In
this meditation, therefore, my dear brethren, I will endeavor to
demonstrate, that a true veneration of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is the
portal through which we must enter into the sanctuary of a sweet, a
loving union, with Christ, an intimate, personal knowledge of the
Saviour. O Mary, who, as His Mother, didst know and love the Son of
God, following Him with devoted care even to the foot of the cross, we
pray thee, obtain for us the grace to know and love Him too. I speak in
the most holy name of Jesus, for the greater glory of God!
Christ is, as holy
faith teaches, the incarnate Son of God. That this knowledge may
enkindle within us, and fan the fire of divine love, in so ardent a
manner that we may imitate our divine Saviour, we must often meditate on
the mystery of the Incarnation of the Son of God, of which a tender
devotion to the Sacred Heart can not fail to remind us. The Angels
cherish the most profound veneration, and yet God did not become an
angel--but a man. To this He was impelled by no other consideration than
His love for us.
"I have loved thee
with an eternal love, and drawn thee with merciful love to Me." What a
powerful motive for love and gratitude! God was pleased to create us,
not only after His own image, but to take upon Himself our very nature,
inexpressibly inferior as it is, and thus elevate it above the angelic
nature. They possess not, like us, the privilege of calling him brother.
Should not this urge us to listen to our Lord when He speaks thus to
our hearts: "And now what else does thy God require of thee, than that
thou shouldst love Him?"
Christ, as God and
man at the same time, is our Redeemer, Who shed His precious blood for
us in that atoning sacrifice, completed through the infinite merits
which accompanied all His divine actions; and He offered it as an
expiation to the infinite justice of God. But if we wish fully to
understand this tremendous sacrifice which Christ presented to His
heavenly Father for every human soul, the love of Christ, and His
character as Saviour of the world, must arise clearly before us, and
this will be attained by looking into the depths of the Sacred Heart.
For "the redemption
of the world" would have been realized by the first aspiration to which
Christ gave utterance in His mother's womb, at His Incarnation, when He
confessed before His Father: "Behold, here am I, and Thy law is in the
midst of my heart." I have come to reconcile the human race with Thee.
This prayer was, as St. Paul assures us, already sufficient for the
salvation and redemption of every member of the human family, for it was
of an infinite value. But the overwhelming love of Jesus for us
demanded something more than our mere redemption, for He wished to
deliver us in a manner indicative of that love, so that our hearts might
the more readily turn to Him. O how He wished us to follow His divine
example, and make the merits of His life and death our own, no matter
how great the cost!
And now, to
understand this in the most effective manner, let us glance at His
heart, and remember, at the same time, that Christ offered His life,
sufferings, and death, to His heavenly Father, not only for all mankind,
but for every individual soul; as if that soul had been the only one He
came to save, as will be manifested, in the clearest light, by a glance
at the Sacred Heart. You have a right to say this very heart beat in
the breast of the Infant Jesus as He lay in the manger at Bethlehem, and
offered the pains and griefs of infancy for me. The circumcision, the
flight into Egypt, the weary toil which marked His daily life at
Nazareth, He offered for me! This Sacred Heart throbbed for me in every
phase of His Apostolic life, and offered all for me! This same heart
throbbed for me in His breast at the Last Supper, and throbbed for me
when Jesus resolved to offer Himself daily in the Sacrament of His love,
until the very end of time, to remain with me, to unite Himself with
me, body and soul, divinity and humanity, in every holy Communion which
it would be my privilege to receive.
It throbbed for me
when, with prophetic vision, the Redeemer saw the many temptations which
would surround me in life, and His precious blood burst forth from
every pore, as Gethsemane's groves witnessed His terrible agony there.
And, oh, how bitterly it throbbed when the cruel scourge laid open the
quivering flesh to the very bone, and the aching brow was made to feel a
keener pang from the pressure of the sharp thorns, put on in mockery of
a crown, and the heavy cross was laid upon those weary shoulders until
all that was human in the Son of God was well nigh crushed to earth. And
at last the weary walk was over, but only to give place to new and
bitter pain as the nails were driven through the sacred hands and feet.
And now behold the Creator of heaven and earth hanging on the cross, a
bleeding victim for our sins. Ah, then His Sacred Heart throbbed for me
as He cried out to the eternal Father: "Father, forgive!" Then, when he
yielded up the Ghost, behold, a soldier opened His heart, and from it
fell the last drop of His precious blood-- for me. I am redeemed, and
with a Redemption superabundant indeed!
