Fullness is Emptying
Today we celebrate the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus – Heart represents love, nay, the whole person. When we say someone is large hearted, we mean he/she is a very generous person. We celebrate the immensity of love of Jesus, we celebrate his emptying himself for us out of his finite love for us, we celebrate his everlasting compassion, and we celebrate, as Ignatius would put it, Jesus is working for us in the creatures.
Head, Heart, and Hand: Two millennia ago, Buddha said: brain has no answers and heart has no questions. Brain knows to rationally question and analyze people and events, but heart is capable of overlooking all minuses in a person and transcend one’s shortcomings, even betrayal, and could still love the person. Whoever follows his/her heart will not go wrong. Heart is on the left but it is always right when it directs you. In addition to Buddha’s wisdom about head and heart, we could add hand as well. As John says in his first letter: love has to be expressed not in mere words but in deeds and in truth (I Jn 3:18). When we think of the Sacred Heart, we think of our action-oriented love that consumed Jesus during his life on this earth and today as the sparks of his heart burning with love and zeal, we need to bring to fullness and fruition the love of Jesus in deed.
Strange facts about the Heart: Have we ever thought about the stamina and resilience of our heart? Have we ever asked the question: Does the heart take rest? At times the heart seems to beat slower but other times it beats faster. It is the reflection of our emotional status. It is said that our tissues in the body follow a cycle of seven years – Tissues are renewed in about seven years. But the heart is created to tick all the time with the same tissues – It is made of tough muscle as it has to work for life. Heart is a symbol of tenderness but its muscles are made tough to last for one’s entire life span.
The average heart is the size of a fist in an adult. Our heart will beat about 115,000 times every day. And it pumps about 7,570 litres of blood every day without taking any break, Casual Leave or Medical Leave. An electrical system controls the rhythm of our heart. And the wonder about the heart is that it can continue beating even when it’s disconnected from the body. According to a study, most heart attacks happen on Mondays; and Christmas is the day of the year for most heart attacks to happen. A woman’s heart beats slightly faster than a man’s heart. The beating sound of your heart is caused by the valves of heart opening and closing. Heart cells stops dividing, which means that heart cancer is extremely rare. It has been found that laughing is good for your heart as it reduces stress and gives a boost to your immune system.[1]
History: Devotion to the Sacred Heart began already in the 2nd century with St Justin, the Martyr, and it grew in the 7th century with Pope Gregory, the Great. The emphasis was on the pierced side of Christ as the inexhaustible source from which all graces flow upon mankind and the blood and water became symbols of the sacraments of the Church. The widespread influence of Franciscan and Dominican Friars enkindled this devotion and the focus shifted from Sacred Heart as symbol of the sacraments to the symbol of Divine Love. St Margaret Mary Alacoque popularized the devotion to the Sacred Heart. The Jesuit St Claude la Columbiere was instrumental for this devotion being entrusted to the Jesuits.[2]
In 1688, six years after de la Columbiere’s death, Sr Margaret had a final vision in which the Lord entrusted to the Sisters of the Visitation and to the Society of Jesus the task of transmitting to the world the experience and understanding of the Sacred Heart. Two hundred years later, the Society of Jesus officially accepted this ‘most agreeable task’ with the decree 46 of the 23rd General Congregation (1883) to practice, promote, and propagate this devotion and entrusted it to the Apostleship of Prayer.[3] In 1986 Pope John Paul II confirmed the Society of Jesus in its mission received from Christ himself of disseminating devotion to His divine Heart, and also in the selection of the Apostleship of Prayer as its instrument of choice to carry out this mission.[4]
Today, we understand that the heart represents the whole person: What one thinks, feels, and wants to do. The heart of Jesus represents the compassion of Jesus and His healing touch. Whoever came to him to become whole or well, he tells him/her: Your faith has healed you (Mk 5:34). The compassion of Jesus, kindles the healing power from within and the person becomes whole. The loving and compassionate heart of Jesus is the catalyst in the wellbeing of people who approached him in person and all who go to him in prayer today. The heart of Jesus felt for the hungry when they followed him for three days – The five loaves and the two fish, the boy had, were more than sufficient for 5,000 people (Mt 14:17). It is his understanding that sent the girl with the words of comfort: Go now and sin no more (Jn 8:11). And when he was about to breathe his last, he assured his cross-mate of his continued companionship in paradise (Lk 23:43). And these feelings of compassion, forgiveness, and prosperity for others come from the heart of Jesus. And Jesus expects that we develop the same heart within us. As Teresa of Avila says: “Christ has no body now but yours, no hands, no feet on earth but yours. Yours are the eyes with which he looks with compassion.” And we can add: He has no heart but ours to love all in this globe.
