Heart to Heart Communication

 The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary, today, Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, invite us to contemplate our connection to the Heart, the seat of Wisdom, in Jesus time, and our communion with Divine Love.

The Heart Connects

The Reading from the Book of Deuteronomy presents the Destruction of the Nations in the Land.

f. [7:6] Dt 14:2, 21; 26:18–19; 32:8–14; Ex 19:5–6; Ps 135:4; Mal 3:17.

g. [7:7] Dt 10:15.

h. [7:8] Dt 5:6; 9:26; 13:5; 15:15; 21:8; 24:18; Ps 78:42.

i. [7:9–10] Dt 4:31; 5:9–10; 24:16; Ex 20:5–6; 34:6–7; Nm 14:18; Jer 31:29–30; 32:18–19; Ez 18:1–24; Jn 9:1–3. (Deuteronomy, CHAPTER 7 | USCCB, n.d.)

Psalm 103 praises God’s mercy towards all people.

* [Psalm 103] The speaker in this hymn begins by praising God for personal benefits (Ps 103:1–5), then moves on to God’s mercy toward all the people (Ps 103:6–18). Even sin cannot destroy that mercy (Ps 103:11–13), for the eternal God is well aware of the people’s human fragility (Ps 103:14–18). The psalmist invites the heavenly beings to join in praise (Ps 103:19–22). (Psalms, CHAPTER 103 | USCCB, n.d.)

The reading from the First Letter of John proclaims God’s Love and Christian Life.

* [4:7–12] Love as we share in it testifies to the nature of God and to his presence in our lives. One who loves shows that one is a child of God and knows God, for God’s very being is love; one without love is without God. The revelation of the nature of God’s love is found in the free gift of his Son to us, so that we may share life with God and be delivered from our sins. The love we have for one another must be of the same sort: authentic, merciful; this unique Christian love is our proof that we know God and can “see” the invisible God.

* [4:13–21] The testimony of the Spirit and that of faith join the testimony of love to confirm our knowledge of God. Our love is grounded in the confession of Jesus as the Son of God and the example of God’s love for us. Christian life is founded on the knowledge of God as love and on his continuing presence that relieves us from fear of judgment (1 Jn 4:16–18). What Christ is gives us confidence, even as we live and love in this world. Yet Christian love is not abstract but lived in the concrete manner of love for one another. (1 John, CHAPTER 4 | USCCB, n.d.)

The Gospel of Matthew proclaims Praise of the Father and The Gentle Mastery of Christ.

* [11:25–27] This Q saying, identical with Lk 10:21–22 except for minor variations, introduces a joyous note into this section, so dominated by the theme of unbelief. While the wise and the learned, the scribes and Pharisees, have rejected Jesus’ preaching and the significance of his mighty deeds, the childlike have accepted them. Acceptance depends upon the Father’s revelation, but this is granted to those who are open to receive it and refused to the arrogant. Jesus can speak of all mysteries because he is the Son and there is perfect reciprocity of knowledge between him and the Father; what has been handed over to him is revealed only to those whom he wishes.

* [11:28–29] These verses are peculiar to Matthew and are similar to Ben Sirach’s invitation to learn wisdom and submit to her yoke (Sir 51:23, 26).

* [11:28] Who labor and are burdened: burdened by the law as expounded by the scribes and Pharisees (Mt 23:4).

* [11:29] In place of the yoke of the law, complicated by scribal interpretation, Jesus invites the burdened to take the yoke of obedience to his word, under which they will find rest; cf. Jer 6:16. (Matthew CHAPTER 11 | USCCB, n.d.)

Rev. Andy Alexander, SJ, comments on why the first part of the spiritual exercises of Saint Ignatius is so liberating. In that early part of the retreat, we discover that we are loved, sinners. We discover love without condition. We experience tender mercy. We’re not loved when we get our act together. Even when we struggle, even when we wander, we are loved passionately. This is the breakthrough, the grace, that each of us can ask for on this feast – to know how deeply we are loved and to receive it.