"They will see Whom
they have pierced." These are the inspired words of the prophet; yes,
and they will adore the triumph of infinite mercy by which the greatest
crime which a creature can commit, Deicide, became a source for the
pardon of every sin, as St. Paul implies when he says: "Christ destroyed
sin through sin upon the cross." This open heart, this sacred wound,
removed the vail which rested upon the work of Redemption. To glance at
it, nay, to look into its depths, we can see the glimmer of a lovely
light which illumines the work of the Saviour's mercy and love,
penetrating our hearts with a longing to reciprocate that love which led
Him to purchase our salvation at the cost of life.
This Jesus is, as
Saviour, the founder of that Church to which He confided His infinite
merits, and the dispensation of the means of salvation. She rose from
His heart in the symbol of blood and water, even as from the side of the
sleeping Adam God called our mother Eve into existence. And behold us,
without any merit of our own, members of this Church so holy and divine.
What a motive for us, as children of this loving mother, to grow in the
grace of God, and by constant intercourse with Jesus in the Blessed
Sacrament, to grow also in His personal knowledge.
Yes! to look into the
Heart of Jesus, gives us a glimpse, in all its splendor, of the majesty
and sanctity of the one true Church, and can not fail to excite in us
the most ardent desire and longing to live as her faithful children,
grateful that we are so highly favored as to be children of that
glorious mother. It animates us to more earnest efforts to propagate the
faith, over the whole world, according to the desire of the Sacred
Heart.
This Lord and Saviour is, according to His Person, at once our Father,
Friend, and Brother; the Spouse of our souls--Christ! He it is Who
regained for us the right to enter heaven. He is our Brother, Who took
upon Himself our nature; our Friend, Who provided for us as for Himself;
and the Spouse of our souls--infinite goodness and greatness--Christ!
To behold all this we
must look into the depths of His Sacred Heart. The world is full of
brothers, friends, and spouses, but how different are they in the
measure of love they bear to their own! In the open Heart of Jesus we
behold, united, the hearts of loving fathers, brothers, and friends; and
yet His love is greater than all! Did He not give the very last drop of
blood from that heart, and am I not, therefore, right when I say: If we
wish to attain to a knowledge of this dear Redeemer, in all His divine
sweetness, we must cast frequent glances into the Sacred Heart, and seek
refuge in its bleeding wound? We will then adorn our own hearts, so
that we will one day be worthy to enter into an abode of eternal
blessedness. Blessed St. Gertrude, devoted adorer of the Sacred Heart,
obtain for us the grace to love it with your fervent love, and through a
like imitation of its virtues, to share with you the glorious reward of
its faithful servants.--Amen.
"For this cause I bow my knees to the Father, that you may be able to
comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height
and depth of this mystery."--Eph. iii, 14, 18.
"To me, the least of
all the saints, is given this grace to preach among the Gentiles, and to
enlighten all men what is the dispensation of the mystery which hath
been hidden from eternity in God, Who created all things. For this
cause I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of Whom all
paternity in heaven and earth is named, That He would grant you the
grace to be strengthened by the power of His Spirit unto the inward man;
That Christ may dwell by faith in your hearts: that being rooted and
founded in charity, you may be able to comprehend with all the saints
what is the breadth and length and height and depth of this mystery; To
know also the charity of Christ, which surpasseth all human knowledge."
With these words to
the Ephesians, and similar assurances in many passages of the Epistles
which St. Paul wrote--not only for the faithful of his own day, but for
those of all future time--the Apostle of nations exhorts us in the most
expressive manner to advance in the knowledge of Christ. And if we wish
to comprehend the total height and depth, the entire breadth and
length, of the love of Jesus, we can only do so by looking into the
depths of His Sacred Heart; and to make this clear, will be the object
of my words today. O Mary, Mother of the Divine Heart, obtain for us
the grace to enter into the full knowledge of Christ's love for us, that
we may meet it with faithful reciprocal love! I speak in the holy name
of Jesus, for the greater honor and glory of God!
To contemplate in its
entire extent the love of Jesus Christ, and to open our hearts in true
reciprocal love to the Lord, that He may dwell therein, we must go to
the Sacred Heart and look into its depths. There, ah! there, we can
behold in all its immensity a love so mighty that it drew Him away from
the throne of His glory in heaven to earth, and urged Him not only to
assume human nature, but by so doing, as St. Paul assures us, to
annihilate Himself and take the form of a slave. For, appearing as a
man among men, He concealed His divinity before them; and although He
wrought miracles, other men, with the Divine assistance, performed
wonders still greater:--Moses, for instance, at the departure of the
children of Israel from Egypt.
