis años viven con nosotros. Con frecuencia dicen: “Te quiero muchísimo con todo mi corazoncito”. Ser amada con tanta pureza me conmueve, y sin embargo, es el mismo amor incondicional que Jesús nos ofrece cuando unimos nuestros corazones al Suyo.
La devoción al Sagrado Corazón de Jesús se remonta a los Padres de la Iglesia, pero la fiesta actual, que siempre se celebra un viernes de junio, aunque con fecha variable debido al tiempo pascual, fue establecida por el Papa Pío IX en 1856, basándose en las revelaciones de Nuestro Señor a Santa Margarita María Alacoque en 1675.
Nuestra comunidad católica reza una devoción particular cada día después de la Misa diaria, con la Oración al Sagrado Corazón los miércoles, la misa que yo asisto regularmente. A menudo, rezo la oración con prisa, ansiosa por continuar con mi día y frustrada por tener que buscar la ficha de oración en mi cartera.
Una semana antes de la fiesta el año pasado, comencé una novena al Sagrado Corazón en la aplicación Halo. Casi al mismo tiempo, recibí una estampa del Sagrado Corazón por correo con una promoción de Word on Fire. Mi hija, ya adulta, y yo estábamos pasando un tiempo en Ohio, y yo aprovechaba para orar y escribir. Un día antes de comenzar la novena, busqué en internet una iglesia cercana con misa al mediodía. Encontré la Parroquia Católica del Sagrado Corazón.
Algunos los llamarían «momentos de Dios». Otros dirían que fueron solo coincidencias. Pero ríos de redención fluyen por nuestras vidas. Podemos subirnos a una balsa y navegar por los rápidos, o podemos quedarnos en la orilla y verlos pasar. Este período de mi vida me brindó una revelación en la que el rechazo fue reemplazado por la alegría, y abracé la riqueza radical de la transformación, en lugar de volver al arrepentimiento.
La segunda lectura de la primera carta de Juan nos dice, “El que no ama, no conoce a Dios, porque Dios es amor”. En su Sagrado Corazón, Jesús puede unirse a nuestros corazones y reavivar nuestra llama. Todo lo que fluye de Él y hacia Él tiene un propósito.
El Evangelio de hoy proclama: “¡Te doy gracias, Padre, Señor del cielo y de la tierra, porque has escondido estas cosas a los sabios y entendidos, y las has revelado a la gente sencilla!” Mis pequeñas nietas llevan esta sabiduría en sus corazones.
Sagrado Corazón de Jesús, ten piedad de nosotros.
Beth Casteel writes from rural southwestern Pennsylvania. She and her husband are blessed with four adult children and four grandchildren. You can read more of her work at https://bethcasteel.com/ or you can check out her chapter in two collaborative books, Crowned With Grace, and Cloud of Witnesses, available at https://store.
Feature Image Credit: Yanetzirch, pixabay.com/vectors/heart-sacred-religion-christian-7335165/
The views and opinions expressed in the Inspiration Daily blog are solely those of the original authors and contributors. These views and opinions do not necessarily represent those of Diocesan, the Diocesan staff, or other contributors to this blog.
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