Jesus called Margaret Mary “the Beloved Disciple of the Sacred Heart.” As I learned more about the Oblates and Salesian Spiritualty, I came to understand the importance of the heart to the Salesian way of life...
Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
For the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales, devotion to the Sacred Heart is an important part of our spiritual tradition, which comes to us from the Sisters of the Visitation of Holy Mary who had a direct influence in our founding as a Congregation. This year marks the 350th anniversary of the first apparition of the Sacred Heart to the young Visitandine nun, Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque.
The Oblates renew our consecration to the Sacred Heart on the First Friday of each month. The Sacred Heart of Jesus reminds us of God’s love and mercy for humanity, and so we learn in the Salesian tradition that devotion is the human heart longing to beat in rhythm with the heart of God, in “heart to heart” communication, with the Heart of Jesus mediating that relationship. Thus, we strive to “Live Jesus” as portrayed in the Gospel of Matthew: “Learn from me, for I am gentle and humble of heart.”
Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Sacred Heart Valentine
As we approach the middle of February, we don’t have to look too far to see images of Valentine’s Day in homes, shops and supermarkets. Candy, cupids and flowers are also on display, but it is the heart that has become the primary symbol of romance and love. Many histories of Valentine’s Day propose that the stylized image of a human heart became so popular because it appeals to our senses. Most of us understand the importance of the heart for our health and well-being and this has been translated into seeing love as central to our life.
In Catholic culture, the Sacred Heart of Jesus has become an icon of God’s love and mercy. It is a centuries-old tradition that focuses on Christ’s physical heart as a symbol of His love for humanity. The devotion has roots in the Middle Ages but it was in the late 17th century that Jesus appeared to Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque, a Visitation nun in France. The Salesian tradition has always emphasized the love of God and the significance of speaking to one another “heart to heart.” So, it was fitting that Christ chose to communicate His love for all humanity to a spiritual daughter of Saint Francis de Sales and Saint Jane de Chantal.
In many ways, this devotion may have become popular for the same reasons the heart symbol gained prominence among romantics. The Sacred Heart is a very tangible reminder of the love and mercy God has for His children.
The Church encourages us to remember the Heart of Jesus throughout the year. On the first Friday of each month, special prayers, litanies and holy hours are offered as Catholics recall the love of Jesus. The actual feast of the Sacred Heart is celebrated each year a few weeks after Easter and Pentecost.
In popular culture, the month of February is filled with heart shapes, love songs and romantic cards and decorations. As we walk down the aisles of our drugstores and supermarkets, maybe we can walk with Saint Valentine. As a Christian bishop, he often preached the words of Jesus, “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble of heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:29).
My hope is that the Heart of Jesus will inspire us all year round. Like Saint Margaret Mary, my prayer is that the Kingdom of Christ will be established in our own hearts. And may we be able to say, along with the disciples walking to Emmaus, “Were not our hearts burning within us when he talked to us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” (Luke 24:32).
Reverend Jack Kolodziej, OSFS
Provincial
Wilmington-Philadelphia Province
Live + Jesus
As the feast of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque approaches, our minds turn to our Sister who was entrusted with an important mission in the life of the Church: to let people in a world that had grown cold, know of the intense love of the Sacred Heart of Jesus for all God’s people.
St. Margaret Mary’s life was scarred by multiple sufferings of body, mind, and heart, both in her early life and within the walls of the Visitation in Paray le Monial. After her father’s premature death, she and her mother suffered intense abuse from relatives with whom they were forced to live. A mysterious illness kept Margaret bedridden for four of her teenage years.
Upon entrance into the Visitation Order, in 1671, Margaret did not fit into the usual mold of a Visitation sister. Her motives in sharing the revelations of the Sacred Heart, which had been entrusted to her heart, were questioned by her superiors and sisters. They saw her conduct contrary to the simplicity of the Visitation. Yet these multiple sufferings were God’s way of preparing the heart of St. Margaret Mary to be the recipient of the love of His Sacred Heart. She was to be his emissary in letting a world that was detached from spiritual values know of the intense love of his Sacred Heart.
From the earliest years of the foundation of the Visitation Order, our sisters have placed the Sacred Heart at the center of our lives as followers of Jesus. Our Spiritual Directory encourages us, after receiving the Eucharist, to see our Lord as seated in the center of our hearts and to bring before him all our powers and senses, to envision his commands and to promise a faithful response to them. This prayer helps us to live in the presence of God, to accept as coming from His loving Heart the events of our day, and to strive always to live the little virtues of the Sacred Heart, especially gentleness and humility.
My favorite Scriptural passage is in St. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. (3: 14-21). I paraphrase it a bit.
“For this reason, I fall on my knees before the Father from whom every family in heaven and on earth receives its true name. I kneel before the Father so he may grant me, in accord with the riches of his glory, the grace to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in my inner self. Why? So that Christ may dwell in my heart through faith; that rooted and grounded in love, I may have the strength to comprehend with all the holy ones what is the breadth and length, the height and depth of God’s love, and to know personally the love of Christ that surpasses all knowledge.” It is the love of Christ that will lead me to the very fullness of God and will help me learn anew each day how to live an ever-deeper life of faith.
What is the Sacred Heart of Jesus calling us to in light of today’s world – a world that is torn by division and turmoil on every level? Our best response is to prayerfully cast our minds and hearts into the Heart of Jesus and to pray earnestly that a quiet acceptance and living of the values of His Sacred Heart may begin to permeate areas of conflict. Prayer is our mightiest weapon.
Sister Mary Berchmans, VHM
Superior of the Georgetown Visitation Monastery
Washington, DC.