Men in general
acknowledged Him so little as God, that they threatened to stone Him
when He declared that He was. They persecuted at every occasion this
meek Lamb of God, and at last nailed Him to the cross. And what brought
to such depths of humility the King of kings and Lord of lords? Because
He chose not to appear as a powerful monarch, as a ruler over the whole
universe, before whom all nations would tremble, but as a slave; for He
entered this world as the subject of an emperor who governed only the
Romans as free men, while those nations he had conquered were held in
subjection. And therefore Christ suffered the death of the
slave--crucifixion.
Why did He humble
Himself so deeply? One glance into the Divine Heart will tell us that it
was His merciful love to us. Great God! what misery overwhelmed the
human race, and what would have become of us if the arm of Thy infinite
justice had not been stayed! But Christ the Son of God, equal in essence
and nature to His eternal Father, wished, through love, to celebrate
the triumph of His infinite mercy; and this love urged Him not only to
grant pardon to penitent sinners, but to make satisfaction for them, and
take upon Himself the justification for sin.
Not only, beloved in
Christ, did He mean to pardon this or that sin, to forgive this or that
sinner, but for every sin that would ever be committed, and for every
sinner, if he were truly contrite, a gracious pardon would be found.
Christ requires but one thing of the sinner--that he avails himself of
those efficacious means of salvation to be found in the true Church, and
takes refuge in His Sacred Heart.
Dearly beloved
Christians, souls redeemed by the blood of a God, reflect upon this
precious truth; and that you may realize the depth of His love for you,
look at the Sacred Heart -- look into its bleeding wound. The Almighty,
the Omnipotent God, the gracious and merciful Saviour, comes from the
heaven of His glory to afford us a certain refuge therein--to save us
from that pit which the malice of sin has prepared for us in hell.
The Deluge prefigured
the spiritual ruin which overwhelmed the whole human race. Now, Holy
Scripture testifies that the waters thereof rose to the height of
fifteen cubits above the loftiest mountains. This indicates the degree
of malice which characterized the wickedness of mankind, it being
greater than that of the fallen angels. Their sin was that pride which
led them to wish to be like God; while man, on the contrary, committed
Deicide, as St. Peter, in his first sermon, called the Crucifixion, when
he said: "The Author of life you have killed."
This reproach applies
not only to those Jews who personally laid hands on Christ, but to all
men as sinners; for St. Paul asserts: "Whosoever sins, crucifies God in
his heart, tramples His precious Blood under foot." And yet God forgives
on account of the merits of Christ! Whom? The greatest sinner if he but
repent. And what means does He choose for this? Let us adore and
wonder, for the commission of the greatest possible sin--attempted
Deicide--became for us the source of every grace. What a triumph of
Infinite Mercy!
Glance at the Heart
of Jesus, opened after His death: by this He opened His arms to every
soul, with the loving words: "I have loved thee unto death, and
presented the last drop of My heart's blood for thee to draw thee from
the abyss of destruction which thy sins prepared for thee in hell." Oh,
what a depth, and, at the same time, what a height of love! The work of
Redemption as consummated by this love, made fast the gates of hell,
and rescued us from that fiery pit; but not content with this, our
loving Saviour would open the portals of a heaven more beautiful than
the one which would have been our portion had Adam never sinned.
And now, as brothers
of the Son of God, we may enter that region of bliss, and become as
precious stones set in the celestial crown of the world of angels. We
may, by our zeal in the exercise of good works, and their union with the
merits of Christ, ascend higher and higher, through new and more
brilliant merits, to an immeasurable degree of glory.
Look at Mary, whose throne is next to that of Jesus: she was, like us, a
child of man, and her glory by far outshines that of the brightest
angel. We, as her children, may hope to attain a place in heaven, near
that of our gracious Queen; for from the Heart of Jesus came forth the
cry: "To him that shall overcome I will grant to sit with Me on My
throne."
And how shall we
learn the breadth of this love? I answer: By contemplating the
generosity which marked its course, and so animated the Sacred Heart in
the
breast of the Infant Saviour in the crib and of the Redeemer on the
cross. Even now it beats for us in the Most Holy Sacrament over the
whole globe. Think of the generosity of that love by which Jesus has
communicated to us the whole merit of His life, passion, and death.
