Sermon on the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Introduction:

We are celebrating today the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Let us see therefore the meaning of this feast.

1.      The proper meaning of “Heart”:

The word “Heart” refers first of all directly to the physical organ which we have in our chest, this marvellous pump ensuring the blood flow in our body. So, when we speak about the Sacred Heart of Jesus, we mean his physical human heart, the one formed in the womb of the Blessed Virgin, the one which has been pierced with a lance on Good Friday evening.

But our body does not have life by itself but from the soul, principle of its existence. So, the more essential an organ of the body is, the more intimately connected to the soul it is, and the more we associate that organ with our soul. But the heart is a masterpiece of the human body, so essential to its life that when we speak about it, indirectly we mean the soul itself with its intelligence, will and free will, and we  don’t hesitate to say: the heart loves, hates, desires, fears, gets angry, is saddened or rejoices. When we speak about the Sacred Heart of Jesus, we refer therefore to the human soul of Our Lord Jesus with his human intelligence, human will and all His virtues, all His holiness.

But since Our Lord Jesus is true God and true man, since it is the Second Person of the Holy Trinity who monitors that body and that soul, the Sacred Heart of Jesus refers to the Divinity, and to worship the Sacred Heart means to worship God the Son.

In the Litany of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, we profess all these meanings. We refer to the perfections of the physical heart of Jesus when we say for example: “Heart of Jesus, formed in the womb of the Blessed Virgin”; we refer to the holy soul of Our Lord when we say for example: “Heart of Jesus, abyss of all virtues”; we refer to the Divinity of Our Lord Jesus when we say for example: “Heart of Jesus of infinite majesty”.

2.      The metaphorical meaning of “Heart”

In all the languages of the world, the word “heart” has also a metaphorical or symbolic meaning, which is love. And this is not purely conventional as we say for example that the flower rose is the symbol of love, it is rooted in the reality of our human nature.

We call “Love” the tendency or inclination we have towards something or somebody. Love can be sensible, emotional or passional when it comes from our sensibility; it is intellectual or spiritual when it comes from our soul, our will. Why is then the heart the symbol of our passional and spiritual love? Because our physical heart feels more than any other organ these movements of our sensibility or of our will and will react accordingly: our heartbeat increases when we love. So, when we speak about the Sacred Heart of Jesus, we mean His love. And since Our Lord Jesus is true God and true Man, we mean His human love and His Divine love. In the Gospel, we see these two loves of Our Lord: for example when He cried at Lazarus’ tomb, or when He felt pity for the hungry people who had followed Him for 3 days and He decided to multiply the bread for them. Our Lord was moved in His sensibility. Also He manifested his spiritual love when with all the strength of his will He accepted all the torments of the Passion for our salvation: “Greater love than this no man has, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (Jn 15;13). The divine Love of Our Lord Jesus was especially manifested at the end of the Last Supper when Our Lord prayed to the Father that we may be introduced in the Divine Intimacy between the Father and the Son.

In the Litany of the Sacred Heart, the Church refers to the Divine and human love of Our Saviour when praying for example: “Heart of Jesus, vessel of justice and love”, “rich unto all that call upon Thee”, “salvation of those who hope in Thee”.

Why to celebrate the Sacred Heart of Jesus

So, today we celebrate the love of Our Saviour in general, but especially towards us. And why to consider the love of Christ for us? Is it to make ourselves feel very lovable, important and great? Not at all. We are creatures, nothing by ourselves, whatever we have, we have it from God; we are sinners and we have merited to go to hell. By our own, we have nothing to be proud of. The purpose of this feast is to make us consider all what Our Saviour did for us in order to excite in our heart a response of love. A response of love is not to try to excite in us emotional sweetness, but mainly to have the firm will to keep the Commandments of God, to be faithful to Our Lord Jesus in all the circumstances of our life: “He that has my commandments and keeps them, he it is that loves me” (Jn 14;21).

Conclusion:

To finish this short sermon, let me relate to you this anecdote from Fr Mateo Crawley-Boevey, a great promoter to the Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

There was a little girl (whose name I don’t know) who used to speak to Jesus as a little sister would do to her little brother. And Jesus used to answer her in the same way. One day Jesus asked her: "Tell me, little sister, do you love me?" – “My Little Jesus," replied the girl, we don't ask such questions” – “And why not, little sister?” – “But because you know well that I love you and that my heart is all yours” – “Yes, said Jesus, I knew it well, but you see, I love you repeating it to me, and that is why I asked you that question.” Some time later, the child who had forgotten her naive talk, felt in her turn the need to ask Jesus: "My Jesus, do you love your little sister? – “We don’t ask such questions” said Jesus - “And why not?” asked the girl – “But because you know very well that my divine Heart is entirely yours” – “You see, my dear Jesus, replied the girl, I asked because I feared that I had displeased you in some way. But now I'm very happy”.

Fr Matteo wanted to check if these conversations between Our Lord Jesus and the little girl were real and not a product of her imagination. So, one day he told the child: “Tomorrow, in your Communion, you will ask Jesus for a gift”. – “What gift, Father?” – “You will say: Dear Little Jesus, my confessor told me to ask you for a soul, as a proof that it is you who speak to me” – The girl asked: “What soul?” – “You don't need to know. Just ask for a soul who is very difficult to convert ». Later on, at her next confession, the girl told Fr Matteo: “Father, it’s done”. The priest pretended not to remember anything, but the girl continued: “You told me to ask the good Jesus for a proof. Well, He said to me, ‘My little sister, it's done’. He told me also: "Ask me for souls and I will give them to you; tell Father to always ask me for souls, and they will be granted to him. But you must be very humble, obedient and loving, and you must make sacrifices to earn these souls. But remember, don’t do anything without asking first your confessor's permission; if he allows it, it's fine; if he doesn't, I prefer your obedience”. That little girl indeed used to do great penances at her young age. Then the child carried on telling the priest: “Father, that soul whom you asked for is coming, please give me the absolution quickly, because Jesus said that he would come the day I go to confession... I feel he is coming; he is here... ». Then, as the little girl was going to the altar to do her penance, Fr Matteo went out of the confessional and saw entering in front of him a well-known man, who was completely ungodly. This man went straight to Fr Matteo: "Father, I don't know how it happened, but I feel overcome by God’s grace, I feel totally different. I have come to you for confession... »

See in this true story an example of the simple, sincere and complete friendship which Our Lord Jesus wants to develop with us; and also see how Our Lord cannot deny anything to somebody who gives Him everything.