Pope Francis raised some eyebrows late last year when he told the children of Singapore, “All religions are paths to reach God. They are—to make a comparison—like different languages, different dialects, to get there. But God is God for everyone.” The Pontiff also had many Catholics scratching their head when he chose to wash the feet of imprisoned Muslim women on Holy Thursday. And His Holiness’ most celebrated evocation of frowns was his inflight remark on the gay question, “Who am I to judge?” Yet should anyone question whether Pope Francis stands solidly within Roman Catholic piety, that person should ponder the Pope’s latest encyclical, “Dilexit Nos,” On the Human and Divine Love of the Heart of Jesus Christ.
His Holiness begins his teaching on the Sacred Heart of Jesus by taking the discussion of Jesus’ redemptive work out of the context of intellect be the result and will so favored by theologians down through the centuries and surveys the salvific work of Jesus in the light of Christ’s tenderness, aptly symbolized by the heart, which, the Pope notes, is an almost universal symbol of care and concern and commitment.
With phrases worthy of Hallmark Cards, the Holy Father writes of the warmth, feeling and affability that the Master displays in numerous Gospel accounts. Christ’s patience with Nicodemus, his forbearance with the Samaritan woman, his perseverance with the man born blind, his gentleness with the woman who tugged at his robe, his thoughtfulness toward the young girl just cured who might need some food, and not least his tears at the graveside of Lazarus. It is this Jesus who is “meek and humble of heart” and whose yolk is “easy” and whose burden is “light” that Pope Francis wants the world to appreciate once again.
Assuring the reader that guidance and strength drawn from pondering the kindly heart of Christ are nothing new, the Pontiff cites preachers and hermits in the ancient Church and monks and nuns in medieval monasteries who drew comfort and consolation from the Sacred Heart, the “seat of all mercy.” St. Gertrude, a Cistercian nun, recalled a time at prayer when she reclined her head on the heart of Christ and heard it fondly beating. St. John Eudes was greatly instrumental in bringing devotion to the Sacred Heart out of monasteries and into dioceses.
American Catholics might not be aware that European Catholicism experienced a religious episode somewhat akin to the Puritan experience in Massachusetts. In the 17th century, Belgian Bishop Cornelius Jansen favored a pessimistic assessment of human nature and moral freedom leading to rigorist views on sacramental confession, on the worthy reception of Holy Communion and on other ethical issues as he understood them. To counteract this rigidity, labeled Jansenism, Jesus Himself appeared to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque openly displaying his Sacred Heart “which has so loved men” and urging this Visitation nun to counteract the scrupulosity and moral insecurity that was plaguing many Catholics. Devotion to the Sacred Heart through the Nine First Fridays regimen became universally popular as an act of confidence in the Heart of Christ and as encouragement toward more frequent Communion.
Pope Francis details as well many other saints over the centuries who have embraced devotion to the Sacred Heart as a vital source of spiritual renewal and personal comfort. St. Francis de Sales, St. Claude la Colombiere, St. Therese of Lisieux and lately St. Charles de Foucauld are among those mentioned.
Wisdom instructs that “the heart has its reasons which the reason does not have.” Pope Francis finds this thought in acts of reparation to the Sacred Heart. Even though Christ has risen from the dead, victorious over sin, those devoted to his Sacred Heart may still offer consolation to the wounded Savior “who is continually grieved by the sins of the thankless.” A triumphant Jesus does not need human consolation, but sinful humanity does need to express its remorse for mankind’s repeated insults. Frequent acts of reparation rightly acknowledge the intensity of the Sacred Heart’s sacrificial love.
This Sunday’s psalm response says it rightly: “As far as the east is from the west, so far has he put our transgressions from us.” The heart of Christ is an enduring symbol of tender and forgiving love.
