WONDERING GURU
Sacred
Heart Story: Years
ago, divers located the wreckage of a 400 years old Spanish ship buried off the
coast of Northern Ireland. Among the
treasures found in the wreckage was a man’s gold wedding ring. When it was
cleaned up, it revealed a very striking inscription. Etched into the wide band
was a hand holding a heart and these words: “I have
nothing more to give you”.
God
the Father did the same with us. He gave
us his only son and said “I have nothing
more to give you except my most beloved son”. Jesus said “There is no
greater love than to lay down one's life for one's friends”. (Jn 15:13). God the
Father laid down his life by sending his own son. God the son laid down his
life on the cross. The
Sacred heart of Jesus dying on the cross says I have given everything for you.
I have nothing more to give you. Do you
believe that?
The
origin of this feast can be traced back to the Benedictine and Cistercian
monasteries of 11th centuries when they began meditation on the Five Wounds of
Christ. This devotion increased because
of a German Benedictine nun, St. Gertrude (1256 –1302), but specific devotions
became popularized when St. Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647-1690), had a personal
revelation involving a series of visions of Christ as she prayed before the
Blessed Sacrament where Jesus permitted Margaret Mary—as He had once allowed
St. Gertrude—to rest her head upon his Heart. It was not until 1670, however,
that a French priest, Fr. Jean Eudes, celebrated the first Feast of the Sacred
Heart. In 1873, the devotion to the
Sacred Heart was formally approved by the Pope Pius; and from 1899 – Pope Leo
XIII recommended that all bishops throughout the world observe the feast.
This
feast normally always falls on Friday to remind us of Good Friday the day the
heart of Jesus poured out water and blood.
The heart of Jesus represents the unconditional compassionate heart of
God the Father. The gush of water and
blood from the heart of Jesus is traditionally seen as the outpouring of God’s
love for us. That is why water and blood
are powerful symbols of our sacraments of baptism and Eucharist. In baptism we
become children of God and through the Eucharist we are nourished with the
divine food.
Contemplating the Heart of Christ, we are faced with
the fundamental question of our Christian life: Where is my heart directed? St.
Thomas was invited by the Lord to touch His heart. (Jn 20:27) Thomas sees the
heart of Christ; a heart wounded for the love of humanity. That is the duty of
love to suffer for the other. Thomas sees the Divine Mercy in its physical
form. This Divine Mercy flowing from the Sacred Heart forgives, heals and
restores our joy. Every year more than a million people suffer heart attacks.
Humanity is growing economically and technologically but it is also creating a
lot of stress and depression. As a result man is always anxious and
fearful. Modern heart many times is
lonely, rejected, angry and sinful. Most of the time we are like people with
artificial hearts or plastic hearts. The root
cause of all of this is the failure to be meek and humble like the Sacred Heart
of Jesus.
The Promises of the Sacred Heart of Jesus to St. Margaret Mary
(1) "I will give
them all the graces necessary in their state of life.
(2) I will establish
peace in their homes.
(3) I will comfort them
in all their afflictions.
(4) I will be their
secure refuge during life, and above all, in death.
(5) I will bestow
abundant blessings upon all their undertakings.
(6) Sinners will find in
my Heart the source and infinite ocean of mercy.
(7) Lukewarm souls shall
become fervent.
(8) Fervent souls shall
quickly mount to high perfection.
(9) I will bless every
place in which an image of my Heart is exposed and honored.
10) I will give to
priests the gift of touching the most hardened hearts.
(11) Those who shall promote this devotion shall have their names written in my Heart.
(12) I promise you in the excessive mercy of my Heart that my all-powerful love will grant to all those who receive Holy Communion on the First Fridays in nine consecutive months the grace of final perseverance; they shall not die in my disgrace, nor without receiving their sacraments. My divine Heart shall be their safe refuge in this last moment." (1996 EWTN)
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