Hello and welcome to the third and
last of these talks concerning the Sacred Heart in which I want to consider how
we’re called to be Priests of the Sacred Heart.
One of the important purposes of
the priesthood, of course, is to share with others something of the love of God
– to help them consider that Love and to grow in their free gift of themselves to
that Love, and to do that we need to be growing in that love. In his gospel St. John records, of course, that
triple question Jesus asked Peter: “Do you love me – love me more than these?” (Jn. 21:15). He wasn’t speaking of sentimental love, but
agape love, love which is costly. He wanted to get Peter to consider in depth –
in the depths of his heart – that love which the image of the Sacred Heart
reveals. It’s this love which needs to
animate the vocation of every priest and we need to hear Jesus saying to us:
“Do you love me – more than these?” It’s
the question that needs to refresh our vocation and to which we need to
constantly return.
It’s the question reflected in
the image of the Sacred Heart and is one of the reasons why it can be of great
benefit to everyone, not least to priest.
We all know the importance of images – how they can speak more
powerfully than words – and, as we know, the image of the heart speaks across religions,
cultures and ages. Whether on a heart on
a Valentine’s card or one made with our hands, it has a warm sentimental feel;
which is the difference between those romantic hearts and the Sacred Heart. For the Sacred Heart portrays the cost of Jesus’
love shown in the way this Heart is illustrated with symbols of the Passion, so
let’s consider them for they reveal the depths of Christ’ love, a love which is
of far greater importance than the fuzzy glow that can come with a Valentine.
THE BLOOD-FILLED
HEART
Firstly, it is a heart
pumping with blood, the one organ which enables the whole body to live. Unseen, but not unheard, it works away 24/7
for the whole of our time on earth – we could manage without many of our body
parts, but not without our heart and it’s that unseen beat of the heart which
needs to animate our vocation.
THE PIERCED
HEART
Then there’s that matter of the
blood with is shown, dripping from a wound. That makes it clear how the Heart
of Jesus, like that of His Mother, was pierced; hers by a sword, his by a lance
– the holy lance of the soldier, St. Longinus – as he hung on the Cross. The lance pierced through His side into His
Heart, into what this drawing by St. Margaret Mary made clear was a reservoir of
caritas, love, from which flowed blood and water, the water of Baptism
and the blood of the Eucharist, Sacraments of the Love of God. In the past the Holy Blood was revered for
the way it was that ‘ocean of love’ which could cleanse and renew our own –
Wash
thou my wounds in that dear Blood
Which forth from thee doth flow,
New grace, new hope inspire, a new
And better heart bestow.
Which forth from thee doth flow,
New grace, new hope inspire, a new
And better heart bestow.
As Jesus said about the German
mystic, St. Gertrude: ‘The proximity of her heart to the wound in my side means
that I have so joined her heart to mine that she is able to receive, directly
and at all times, the flow of my divinity.’
So we’re also to be priests of the wounded Christ, realising that the
wounds of those with whom we minister are reflected in the Wounded Heart of Jesus.
THE CROWNED
HEART
To underline the connection
between the Sacred Heart and the Passion of Christ, the Heart is encircled by
the Crown of Thorns. Firstly, that
reminds us how it wasn’t just His body which reveals the cost of love, His mind
also paid the price. But just as the
Holy Lance which pierced the side of Jesus symbolises those ‘darts of longing
love’ which gain us entry into Christ’s heart, so we can meditate on the way this
Crown of love pierces him.
THE
CROSS-CROWNED HEART
‘Let the same mind be in you that
was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard
equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the
form of a slave, being born in human likeness’ (Phi. 2:1f). It also reminds us that, whilst we may not
find ourselves having to physically suffer for our faith, there will be many
times when we’re pierced and humbled and all we can do is hold on to our
consecration as priests of the Sacred Heart.
No wonder, then, that the Heart is surmounted by the Cross. Or, perhaps we might consider how the Cross
rests on the Sacred Heart reminding us that when we gaze on it, we must always
contemplate it as the sign of God’s love.
Priestly ministry will always be under this sign of our Master and
reminding us that we should never be surprised that we’re called to suffer with
Him. St. Teresa of Avila said: ‘the
important thing is not to think much but to love much and do that which stirs
us to love.’ How often do we place our
mind in our heart? Where is the centre
of our being – in the head or the heart?
THE FLAMING
HEART
Again, that consideration is informed
by the way the Cross is enflamed – the fire of God’s love by which so many have
said we must be consumed. ‘May the power
of your love’, prayed St. Francis of Assisi, ‘fiery and sweet as honey, so
absorb our hearts as to withdraw them from all that is under heaven. Grant that we may be ready to die for love of
your love, as you died for love of our love.’
That prayer should take us back to that triple question posed to St.
Peter, a prayer which might be one every priest should pray daily. The Sacred Heart is a warm, glowing heart, radiating
compassionate love; a hurt, open heart which is the gate of heaven and needs to
inform our priesthood.
THE
NON-DUALISTIC HEART
But there’s an aspect of some Sacred
Heart imagery many find off-putting – the way they show Jesus in an androgynous
way – he seems partly male and partly female, certainly not a man’s man! There’s a femininity about many images which
can be challenging, but which fits with the classic symbolism of the heart as
feminine and the mind as masculine; the softness and approachability of Jesus
in such images is revealed by artists who, perhaps unconsciously, knew the
Sacred Heart was meant to open us to the feminine in the divine and is meant to
answer the false dualism pictures can inevitably portray. For we know that in Christ there is neither
male nor female, we are all one in Him (Gal. 3:28), something we need to
realise in ourselves. Our priesthood needs to incarnate both the feminine
and masculine in God.
THE COSMIC HEART
Finally, I want to acknowledge
that the Sacred Heart is not only a universal symbol, it’s also a symbol of the
universe. ‘We know’, wrote St. Paul, ‘that the whole creation has been groaning
in labour pains until now’ (Roms. 8:22) and can rightly believe that, at
the heart of the universe is the Heart of Christ, the Creator. Within the Cosmic Christ is a cosmic
intimacy; the Creator we proclaim isn’t some majestic deus ex machina, but
a power of Love, a love whose nature is constantly creative. The universe is like a woman struggling in giving
birth to an infant conceived in love.
One of the reasons why devotion to
the Sacred Heart is so important is that it declares that we were made in that
image and if you want to understand what this human-being is all about, look at
the Sacred Heart. As Teilhard de Chardin
wrote in The Heart of the Matter, this devotion gave him a sense of the ‘solidity
of Christ … the immersion of the divine in the corporeal … a glowing core of fire
… able to insinuate itself everywhere … to make love of the cosmic milieu.’ Such a realisation lies behind eucharistic
living, living with a constant realisation of the loving, compassionate presence
of God in all things. As priests, we are
not only those who preside at the sacraments, we need to enable others to live sacramentally
as we deepen our own awareness of God’s loving presence in all things.
CONCLUSION
So as we come to the end of this meditation,
let’s keep a few minutes of silence at the end of which I’ll read a reflection
by the late Mother Osyth of Malling Abbey.
(Silence)
Wind,
fire and flame
the outward sign
but in the heart
breath of the spirit
love and light
heavenly dew
of
sanctifying grace
God’s very presence hallowing the place
restoring to his image
the souls face
No comments:
Post a Comment