Today’s feast of the Sacred Heart
represents the fruit of a theological inquiry that seeks to understand who
Jesus is by meditating on his humanity, particularly as summed
up by his human heart, the seat of the emotions, the fount of love, courage
and compassion.
Instead of leaving us with a completely
transcendent, impassible God, the Sacred Heart reveals a God truly with us: it
shows us God who so loved the world, that he sent his only-begotten Son to
share our humanity in the fullest way possible.
He lived a fully human life from its beginning to its natural end. He certainly knew its joys and delights, but
also fully tasted its pain and suffering. The Sacred Heart reveals to us that our God is not just merciful but
compassionate, that literally He suffered with us.
This recalls Saint Paul: “For our sake made him to be
sin who knew no sin.” It is not too
far-fetched so say that when Christ was “made to be sin who knew no sin,” He
chose to endure all the violence and degradation that we are able inflict on
one another. He chose to take a full
share of our sinfulness. By its nature, sin is damaging. It damages the human race by weakening the
bond of communion that exists among all human beings, and it damages the
individual: the wounds it inflicts leave scars that render its victims less
able to love others, and less willing to risk receiving the offer of love from
others. Jesus, when he chose to be made
sin, willingly accepted the worst we have to offer. He suffered, rejection, persecution, mockery,
torture, degradation, and an agonizing, lonely death.
The Sacred Heart reveals to us a God whose
compassion comes from a love that
takes the form of a radical and faithful solidarity. He is with us
always, to the end and beyond. The Sacred Heart of Jesus is the revelation
of God who is Love. Jesus’ disciples
encountered God’s love in his Sacred Heart and that encounter transformed their
hearts and also those of all people, so that today our hearts have become the
place where we are able to encounter God, the place where God speaks to us,
comforts us, consoles us, and shows us the way forward. The
Sacred Heart shows us not only that we are all living temples of God’s Love,
but also that everyone deserves to be treated as such.
The Sacred Heart by Odilon Redon. Excerpts from Father William's homily.