In his last encyclical, Dilexit Nos [He loves us], on the Sacred Heart, Pope Francis wrote:

The Second Vatican Council points out that “the ferment of the Gospel has aroused and continues to arouse in human hearts an unquenchable thirst for human dignity”. [24] Yet to live in accordance with this dignity, it is not enough to know the Gospel or to carry out mechanically its demands. We need the help of God’s love. Let us turn, then, to the heart of Christ, that core of his being, which is a blazing furnace of divine and human love and the most sublime fulfilment to which humanity can aspire. There, in that heart, we truly come at last to know ourselves and we learn how to love. #30

In the presence of the heart of Christ, I once more ask the Lord to have mercy on this suffering world in which he chose to dwell as one of us. May he pour out the treasures of his light and love, so that our world, which presses forward despite wars, socio-economic disparities and uses of technology that threaten our humanity, may regain the most important and necessary thing of all: its heart. #31 (Alexander, n.d.)

Don Schwager quotes “The grace of Christ bears us up,” from an anonymous early Christian teacher

"'My yoke is easy and my burden light'... The prophet says this about the burden of sinners: 'Because my iniquities lie on top of my head, so they have also placed a heavy burden on me' (Psalm 38:4)... 'Place my yoke upon you, and learn from me that I am gentle and humble of heart.' Oh, what a very pleasing weight that strengthens even more those who carry it! For the weight of earthly masters gradually destroys the strength of their servants, but the weight of Christ rather helps the one who bears it, because we do not bear grace; grace bears us. It is not for us to help grace, but rather grace has been given to aid us." (excerpt from the INCOMPLETE WORK ON MATTHEW, HOMILY 29: PG 56:780) (Schwager, n.d.)

The Word Among Us Meditation on 1 John 4:7-16 comments that writing about St. John Henry Newman’s devotion to the Sacred Heart, Pope Francis had this to say:

St. John Henry Newman took as his motto the phrase cor ad cor loquitur [heart speaks to heart], since, beyond all our thoughts and ideas, the Lord saves us by speaking to our hearts from his Sacred Heart. This realization led him, the distinguished intellectual, to recognize that his deepest encounter with himself and with the Lord came not from his reading or reflection, but from his prayerful dialogue, heart to heart, with Christ, alive and present. (Dilexit Nos, 26)

We can deepen our knowledge and belief in God’s love as we spend time with Jesus in our own “prayerful dialogue,” as we come “heart to heart” with him in prayer. We can speak to him of our joys and burdens, our dreams and desires. We can express our love for him and our gratitude for all he has done for us. Then we can listen for his word to us, a word that will reassure us that he holds us, now and always, in the depths of his own Sacred Heart.

To honor this great feast, try to set aside some time to speak to the Lord heart to heart—and come to know, ever more deeply, the love Jesus has for you!

“Jesus, help my heart to burn with love for you!” (Meditation on 1 John 4:7-16, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler comments that Moses is trying to teach the people how God has chosen them. They should respond by being faithful and carefully observing their commitments. In 1 John, God is defined as Love. Jesus taught what Love is in His death for us. He willingly took this on himself. In the Gospel of John, the crucifixion is the hour of glory as the outpouring of love for us. In Matthew, Jesus praises the childlike revelation to those who surrender to the mystery we cannot figure out. We can learn from the wonder of the child discovering new things. Friar Jude reminds us that the yoke of two oxen presents the truth that we need to have the help of Jesus in a custom fit yoke to make the furrows and assist in the burdens we carry that are our personal path to trust in God.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, speaks of Jesus’s desire for us to remain connected. Yet we keep condemning ourselves and others for not being perfect, for not being right, or for not being correct.

Everybody seems to be trying to prove that they are right. We have almost a collective incapacity to admit failure, to ever admit that we are wrong, which makes us liars most of the time. Jesus is calling forth a very different kind of human being.

Jesus says people who live a vulnerable life of connection and relationship will bear much fruit. These are the people we trust, like, and admire, so why are so many of us afraid to be the very thing that we admire the most? How foolish human beings are! But again, Jesus has told us the way: He is the vine; we are the branches. None of us can be or need to be correct, but we can always be connected. (Rohr, n.d.)

We attend to the wisdom of the Spirit that affirms that we grow in faith, hope and charity in our action to yoke ourselves with Christ as we live our Baptismal anointing as priest, prophet, and leader.

