The Sacred Heart and Our Heart

Father Nicolas Schwizer

The devotion to the Heart of Jesus is based on the request of Jesus Christ himself in his apparitions to Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque. He appeared to her, and pointing to his heart with his finger, he said:

“See this heart which has loved mankind so much and in turn only receives outrage and contempt. You, at least, love me.” This revelation occurred in the second half of the seventeenth century.

The heart of Jesus. When we speak of the Heart of Jesus, less important is the organ than its meaning, and we know that it is a symbol of love, of affection. The heart of Jesus means love in its highest form, love turned into deeds.

When Christ showed his own heart, He did nothing more than to call our distracted attention to what Christianity has as most profound and original: the love of God. He also calls to us anew: See how I have loved you! I only ask one thing of you, correspond to my love!

Our heart. Our love response, in general, is not very appropriate to his call because we suffer a grave and chronic cardiac disease which seems proper to our times: We all have a heart ailment, to a lesser or greater degree, which ranges from cardiac insufficiency to cardiac paralysis. Love is diminishing and even dying; the heart gets cold and is no longer able to love or to feel loved.

It becomes a disordered and unbalanced love, sick and rickety, a love indisposed to sacrifice. Selfish love which fosters every form of attachment and enslavement to ME, triumphs. It leads to self-absorption. Personal love is lost and makes room for a cold and impersonal love.

Who of us does not suffer under this illness of the present times? Who of us does not suffer under this lack of unselfish love toward God and toward others?

Who of us does not feel prisoner of his own selfishness which is the mortal enemy of each authentic, genuine love? And who of us does not daily experience that he/she is not truly loved by those around him/her?

How often is our love fragmented and defective because it does not contain the total personality of the other person!

We love something in the other person…..perhaps a characteristic trait…..perhaps an exterior attribute: their beautiful face, their hairdo, their graceful movements…..but we do not love the person as such, with all their properties, with all their treasures and also with all their weaknesses.

Exchange of hearts. Thus is the meaning and the present condition of our devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. We surrender to Him, we give Him our sick heart and expect a profound transformation and we ask that He unite our heart with his, that He makes it like His. We ask Him for an exchange, a transplant of our poor heart, replacing it with His, filled with treasures.

May He take from us that penetrating selfishness which dries up our heart and leaves our life useless and infertile! May He set our heart afire with the flame of love which makes our human existence genuine and great!

We should also join ourselves to the Blessed Virgin Mary with her Immaculate Heart. Her heart is so great that she can be Mother to all humanity. With her loving maternal heart, may she lead us in our efforts toward a true love without selfishness and without limits!

Questions for reflection

1. Do I foster the devotion to the Sacred Heart?

2. How can I increase my devotion?

3. What change do I ask for in my heart?