The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today, the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, declare the Love of God that surpasses all the obstacles we place in our transformation.
The reading from the Prophet Hosea declares God’s Compassion despite Israel’s ingratitude.
* [11:1–3] After the image of husband-wife (chaps. 1–3), Hosea uses the image of parent-child (Ex 4:22; Is 1:2; Jer 3:19).
* [11:1] Out of Egypt: Hosea dates the real beginning of Israel from the time of the exodus. Mt 2:15 applies this text to the return of Jesus from Egypt.
* [11:4] I drew them…with bands of love: perhaps a reversal of the yoke imagery of the previous chapter, i.e., not forcing them like draft animals, but drawing them with kindness and affection.
* [11:8] Admah…Zeboiim: cities in the vicinity of Sodom and Gomorrah (Gn 14:2, 8) and destroyed with them (Gn 19:24–25; Dt 29:22). (Hosea CHAPTER 11, n.d.)
The passage from the Prophet Isaiah is a psalm of Thanksgiving and Praise.
* [12:1–6] Israel’s thanksgiving to the Lord, expressed in language like that of the Psalms. (Isaiah, CHAPTER 12 | USCCB, n.d.)
The Letter to the Ephesians offers a prayer for the readers.
* [3:9] [For all]: while some think this phrase was added so as to yield the sense “to enlighten all about the plan…,” it is more likely that some manuscripts and Fathers omitted it accidentally or to avoid the idea that all conflicted with Paul’s assignment to preach to the Gentiles (Eph 3:8) specifically.
* [3:10] Principalities and authorities: see note on Eph 1:15–23 regarding Eph 3:21.
* [3:14–21] The apostle prays that those he is addressing may, like the rest of the church, deepen their understanding of God’s plan of salvation in Christ. It is a plan that affects the whole universe (Eph 3:15) with the breadth and length and height and depth of God’s love in Christ (Eph 3:18) or possibly the universe in all its dimensions. The apostle prays that they may perceive the redemptive love of Christ for them and be completely immersed in the fullness of God (Eph 3:19). The prayer concludes with a doxology to God (Eph 3:20–21).
* [3:14–15] Every family: in the Greek there is wordplay on the word for the Father (patria, patēr). The phrase could also mean “God’s whole family” (cf. Eph 2:21). (Ephesians, CHAPTER 3 | USCCB, n.d.)
In the Gospel of John, Jesus’ Side is Pierced revealing Blood and Water.
* [19:34–35] John probably emphasizes these verses to show the reality of Jesus’ death, against the docetic heretics. In the blood and water there may also be a symbolic reference to the Eucharist and baptism.
* [19:35] He knows: it is not certain from the Greek that this he is the eyewitness of the first part of the sentence. May [come to] believe: see note on Jn 20:31. (John, CHAPTER 19 | USCCB, n.d.)
Kent Beausoleil, S.J. notes that the Sacred Heart of Jesus remains a devotion that is promoted and defended in the Society of Jesus to this day. In a more recent Jesuit General Congregation (General Congregation 35, 2008) the Jesuits stressed and emphasized promoting Christ’s sacred heart when it proclaims, “Nothing could be more desirable and more urgent today, since the heart of Christ burns with love for this world, with all its troubles, and seeks companions who can serve it with him.”
For love has the power to transform our very lives, to transform our world, in radical and wonderful ways, away from our own brokenness and need for healing, and into those places in this world that still live in darkness, oppression, hatred, and injustice, so that these places, these hearts of ours can feel too love’s clear promise of heaven. We recollect this image of Christ’s sacred heart, and see there a love given freely, a love fraught with all meaning, and see Christ’s love encouraging us to be brave, to not be afraid, for it’s only love after all. (Beausoleil, n.d.)
Don Schwager quotes “God gave us what was most precious,” by Isaac of Nineveh (a Syrian monk, teacher, and bishop), 613-700 A.D.
"The sum of all is God, the Lord of all, who from love of his creatures has delivered his Son to death on the cross. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son for it. Not that he was unable to save us in another way, but in this way it was possible to show us his abundant love abundantly, namely, by bringing us near to him by the death of his Son. If he had anything more dear to him, he would have given it to us, in order that by it our race might be his. And out of his great love he did not even choose to urge our freedom by compulsion, though he was able to do so. But his aim was that we should come near to him by the love of our mind. And our Lord obeyed his Father out of love for us." (excerpt from ASCETICAL HOMILY 74.28) (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on Hosea 11:1, 3-4, 8-9 comments that Heart emojis are everywhere. We use them to indicate that we “love” a post on social media. We use them in messaging apps to show affection or support for someone we care about. They even show up in parish bulletins! But the Sacred Heart of Jesus is more than a symbol of affection or support. It’s a revelation! It shows us the fundamental attitude of love that God has for us, his children. As we take time to consider the heart of Jesus, we can learn more deeply what God’s love is like.
It's a love that never stops giving. In today’s Gospel, we see the heart of Jesus being pierced after he had died. We see how “blood and water flowed out” from that heart (John 19:34). His blood has cleansed us from all our sins, and his water has given us birth into new life. Even in his last act before burial, Jesus kept giving of himself in order to bring us life!
This is what Jesus’ love is like. So gaze at his Sacred Heart today and let him show you his tenderness and generous mercy.
“Jesus, I am amazed by all the love in your heart!” (Meditation on Hosea 11:1, 3-4, 8-9, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler notes the way God treats the people who have rebelled against him as children, with love and mercy, in the passage from Hosea. The author of Ephesians praises our privilege of knowing the intention of God’s love in the apostles. Friar Jude reminds us that Jesus marries the Church on the Cross and the marriage is consummated in the water (Baptism) and blood (Eucharist) that flow from His pierced side.
James Finley describes the boundless nature of God’s mercy. He asks “What does it mean to ask Jesus Christ to have mercy on me?”
It’s to ask God to have mercy on me in the waywardness of my ways. I know by my own actions that I’m not true to the person I really am called to be. I know this in my weakness, so I ask Christ to have mercy on me. At the very heart of this prayer is the heart of Jesus because God is love, and when love touches suffering, the suffering turns love into mercy. Jesus is like a field of boundless mercy…. There’s an infinite love within us that we can in no way whatsoever increase—because it’s infinite. God is infinitely in love with us. But just as we can’t increase it, we can’t threaten it either. We’re an infinitely loved, broken person. In acceptance of the brokenness, the infinity of the love that shines through the brokenness gets brighter and brighter. (Finley, n.d.)
We consider the interplay of love and mercy as we attend to the promptings of the Spirit in the events of our daily life.
References
Beausoleil, K. (n.d.). Daily Reflection Of Creighton University's Online Ministries. Creighton University's Online Ministries. Retrieved June 7, 2024, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/060724.html
Ephesians, CHAPTER 3 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved June 7, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/ephesians/3?8
Finley, J. (n.d.). Mercy Ever-Present. CAC Daily Meditations. Retrieved June 7, 2024, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/mercy-ever-present/
Hosea CHAPTER 11. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved June 7, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/hosea/11?
Isaiah, CHAPTER 12 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved June 7, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/isaiah/12?2
John, CHAPTER 19 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved June 7, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/19?
Meditation on Hosea 11:1, 3-4, 8-9. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved June 7, 2024, from https://wau.org/meditations/2024/06/07/991318/
Schwager, D. (n.d.). They Shall Look on Him Whom They Have Pierced. Daily Scripture net. Retrieved June 7, 2024, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2024&date=jun7a
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