References

Alexander, A. (n.d.). Daily Reflections. Creighton On line Ministries. Retrieved June 12, 2026, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/daily-reflections/daily-reflection-june-12-2026 

Deuteronomy, CHAPTER 7 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Bible Readings, Audio and Video Every Morning | USCCB. Retrieved June 12, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/deuteronomy/7?6 

Matthew CHAPTER 11 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Reflections. Retrieved June 12, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/11?25 

Meditation on 1 John 4:7-16. (n.d.). Word Among Us. Retrieved June 12, 2025, from https://wau.org/meditations/2026/06/12/1590299/ 

1 John, CHAPTER 4 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Reflections. Retrieved June 12, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/1john/4?7 

Psalms, CHAPTER 103 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Bible Readings, Audio and Video Every Morning | USCCB. Retrieved June 12, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/103?1 

Rohr, R. (n.d.). Remain in Me as I Remain in You. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved June 12, 2026, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/remain-in-me-as-i-remain-in-you/ 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). Heavenly Things Revealed to Infants. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved June 12, 2026, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/ 

Signs of Full Life

 The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to be open to attend to the people we meet that may present ideas that are foreign to our understanding and life experience.

Full Life on our Way

The Reading from the Acts of the Apostles presents the Accusation against Stephen by members of the synagogue of Freedmen.

* [6:8–8:1] The summary (Acts 6:7) on the progress of the Jerusalem community, illustrated by the conversion of the priests, is followed by a lengthy narrative regarding Stephen. Stephen’s defense is not a response to the charges made against him but takes the form of a discourse that reviews the fortunes of God’s word to Israel and leads to a prophetic declaration: a plea for the hearing of that word as announced by Christ and now possessed by the Christian community. The charges that Stephen depreciated the importance of the temple and the Mosaic law and elevated Jesus to a stature above Moses (Acts 6:13–14) were in fact true. Before the Sanhedrin, no defense against them was possible. With Stephen, who thus perceived the fuller implications of the teachings of Jesus, the differences between Judaism and Christianity began to appear. Luke’s account of Stephen’s martyrdom and its aftermath shows how the major impetus behind the Christian movement passed from Jerusalem, where the temple and law prevailed, to Antioch in Syria, where these influences were less pressing.

* [6:13] False witnesses: here, and in his account of Stephen’s execution (Acts 7:54–60), Luke parallels the martyrdom of Stephen with the death of Jesus. (Acts of the Apostles, CHAPTER 6 | USCCB, n.d.)

Psalm 119 proclaims “Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!”

* [Psalm 119] This Psalm, the longest by far in the Psalter, praises God for giving such splendid laws and instruction for people to live by. The author glorifies and thanks God for the Torah, prays for protection from sinners enraged by others’ fidelity to the law, laments the cost of obedience, delights in the law’s consolations, begs for wisdom to understand the precepts, and asks for the rewards of keeping them. (Psalms, PSALM 119 | USCCB, n.d.)

The Gospel of John presents an introduction to Jesus' discourse on the bread of life.

* [6:22–71] Discourse on the bread of life; replacement of the manna. Jn 6:22–34 serve as an introduction, Jn 6:35–59 constitute the discourse proper, Jn 6:60–71 portray the reaction of the disciples and Peter’s confession.

* [6:23] Possibly a later interpolation, to explain how the crowd got to Capernaum.

* [6:27] The food that endures for eternal life: cf. Jn 4:14, on water “springing up to eternal life.” (John, CHAPTER 6 | USCCB, n.d.)

Jeremy Graney comments that we parent in hopes that our children grow to be persons for and with others and we accompany others on this journey, creating a message and a space for hope.

I have been in education my entire professional career, accompanying youth on their journey, hopefully helping foster some hope along the way. As an educator, I am but one chapter or verse in another’s journey. I hope that I give space and time to reflect beyond their immediate needs and desires, to not only focus on the food that perishes but on a life that goes beyond the need of the now. I try to take this time for myself as I navigate the immediate (food that perishes) with the Holy. (Graney, n.d.)

Don Schwager quotes “God is our landlord,” by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.

