This coming Friday we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. We will also celebrate the Centenary of the Opening of St Anne’s Church with Mass celebrate by Bishop John Arnold.
As we reflect upon the Sacred Heart of Jesus, we are drawn into a mystery so rich, so tender, and so profound, that it reaches the very depths of God’s love for humanity. The image of Christ pointing to His heart, aflame with love, pierced and crowned with thorns, speaks not only to our eyes but to our hearts.
The devotion to the Sacred Heart is not simply a sentimental tradition. It is an invitation to contemplate the most essential truth of our faith: that God is love, and that this love has been poured out in Jesus Christ. His Sacred Heart is not a symbol of a distant, abstract love—it is the living heart of our Saviour, beating with mercy, compassion, and a longing for each one of us.
When we look upon His heart, we see both suffering and glory. We see a heart wounded—pierced by a lance on Calvary, crowned with thorns as a sign of mockery – and yet still burning with love. It reminds us that Christ’s love is not diminished by pain. In fact, it is most clearly revealed in His Passion. His wounds are not signs of defeat, but of victory: the victory of self-giving love over sin, hatred, and even death.
In our own lives, how often do we close our hearts—perhaps out of fear, or past wounds, or weariness? The Sacred Heart invites us to open ourselves again. Jesus does not love us in theory. He loves us personally, particularly, and persistently. No matter how far we may wander, His heart remains open.
Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque, to whom the Sacred Heart appeared, was told by the Lord: “Behold this Heart which has so loved men.” That is still His message to the Church today. In a world that often grows cold, indifferent, and isolated, the warmth of His heart is needed more than ever. And that warmth is meant to flow through us. Devotion to the Sacred Heart is not a private refuge – it is a call to be transformed and to become vessels of Christ’s love in the world.
Let us therefore entrust ourselves again to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Let us offer Him our joys, our struggles, our families, our failures. Let us rest in His mercy and draw strength from His burning love. And let us pray for hearts that resemble His: hearts that are meek and humble, patient and forgiving, courageous and faithful.
O Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us. Make our hearts like unto Thine.
Amen.