A Sunday Thought About the Sacred Heart to Start the Week Off Right
We've been spending a lot of time on ideas and suggestions for staying strong in the midst of this current mess. There's plenty we can do. But in the end, of course, all that happens is God's Will. He either actively wills what happens or he permits it to happen. An understanding of the permissive will of God helps us to reconcile our understanding that all happens according to His will with the fact that bad things sometimes happen. And our current mess falls into the "bad things" category.
While this mess effects each of us differently, missing the physical presence of loved ones and friends has been, I suspect, somewhat common to many of us. It's certainly the case in our family. We recently - for the first time since the lockdown began in our neck of the woods on March 16th - got together with family in our yard. We more or less "distanced," but being physically together really was a treat. FaceTime, Duo, Zoom, etc. are better than nothing, but they're no substitute.
Even before this mess began, we weren't always able to get together with family as much as we might like. Photos help to some extent. I took a lot during our recent get-together and have looked at them from time to time. Again, no substitute, but they help.
This month is devoted to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. And, speaking of pictures, in our home, we have a picture of the Sacred Heart. Years ago, when our kids were all living here with us, we dedicated our family to His Sacred Heart. That picture remains today where it was then.
At one time, devotion to the Sacred Heart was more common to Catholics. Indeed the Jesuits once were major teachers and proponents of this devotion. Those were the days! You don't hear much about the Sacred Heart from the Jesuits these days - that's for sure.
I'm glad we kept the picture of the Sacred Heart in place, even though our family's scattered now. First, it's obviously a good reminder of the love that Jesus has for us. But it also recalls a time when we as a family were here together, physically in the same place. Happy memories!
But our picture also plays role in our home it never did in the past. Because of our current mess, we cannot be physically with Our Lord. Our parish church opens for only a couple hours each day. I've been to visit the Blessed Sacrament a few times since the lockdown of our churches. But my work schedule limits that. And, of, course, we can't receive Holy Communion. So our picture brings us as close as we're likely to get to Jesus - at least for a while. It's not substitute for the real deal, but at least it's something.
Hold on a minute! That's not right. Our Lord is, in fact, here, now. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost dwell within the soul of anyone in the state of grace. We can look at a picture of our family members who remain physically at a distance. We can say they remain in our hearts and minds. That's true.
Our picture of the Sacred Heart might also remind us in the same way that Jesus remains in our hearts, our mind. But it's different with Jesus- and it's a BIG difference. In actual fact, He is present - really present - in our souls. That's more than just "something."
When our parish church finally opens again (It will, right?), when things return to normal (They will, right?), our picture of the Sacred Heart will remain just as it is. It will continue to remind us of Jesus love for us. It will recall our dedication of our family to the Sacred Heart. And even when our family can more freely get together, it will likely still bring us memories of a time when we all lived together.
I hope it also continues to remind us that Jesus, His Father, and His Holy Spirit, dwell within us. Even when we can physically "touch" Him again, it's important to know He will always be with us, and will always love us.
All we have to do is love Him.
Of course there's that little matter (little?) of being in the state of grace. But that shouldn't present any problem if we really do love Him. Remember what St. John said about love:
"And this is charity (love), that we walk according to his commandments." (2 John: 1)
If we love Him, it's no big deal to do that, right?
While this mess effects each of us differently, missing the physical presence of loved ones and friends has been, I suspect, somewhat common to many of us. It's certainly the case in our family. We recently - for the first time since the lockdown began in our neck of the woods on March 16th - got together with family in our yard. We more or less "distanced," but being physically together really was a treat. FaceTime, Duo, Zoom, etc. are better than nothing, but they're no substitute.
Even before this mess began, we weren't always able to get together with family as much as we might like. Photos help to some extent. I took a lot during our recent get-together and have looked at them from time to time. Again, no substitute, but they help.
This month is devoted to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. And, speaking of pictures, in our home, we have a picture of the Sacred Heart. Years ago, when our kids were all living here with us, we dedicated our family to His Sacred Heart. That picture remains today where it was then.
At one time, devotion to the Sacred Heart was more common to Catholics. Indeed the Jesuits once were major teachers and proponents of this devotion. Those were the days! You don't hear much about the Sacred Heart from the Jesuits these days - that's for sure.
I'm glad we kept the picture of the Sacred Heart in place, even though our family's scattered now. First, it's obviously a good reminder of the love that Jesus has for us. But it also recalls a time when we as a family were here together, physically in the same place. Happy memories!
But our picture also plays role in our home it never did in the past. Because of our current mess, we cannot be physically with Our Lord. Our parish church opens for only a couple hours each day. I've been to visit the Blessed Sacrament a few times since the lockdown of our churches. But my work schedule limits that. And, of, course, we can't receive Holy Communion. So our picture brings us as close as we're likely to get to Jesus - at least for a while. It's not substitute for the real deal, but at least it's something.
Hold on a minute! That's not right. Our Lord is, in fact, here, now. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost dwell within the soul of anyone in the state of grace. We can look at a picture of our family members who remain physically at a distance. We can say they remain in our hearts and minds. That's true.
Our picture of the Sacred Heart might also remind us in the same way that Jesus remains in our hearts, our mind. But it's different with Jesus- and it's a BIG difference. In actual fact, He is present - really present - in our souls. That's more than just "something."
When our parish church finally opens again (It will, right?), when things return to normal (They will, right?), our picture of the Sacred Heart will remain just as it is. It will continue to remind us of Jesus love for us. It will recall our dedication of our family to the Sacred Heart. And even when our family can more freely get together, it will likely still bring us memories of a time when we all lived together.
I hope it also continues to remind us that Jesus, His Father, and His Holy Spirit, dwell within us. Even when we can physically "touch" Him again, it's important to know He will always be with us, and will always love us.
All we have to do is love Him.
Of course there's that little matter (little?) of being in the state of grace. But that shouldn't present any problem if we really do love Him. Remember what St. John said about love:
"And this is charity (love), that we walk according to his commandments." (2 John: 1)
If we love Him, it's no big deal to do that, right?
Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us!
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