9781644135945

The Time After Pentecost
cross of Christ: “But after they [the soldiers] were come to Jesus, when they saw that He was
already dead, they did not break His legs, but one of the soldiers with a spear opened His side,
and immediately there came out blood and water” (Gospel). The mystery which is contained
in this opening of Christ’s side is explained to us in the Preface. His side was pierced, “that from
His opened heart, as from a sanctuary of divine bounty, might be poured out upon us streams
of mercy and grace; and that in His heart always burning with love for us, the devout may find
a haven of rest and the penitent a refuge of salvation” (Preface). The opening in the side of Jesus
was prefigured by the door of Noe’s ark, through which all were obliged to pass who were to be
rescued from the destruction of the Deluge (Hymn at Lauds). The wound in the side of Jesus
is the door of salvation.
Our obligations toward the Sacred Heart of Jesus are explained in the Collect of the Mass.
We are obliged to render to the Sacred Heart a becoming homage (our adoration, praise, and
thanksgiving) and at the same time make a worthy reparation for our sins. These thoughts are
presented for our consideration on this feast. We acknowledge and honor in the Sacred Heart
of Jesus the summation of Christ’s divine and human inner life, with all His virtues, affections,
and emotions, all His ambitions and desires. We venerate and honor especially the unspeakable
love of Jesus for us, which He has revealed by His death on the cross and by His establishment
of the Holy Eucharist. We have countless other reasons for thanking Him, worshiping Him,
and adoring Him. We likewise wish to acknowledge the ingratitude we have shown Him, the
many repeated infidelities with which we have responded to His love and His countless graces.
We wish to make recompense for our neglect of His love and the graces which He earned for
us on the cross and which He has manifested in the Eucharist. We wish to compensate for our
coldness and lack of interest in Him. What a multitude of offenses we have each day to regret,
to repent of, and to satisfy for!
“My heart hath expected reproach and misery; and I looked for one that would grieve together
with me, but there was none; and for one that would comfort me, and I found none” (Offertory).
Not so with me; for in me He will find one that will grieve with Him. In me He will find one
to console Him, as did the angel who came to Him in the Garden. Jesus can be consoled by
expiation, by satisfaction, by love.
Behold the heart that has loved men so much, the heart that has loved men in the
Incarnation, in the crib, and on the cross. Who can comprehend the love of the heart of Jesus,
especially when we consider who we are and who He is? Truly we have no claim upon Him
and His love except that which He in His infinite mercy has given to us. Who could be more
unworthy of His love than we have been? And yet He has loved us with an abundance of love.
How can we ever forget this thought or take an interest in anything other than the eternal love
of God for us, who have been so undeserving of that love? Should we not, like an earthly lover,
forget even food and drink and sleep so that every hour of the day and night we may devote our
attention to Jesus as the object of our love? Graces have been heaped upon us in such abundance
that we can scarcely bear them or enumerate them; Christ’s mercy appears anew each day. And
still more, He will grant me the reward that eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of
man hath conceived. Yet we remain cold and unmoved, having many interests in life that seem
far more important than Christ Himself. Sacred Heart of Jesus, how Thou hast loved us! Teach
us to love Thee more and more.
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