Readings of the Day: The readings today have the central theme God’s or Jesus’ love and compassion as a good shepherd – The space and time as well as the breath and dream of a shepherd are about his sheep. As Ezekiel says this shepherd will seek out his sheep, will rescue the ones in danger, bring them and feed them on the mountain (Ez 34:11-16). And in response the sheep would sing: Near restful waters he leads me, he refreshes my soul, and guides me along the right path. So, even if I walk through the valley of death, his crook and staff will give me comfort (Ps 23). This is because, as Paul tells the Romans, God pours His love on us through Jesus Christ – His love does not merely trickle down but pours down, trenches us, and bathes us. In this love, justice is replaced by reconciliation, and sufferings gets transformed into joy. And Jesus, according to Luke, presents himself as a committed shepherd. For him each one counts – In his calculation one is more than 99. He is ready to take all the risk to look for the lost one and when found he rejoices and pours his love on the lost one (Lk 15:3-7). Jesus considers each one as part of Himself and he lives for them and dies for them.
Today: The Sacred Heart today should mean bounty and infinite love of God revealed in and through Jesus. The tendency could be that the heart is removed from the person. Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is not per se about the organ heart but the person. It is the celebration of fullness of Jesus’ love which was emptied on us for our goodness. It is, hence, a reminder that we need to realize and renew Jesus’ heart in us – If we are created in the image and likeness of God (Gen 1:27), we possess a tiny part of Jesus’ heart within us. And so we need to embrace the world, especially the needy and the less-loved, in love and compassion, as Jesus did.
In the story of The Happy Prince by Oscar Wilde (published in 1888), a swallow misses the flock during the winter flight to Egypt. It takes shelter under the golden statue of the Prince in a city. The Prince was gilded all over with thin leaves of fine gold, for eyes he had two bright sapphires, and a large red ruby glowed on his sword-hilt. On the recommendation of the Prince the swallow removes the sapphires, ruby, and golden leaves and passes them on to the poor people. When the Prince was, thus, denuded, there is nothing left and one night the swallow drops down dead at the feet of the Prince due to unbearable cold and the heart of the Prince too cracks. ‘Love ought to be shown in deeds’, is the take home point from the feast of Sacred Heart of Jesus. Jesus is the Prince and we each one are a little swallow as his messengers of love and compassion.
Message of Sacred Heart: Compassion is what should be the propelling dynamism within us. When Vallalar said that he felt sad whenever he saw a withering sapling, it was his universal compassion. And today, as we celebrate the feast of the Sacred Heart, we need to move from comfort of abundance to compassion for the needy. We need to start loving all, beginning with reconciliation with self, others, and with God. We need to live in harmony and unity – The pierced heart of Jesus will not close up unless and until we establish harmony and understanding in the world around us. Infinite love of Jesus is meant to be emptied in the service of the needy and the marginalized.
At times we walk about with heavy heart filled with hurt feelings: When we recollect on who or what hurts us most, we realize it is not people or events but our own expectations. Our disappointments are proportional to our expectations. Give without expecting anything in return: If you get anything in return rejoice, otherwise, you would not go sad or disappointed. A bird sings not because it has any obligation to sing, but it has a song to sing and it sings freely. We love and serve others, not because we are forced to do so, but we have opted for the love of others. Jesus loved us and this love has to be passed on to others in words and deeds. Sacred Heart is about being human – And the fullness of humanness becomes divine. And this fullness of love is emptying itself in service. Heart of Jesus symbolizes compassion and service – His compassion led him to those in need and that made him serve them. Human beings are a combination of tears and smile – Compassion wipes the tears of others and the sense of service brings about smile in others. Let us have this heart of Jesus. While we continue to trust in the Sacred Heart of Jesus, let us be the heart beats of Jesus, the compassionate. Happy feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
* Feast of Sacred Heart of Jesus (Homily: 24Jun2022)
Readings: Ez 34:11-16, Rom 5:5b-11, Lk 15:3-7.
Francis P Xavier SJ
[1] https://www.healthline.com/health/fun-facts-about-the-heart#The-takeaway
[2] https://sacredheartbasilica.com/history-and-devotion-of-the-sacred-heart-of-jesushttps://sacredheartbasilica.com/history-and-devotion-of-the-sacred-heart-of-jesus
[3] https://www.jesuits.global/2020/06/18/devotion-to-the-heart-of-jesus-a-long-history-and-many-jesuits/
[4] https://www.popesprayer.va/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/1-The-Jesuits-and-Devotion-to-the-Heart-of-Jesus-ENG-DEF.pdf