Category Archives: Sacred Heart

Can you see love? Of course we cannot see love, so we use a common symbol to represent it, a heart. When we say someone has a heart of gold, it means that the person is selfless and loving. When we have a heart-to-heart talk with a friend, we are expressing our deepest care and concern towards  someone we love. When we say, “have a heart,” we are asking someone to be more considerate or caring. The heart can also be understood in various ways. Scientifically and medically speaking, it is a vital organ. If the heart stops completely, we die, simple as that. Psychologically speaking, the heart is seen as the center of emotions and feelings. Morally speaking, the heart is the seat of good or evil, because out of the heart flows our words and actions that tell us whether what is being said or done is good or bad.

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. The Sacred Heart of Jesus that we see on pictures is a symbol reminding us of God’s divine love, the greatest love of all. The Sacred Heart of Jesus is aflame with love, radiant with love, wounded with love for each and every one of us. The image of the Heart of Jesus focuses on the self-sacrificing of Jesus Christ for us. It is this image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus which reminds us that Jesus is our shepherd, who is constantly calling out to us, sinners, to return to Him.

Today’s Gospel tells us that when sinners return to Jesus, “there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one repentant sinner than over ninety-nine virtuous men who have no need of repentance.” The Sacred Heart of Jesus is beckoning us to “have a heart” and come back to Jesus, so that we will live. May we strive to be closer to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and let Jesus’ heart heal us, and transform us, so that in all we say and do, we will glorify God.

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.

What is the Sacred Heart of Jesus? God loved the world so much that He sent us His only son, Jesus, to save us. There are different ways that Jesus had described or showed God’s love for us, but perhaps one significant way of telling us of God’s love for us is the heart, the human symbol of love. He told us that we should learn of him that he was meek and humble of heart and we would find rest for our souls.

People knew this meek and humble heart of Jesus and they knew that it beat with unconditional love for them. Rough, simple fishermen leave their boats and nets to follow him. Learned doctors sit at his feet to hear his wisdom. A tax collector leaves his money table to become his disciple. Multitudes follow him for days, so captivated that they forget to prepare food to eat. The sick fight their way through the crowds just to touch the hem of his garment. And they all found peace and rest for their souls.

The Sacred Heart of Jesus is the symbol of the fidelity of God’s love. It reminds us that God loves us unconditionally with a love we cannot earn or ever be worthy of. And he loves us for ourselves, not as we should be, or possibly could be.