The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus: I

Homily
SOLEMNITY OF THE MOST SACRED HEART OF JESUS
3 JUNE 2005

Matthew 11: 25-30

[Mat 11:25] At that time Jesus said in reply, "I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike.
[Mat 11:26] Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will.
[Mat 11:27] All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.
[Mat 11:28] "Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.
[Mat 11:29] Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for your selves.
[Mat 11:30] For my yoke is easy, and my burden light."
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Today is the solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

When a poker is placed in fire, it eventually begins to glow. It radiates heat; however, it is not the source of that heat. Rather, it takes on the characteristics of that fire into which it has been plunged. Without the fire, it is cold and dark. With its immersion into that fire, it become warm, then hot, then glows red, and can in some cases even become white-hot.

Our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ, when assuming human nature, became a man like other men, in all things save sin. He had a body like ours, with a heart like ours. The message of today's solemnity is that God has a human heart. As it is with all of us, His heart is a physiological organ necessary for human life. It is also the emblem of human emotions, foremost among which is love. Since the love of God is infinite, that love is focused by the heart of Jesus to make of it a burning furnace of charity.

The more aloof we remain from Jesus, the more our hearts resemble the cold, dark poker. The closer we draw to him, the more our hearts manifest the character of His divine love: first becoming warm, then hot, then red-hot, and in the case of great saints, white-hot. We draw close to Him by a disciplined prayer life and sacramental life, especially in frequent reception of Holy Communion. This corresponds to our acquiring the heat of His love. But just as the poker, when heated, radiates its heat, so do we give out the heat of His love in acts of charity to and with our neighbor.

The divine love manifested to us by His Sacred Heart makes Jesus a true icon of His heavenly Father here on earth:

[John 14:9] Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you for so long a time and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'?

To the extent that our hearts are united to Jesus' heart, we show forth the Father to the world, thereby helping to make grow the Father's Kingdom here on earth.

We say that the love of God is infinite. Our notions of "infinity" are all negative: the word itself means "not finite", that is, without limit. There is no limit to the love of God for each of us, and none of us should place a limit on the love we return in response to His love. As has been well said, "the only measure of our love for God is that we love Him without measure".

Mathematicians have a quaint symbol for what they refer to as "infinity": a figure eight lying on its side. The idea is that this symbol suggests an endless tracing around its contour. But the infinity of the love of God cannot be symbolized by a figure that is closed in on itself.

The true sign of infinity is the cross: its vertical beam joins heaven to earth, and its horizontal beam embraces the breadth of the entire created universe. Where the beams meet is the Sacred Heart of Jesus.