Today we thank the Son of God for His loving, broken heart
Reflections on the readings for the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus (June 8, 2018): HOS 11:1,3-4.8-9; IS 12:2-3,4,5-6; EPH 3:8-12,14-19; JN 19:31-37
MISSIO offers “Preaching Mission,” as a homily help, providing connections to mission from the readings of Sundays, Feast Days and Holy Days.
On this feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus we honor the whole life and unending love of Christ.
We concentrate on His compassionate heart that brought Him to the cross to redeem us from the darkness of sin and death for all eternity. And we also revere the wounded heart of Jesus’ tortured body. “The soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and then of the other one who was crucified with Jesus. But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs, but one soldier thrust his lance into His side, and immediately blood and water flowed out” (John 19:32-34). Because our Lord was at once human and divine, so His heart reveals both His suffering and His love poured out for us in mercy.
While the feast day itself only dates to 1899, devotion to the passion of Christ, including His five wounds, goes back at least to the Middle Ages. All who follow Jesus must appreciate His immense gift: He laid down His own life so that we could have life everlasting. Our Redeemer let His heart be broken so that we could become whole. Let us open ourselves to Him and trust Him with our whole being – body and soul. Only when we are in Christ’s presence will we begin to comprehend the vastness and depth of love He bears in His heart for each of us.
