Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus
The devotion to the Sacred Heart (also known as the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Sacratissimum Cor Iesu in Latin) is one of the most widely practiced and well-known Roman Catholic devotions, taking Jesus Christ’s physical heart as the representation of his divine love for humanity.
This devotion is predominantly used in the Roman Catholic Church and in a modified way among some high-church Anglicans, Lutherans and Eastern Catholics. The devotion is especially concerned with what the Church deems to be the long-suffering love and compassion of the heart of Christ towards humanity. The popularization of this devotion in its modern form is derived from a Roman Catholic nun from France, Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque, who said she learned the devotion from Jesus during a series of apparitions to her between 1673 and 1675, and later, in the 19th century, from the mystical revelations of another Roman Catholic nun in Portugal, Blessed Mary of the Divine Heart, a religious of the Good Shepherd, who requested in the name of Christ that Pope Leo XIII consecrate the entire world to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Predecessors to the modern devotion arose unmistakably in the Middle Ages in various facets of Catholic mysticism, particularly with Saint Gertrude the Great.
– Wikipedia
Hos 11:1,3-4,8-9
Eph 3:8-12,14-19
Jn 19:31-37
……and then, planted in love and built on love, you will with all the saints have strength to grasp the breadth and the length, the height and the depth; until, knowing the love of Christ, which is beyond all knowledge, you are filled with the utter fullness of God.
We are all born with the fullness of God. We are all born rooted and grounded in love – no matter the family, financial or environmental circumstances of our birth – because we are all made in the image and likeness of God. Each of us has been created by God because of His desire and His limitless love for us. Incomprehensible! Astounding! Unimaginable Love! We are all wanted; no one is a mistake at all, even for a second. None of us is ‘unplanned’. We all come from a place of perfect love and belonging, not because of our parents’ love (or lack thereof), but because of the love of God alone who is THE Creator. Our Father never looks at anyone and thinks, “Who is that?” Never, ever.
In fact, we are even reminded in Isa 49:16, “See, I have written your name on the palm of my hand.”
So how could we, as a person and as a people throughout all of history, ever think we are invisible, or unwanted, or unnecessary, or unimportant, or un-needed, or…? Because any, and all, of those feelings are false, and that thinking is wrong. Why would we ever think that, or ever live that way? Where does it come from?
As scripture states, it comes from our lack of strength. Our lack of strength to ALWAYS look up — to the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The devil constantly entices us to look down. It takes more strength to look up. Our lack of strength influences us to look DOWN toward the darkness. It is easier to look down than to look up. And looking down becomes a habit. Falling down becomes a habit. If we look up, we see the light, we feel the hope, we breathe in freshness. The devil demands (as he has mastered manipulation and deceit with glamourous and individually chosen bait) us to fall to the world, to the flesh, and we are weakened with every glance down, every glance away from God.
In 2007, the band Casting Crowns had a hit song, SLOW FADE. That gives us an understanding of how easily we choose not to exercise our strength.
Be careful little eyes what you see
It’s the second glance that ties your hands
As darkness pulls the strings
Be careful little feet where you go
For it’s the little feet behind you that are sure to follow
It’s a slow fade when you give yourself away
It’s a slow fade when black and white are turned to gray
And thoughts invade, choices are made, a price will be paid
When you give yourself away
People never crumble in a day
It’s a slow fade, it’s a slow fade
Be careful little ears what you hear
When flattering leads to compromises, the end is always near
Be careful little lips what you say
For empty words and promises leave broken hearts astray
It’s a slow fade when you give yourself away
It’s a slow fade when black and white are turned to gray
And thoughts invade, choices are made, a price will be paid
When you give yourself away
People never crumble in a day
It’s a slow fade, it’s a slow fade
The journey from your mind to your hands
Is shorter than you’re thinking
Be careful if you think you stand
You just might be sinking
It’s a slow fade when you give yourself away
It’s a slow fade when black and white are turned to gray
And thoughts invade, choices are made, a price will be paid
When you give yourself away
People never crumble in a day
Daddies never crumble in a day
Families never crumble in a day
Oh, be careful little eyes what you see
Oh, be careful little eyes what you see
For the Father up above is looking down in love
Oh, be careful little eyes what you see
In this noisy world that screams, oftentimes with glee and usually with pride, of vulgarity, decay, rot, narcissism, ugliness, deviance, perversion and self-gratification (simply writing those terrible words put physical uneasiness in my body), it is easy to forget where we came from, who we belong to.
So let us be steadfast in strengthening our heart, mind, and our brain, by starting every morning with looking up. Let us daily be reminded by the beautiful words of truth of St. Agnes,
Christ has made my soul beautiful with the jewels of grace and virtue. I belong to Him whom the Angels serve.
Breathe in fully, breathe out slowly – allow the peace of truth to fill you and may that peace, that truth, give you the strength to always look up.
(Today’s OXYGEN by Gina Ulicny)
Prayer: Father God, how we thank you for giving us the fullness of You! Thank you for the soil of limitless love that you have created us in – the soil of peace, hope, goodness, beauty. Thank you for the constant reminders that You are the victor and in looking up to you, we too, will always find victory, even though we may walk through the valley of the shadow of death.
Thanksgiving: Lord God Almighty, how we praise your name and thank you for the light of the sun and the light of your unending love. Thank you for the Angels and Saints in heaven who pray for us and guide us from above and for the saints that walk among us to help us walk in the Light.
OXYGEN 
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