Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/061512.cfm

When Israel was a child I loved him,
out of Egypt I called my son.
Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk,
who took them in my arms;
I drew them with human cords,
with bands of love;
I fostered them like one
who raises an infant to his cheeks.

The 8^th century BC prophet Hosea was a pretty hard fellow and his message was stern but there are moments when we hear our broken-hearted God speak through his voice. The passage above speaks of God’s tender love for his people. He would be a father to a toddling child, teaching the boy how to walk, drawing him with bands of love to his human heart. He would embrace the child, holding him to his hairy cheeks and reassuring him that he has all things well in hand.

The mission of the Church is, among other things, to correct the first impressions people have of God. Many people suppose God is like their own parents; that is not an unreasonable supposition. But it’s nearly always misleading and often just plain wrong. If their father was absent, they suppose God is distant and aloof. If their mother was cold, they think God is dispassionate. If their parents beat, slapped or spanked them, they suppose God is violent, irrational, and cruelly invasive. Our first experience of power is our first impression of God.

And of course, it takes only one painful experience to erase dozens of pleasant ones. I might turn on a light bulb hundreds of times but if I get an electric shock off of one of them I will be wary of light bulbs for a long time to come. Trauma has that effect. So we may hear people speak of a kindly, benevolent God but we always know he Has The Power and may use it at any time.

The Sacred Heart of Jesus teaches us the mystery of God’s gentle compassion. The Image rises not so much from our formal doctrines, nor even our interpretation of scripture, as from our common need for reassurance. If popes and bishops have encouraged us to revere the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the devotion began among the people. The Magisterium learned it as children at their mothers’ breasts. A cloistered nun, denied the ordinary comforts of human touch, was enflamed with the message and promoted the devotion.

Human beings always need discipline. We must continually live as if in an armed camp, wary of the enemy, alert to evil threats and eager to advance the forces of benevolence. But within this etape we must also sleep securely in the bosom of Our Savior.

P.S. I really like the two reflections I wrote on the Sacred Heart in 2011 and 2010. You might also.