Among the many organs in our body, the heart is among the more important organs. Your brain and other organs may fail, but you would be able to continue surviving as long as your heart is pumping and distributing blood to other parts of your body. Once your heart stops, you will die. The heart is also commonly used as a symbol of love. But the kind of love we profess to each other is imperfect, compared to the kind of love God has for us.
In today’s first reading, we come across a God who loves Israel so much and poured so much affection on them, even though they had not appreciated God’s love. Even though God had been angry with Israel’s conduct, He relented and did not destroy Israel, as the reading tells us about God: “I will not give rein to my fierce anger, I will not destroy Ephraim again, for I am God, not man: I am the Holy One in your midst and have no wish to destroy.” Such is the magnitude and immensity of God’s love. Likewise, the second reading tells us of God’s tremendous love for us, that He sent His Son Jesus to save us and strengthen us: “Out of his infinite glory, may he give you the power through his Spirit for your hidden self to grow strong, so that Christ may live in your hearts through faith, and then, planted in love and built on love, you will with all the saints have strength to grasp the breadth and the length, the height and the depth; until, knowing the love of Christ, which is beyond all knowledge, you are filled with the utter fullness of God.” Moreover, in the Gospel, we are reminded of God’s love when Jesus was crucified and died to save us from our sins.
If God loves us so much and even sent His only Son to save us, then how are we showing such love to others around us? Notice that God did not send His Son only to a certain group, and He did not love only a certain group; God loves everyone, regardless whether they are good or bad. The Sacred Heart of Jesus is a reminder to us that God’s love has no limits or bounds, and that He loves all of us, and we are encouraged, not forced, to return to His friendship and build a close relationship with Him. May we open our hearts and let the Sacred Heart of Jesus guide us, so that we too can love others the way Jesus loves us, and together grow as brothers and sisters in Christ, one family of God.