"Our wish, you see, is to attain to eternal life. We wish to reach the place where nobody dies, but if possible we do not want to get there via death. We would like to be whisked away there while we are still alive and see our bodies changed, while we are alive, into that spiritual form into which they are to be changed when we rise again. Who wouldn't like that? Isn't it what everybody wants? But while that is what you want, you are told, Quit. Remember what you have sung in the psalm: 'A lodger am I on earth'" If you are a lodger, you are staying in someone else's house; if you are staying in someone else's house, you quit when the landlord bids you. And the landlord is bound to tell you to quit sooner or later, and he has not guaranteed you a long stay. After all, he did not sign a contract with you. Seeing that you are lodging with him for nothing, you quit when he tells you to. And this, too, has to be put up with, and for this, too, patience is very necessary." (excerpt from Sermon 359A,8) (Schwager, n.d.)

The Word Among Us Meditation on John 6:22-29 asks how do we respond to this “work” of God? First and foremost, we turn to the Lord in prayer. All relationships require time, effort, and attention, and if that’s the case for our relationships with other people, it’s even more true with God. Our belief in the Lord grows and deepens as we sit at the feet of Jesus each day and listen for his voice speaking to us. At the same time, our hearts become more and more attentive to him and willing to follow his commands.

Another work God does in us is to open our eyes to the needs of our neighbors. When we are able to see Jesus in the faces of those who are poor or suffering, we want to console and care for them or just be available to listen and encourage them.

God is always working in you! Today in prayer, thank him for the gift of your faith. Ask him to help you believe in him ever more deeply each day. Be sure to ask him for the grace to respond to his work in you with all your heart. Then believe that he will do it!

“Jesus, I believe in you! Thank you for the work you are always doing in me to strengthen my faith.” (Meditation on John 6:22-29, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler comments that in the reading from Acts we hear about Stephen and  the ministry of charity to the Greek speakers. Ironically the synagogue of Freedmen, from the distant areas of the Empire remote from Temple worship attacked him ironically about the nature of his worship. The Temple and the Law were far away and it may be explained that they may have become super traditional, guardians of Jewish tradition. He is accused of things that they might have said. The crowd realizes there is only one boat and they are concerned how Jesus crossed the sea. Jesus accuses them of not looking for signs that point to a greater reality like the deepest hunger of their heart. They seek food and miracles and He wants to reveal the love of God and how much God wants them to live in that Love.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces Black farmer and author Leah Penniman who celebrates the faith of agricultural scientist and inventor George Washington Carver (1864–1943). In conversation with Penniman, Chris Bolden-Newsome, co-founder of Sankofa Community Farm in Pennsylvania, shares:

I am a practitioner of in-cultured African (American) Catholic Christianity…. So much of Catholic Christianity has its origins within an earth-based African context that existed way before its settling and redefinition in central Europe. The Catholic Church as a whole is catching up to its origins. Starting in 1971, with Pope Paul VI, the church has expressed ecological concern, which was amplified to an urgent appeal by 2015, with Pope Francis writing:

If we approach nature and the environment without this openness to awe and wonder, if we no longer speak the language of fraternity and beauty in our relationship with the world, our attitude will be that of masters, consumers, ruthless exploiters, unable to set limits on their immediate needs. By contrast, if we feel intimately united with all that exists, then sobriety and care will well up spontaneously. The poverty and austerity of Saint Francis were no mere veneer of asceticism, but something much more radical: a refusal to turn reality into an object simply to be used and controlled. [1] (Rohr, n.d.)

[1] Pope Francis, Laudato Si’: On Care for Our Common Home. Read here for the full text of this encyclical.

We seek the inspiration of the Spirit to literally ground our relationship with people of different aspirations in life in the sanctity and sign of our common home as lately observed by the Artemis II crew, consisting of NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen.

References

Acts of the Apostles, CHAPTER 6 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved April 20, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/acts/6? 

Graney, J. (n.d.). Daily Reflection. Creighton Online Ministries: Home. Retrieved April 20, 2026, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/daily-reflections/daily-reflection-april-20-2026 

John, CHAPTER 6 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved April 20, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/6?22 

Meditation on John 6:22-29. (n.d.). Word Among Us. Retrieved April 20, 2026, from https://wau.org/meditations/2026/04/20/1547134/ 

Psalms, PSALM 119 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Bible Readings. Retrieved April 20, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/119?23 

Rohr, R. (n.d.). All that Breathes Gives Praise. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved April 20, 2026, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/all-that-breathes-gives-praise/ 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). Labor for the Food Which Endures to Eternal Life. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved April 20, 2026, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/