[Salvation]

The Word Among Us

Meditation: Luke 15:3-7

The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

“There will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance.” (Luke 15:7)

The heart has always been recognized as the essence of a person, the place where someone’s deepest desires, longings, and fears reside. The heart is also known as the wellspring of our love. There are a number of phrases that express this centrality of the heart. For instance, we say, “Let’s get to the heart of the matter,” “I am putting my whole heart into this activity,” or “Take what I say to heart.” We say, “I love you with all my heart,” and when things don’t go well, we say, “You have broken my heart.”

Today the Church celebrates the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. It’s a day to recall how deeply Jesus loves us. It’s a day to recall that he poured out everything so that we could be saved, every last drop of his blood. And because he gave everything so willingly, his sacrifice was the perfect offering of love.

But we don’t just recall Jesus’ love manifested way back then on Calvary. Today and every day, Jesus continues to pour himself out for us, offering us his grace, his peace, his consolation, his mercy, and—most of all— his love.

Today’s Gospel reading shows another dimension of the Sacred Heart. The image Jesus used of a shepherd willing to leave the flock in search of the lost sheep tells us that he is willing to risk everything for the sake of one lost sheep. That’s how earnest he is about bringing home those people who have lost their way.

Brothers and sisters, Jesus loves everyone. He suffers over everyone who has strayed from him. He rejoices over everyone who turns back to him—and so does everyone in heaven. So take some time to fix your eyes on Jesus today. Focus on his Sacred Heart. Let him speak words of love to you. Let him convince you that you are precious in his eyes. And then, listen as he asks you, “My child, will you now go out and be a messenger of my Sacred Heart to all the lost sheep?”

“Yes, Lord, I will go. Make me an ambassador of your love!”

Ezekiel 34:11-16; Psalm 23:1-6; Romans 5:5-11

[Salvation]

A Christian Pilgrim

JUST FIFTEEN SECONDS A DAY 

Did you know that fifteen seconds can change your entire day? You struggle out of bed in the morning and face another eight hour grind at the office or a monotonous day at the factory. You scramble off to school for another unexciting five hours of grueling exams and lectures. You see nothing glamorous in a washing machine full of soiled diapers or a sink full of dirty dishes. You find the joy of a smiling friendly face so short-lived; the dull hammering pain of a headache – oh, so long lasting!! But, there can be something behind every action and duty, no matter how trivial or boring, that can transform it into something noble and eternally important. Yes, there can be something purposeful in the washer full of diapers – something meaningful in both the joys and sorrows, pains and aches, successes and failures of each day. 

The difference in your day is the fifteen seconds it takes you to say “The Morning Offering” prayer. With that daily offering as the purifying element of intention, every prayer, work, joy and suffering of the day becomes fuel for that blazing Furnace of Divine Love – the Sacred Heart of Jesus! Then your sink is linked to thousands of altars throughout the world; your headache is united with the slow, rotting martyrdom of an imprisoned priest in a concentration camp in China, your joys and successes rise up with the alleluias and hosannas to the Risen Savior; your whole life becomes a continued refrain of adoration, thanksgiving, praise and reparation to the Creator of the Universe – all for one fifteen-second, “Morning Offering” of your day for the same intentions that burn in the Sacred Heart. This daily consecration of self through the Morning Offering prayer is the very essence of the Apostleship of Prayer, and because of it everything is transformed into supernatural value for all eternity. This is not a devotion, but a complete way of life. Through it, all people of every race and color, lay people, as well as those in the service of God, participate as hidden dynamos of supernatural power, thus not only sanctifying themselves but overflowing out to those who are near and dear – even to the farthest corners of the world! 

Back in the year 1844, at Val, France, a Jesuit priest, Father Francis Xavier Gautrelet, realized the hidden value of this Apostleship of Prayer and inspired the young seminarians preparing for the priesthood and missionary life to be apostles at home, at least in spirit, while still in studies. He suggested that they daily offer up to God their prayers, duties, studies, play and sacrifices, and through these to beg God’s help for the priests and missionaries already in the field and the graces for conversions. 

The suggestion caught fire and soon spread to neighboring villages, churches, convents, and other institutions. It wasn’t long until the whole country of France and other countries were captivated by this idea of becoming apostles of prayer by this daily consecration of prayers, works, joys and sufferings. Since then the Apostleship of Prayer has spread throughout the world until today it is estimated that there are nearly forty million members, including six million in the United States alone. With it grew also the practice of First Friday Holy Communions of Reparation, the devotion to the Holy Hour, the Consecration of the Family and other devotions to the Sacred Heart. 

The tremendous success and secret of this crusade for souls is the fact that in it we are all one in the Mystical Body of which Christ is the Head, and whatever good we do has an effect on the other members. I might liken this spread of sanctity to the chain reaction of a single atom splitting up, and then having an effect on another atom as it in turn splits up and then another and another, millions of times over, each affecting the other until finally there is a mighty explosion. In the Mystical Body the impact of the total sanctity of each member is so supernaturally dynamic as to cover the whole face of the earth with the love of God. This is how we become twenty four hour a day apostles without going to the missions, without preaching sermons. This is the Apostleship of Prayer. 

God Bless and keep you in His Sacred Heart now and forever. 

Note: Taken from Fr. Frank Parrish SJ, SPARKS FROM HIS HEART, La Cañada Flintridge, California 91012-5521: OAKTREE BOOKS, 1992, pages 4-5.