Reflection for the Vigil of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

I recently read about a unique perspective on the sacred heart of Jesus proposed by a twelfth-century Cistercian abbot. In a Palm Sunday sermon, this abbot, Guerric of Igny, suggested that Jesus’ side was pierced when he was on the cross so that we might have a way into Jesus’ heart.

If that is the case, it throws a different light on Jesus’ encounter with the apostle Thomas after Jesus was resurrected. When Jesus invited Thomas to examine the wound in his side, perhaps his real purpose was to coax Thomas out of his head space — a realm of reason, doubt, and intellect — and allow Thomas to see and become united with the heart of Jesus, a place of love, trust, and compassion. And that invitation is extended to us as well.

In his letter to the Philippians, Paul encourages us to “put on the mind of Christ.” This solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus suggests rather that we put on the heart of Christ. And as it turns out, we don’t need to peer through the wound in Jesus’ side to know what his heart looks like. Jesus’ heart was on full display through his words and actions during his time on earth.

Our Gospel reading for tomorrow’s Mass provides a couple of glimpses into the heart of Jesus. Jesus asks the crowd,

“Who among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert and go after the lost one until he finds it?”

The people were undoubtedly thinking, “Are you crazy? None of us would do that! It would be much more logical to cut our losses and stay with the 99 we have in hand rather than leave them to search for one that has wandered off.” But Jesus acts out of his heart rather than his head — he values the one that is lost just as much as the others and is concerned about its safety and well-being, so he goes in search of it. Thus, one thing we learn about the heart of Jesus is that it always leads with compassion.

Another insight from this gospel is the capacity of the heart of Jesus to feel joy and share it with others. Jesus goes on to say to the crowd, “And when he does find the lost sheep, he sets it on his shoulders with great joy and, upon his arrival home, he calls together his friends and neighbors and says to them, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’” Contagious joy and gratitude come from the heart, not from the head.

Jesus’ heart is not one that judges. “Stop judging, that you may not be judged,” he says, and he walks the talk — he does not condemn the woman caught in adultery or Matthew the tax collector or even the very people who are executing him.  And when Jesus is asked which commandment is the greatest, he teaches us that love of God and love of neighbor should always be our guide. That love of God means that we sometimes need to take time to be alone with God, as Jesus did, and love of neighbor means that we need to respond to the needs of whoever turns up in our life, as Jesus also did.

Another important thing to note is that Jesus has a heart for friendship. As Sr. Mary Faith Schuster said in one of her poems, 

“We keep ignoring the most important thing in Scripture 
when Jesus dropped in for coffee at Bethany. 
The words were gentle and the laughter lovely 
and the wind blowing so kindly over the waters 
outside somewhere, for there was always the sound of wind
and water and the long sweet laughter of being happy.” 

We have access to Jesus’ heart through the friendship that he also offers to us. And as with Mary Magdalene, whose heart led her to Jesus’ tomb to be with her beloved friend, when we are true to our friendship with Jesus, he comforts us with his presence and calls us by name.

So, then, we know many things about how to put on the heart of Jesus: lead with compassion; refrain from judging; be guided by love; spend time alone with God; respond to the needs of others when they come to our attention; share our joy with others; and nurture our friendships with Jesus and with others.

Whether we find our way to Jesus’ sacred heart through his wounds or his words, his actions or his friendship, we are blessed to find fullness of life there.