The words of St.
Augustine refer to this in the explanation and answer given by him of
the words of Christ: "What price could man give for his soul?"
"Remember," exclaims St. Augustine, "the price which Christ paid for you
through the work of Redemption; you have been purchased by the life,
passion, and death of Christ the Son of God." What He gave for you He
did not give even for the angels. Oh, how sweetly are we reminded of
all this by one loving glance at the Sacred Heart of Jesus! It beats
indeed today on earth for each one of us. Go before the tabernacle and
ask what is that which Jesus confers upon you in every Holy Communion.
It is Himself.
And the length of
this enduring love may be discerned by the unwearied forbearance He
shows to man. From the first moment of your conception, Christian soul,
He has loved you with an everlasting love. He has thought of you, and
longed to bless you for all eternity. And it will be your own fault if
He does not remain, until your very latest breath, the same faithful,
loving Jesus, Who will assist you in that last dread passage where time
is merged into eternity.
Yes, it is an article
of faith that when the greatest sinner turns with a repentant heart to
Jesus, even in his dying hour, he will still be saved through Him. And
is this really so? Christian, look at the wounded Heart in the breast of
your Redeemer. It has ceased to beat--it is dead! Yet from the wound
came blood and water, the symbol of the Church to which Christ gave
power to pardon the dying sinner whose heart cries out for mercy--for
forgiveness through the merits of Christ.
Dearly beloved, who
have listened to my words today, reflect upon what I have told you of
the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus--of the height, depth, breadth, and
length of the love of Christ. Consider it daily, and the wish of St.
Paul, of which I have already spoken to you, will certainly be fulfilled
in you. You will become so strengthened in the love of God, through
the Spirit of Christ, that He will abide in your heart, and, finding
therein so firm a faith, earnest a hope, and ardent a love, will there
take up His abode forever. Amen!
"Is thy heart right as my heart is with thy heart? "--4 Kings x, 15.
Centuries have passed
since our Lord and Saviour, the loving Jesus, in His visible presence,
walked the earth; and as the years roll on, He asks of every Catholic
soul the same question which He put to the prince of the Apostles:
"Lovest thou Me?" and every one should reply as did the ardent Peter:
"Yes, Lord, I love Thee;" and yet the answer is not the same, for St.
Peter not only assured the Lord of his love, but added: "Lord, Thou
knowest all things, Thou knowest that I love Thee."
If our divine Lord
possessed not the power to read what is written in the inmost recesses
of our hearts, He might be deceived by the assurance of a love which has
no place therein, and indiscriminately bestow those rich treasures of
grace which He loves so well to give, and which we require to work out
our salvation in that state of life to which we have each one been
assigned. But the Lord searcheth the heart of man, and knoweth if his
lips speak truth. And too often, my dearest Christians, the lives, even
of those who possess the gift of faith, so directly contradict their
professions, that to them might be applied the words of Isaac: "The
voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are those of Esau."
The lips say: "I love
my Jesus who died for me," but as "actions speak louder far than
words," they often proclaim the falsity of the assertion. We can not
sufficiently appreciate the necessity of examining ourselves carefully
on this point, and it were well to do so in presence of the Sacred
Heart, as it beats in our midst, in the Most Holy Sacrament. What answer
could we make to this question of our Lord? Could we truly say with St.
Peter: "Lord, Thou knowest all things; Thou knowest that I love Thee."
Beloved in Christ, in this regard I will put into the mouth of our
Saviour those words of Holy Scripture. "Is thy heart right as my heart
is with thy heart?'' and after you have listened attentively to my words
today, let each one make answer to his soul and his God. O Mary,
Mother of Jesus, who lovedst Him with the most sincere and maternal
love, grant that we also may love Him with sincere and filial love! I
speak in the most holy name of Jesus, for the honor and glory of God!
The first mark of
sincere love is the silent testimony of the heart itself, which is felt
only by those who love. The little child, which never even heard the
word love, feels it in the depths of its tender heart toward its mother,
who lavishes upon it every fond endearment as it lovingly clings about
her neck. Question your own heart as to its feelings whenever you
pronounce the sacred name of Jesus, or even think of Him.
St. Bernard
sometimes, after he had uttered that holy name, tasted a sweetness upon
his lips as though he had eaten honey. Can you say, O Christian! that
your feelings are like his? Is it with you, as St. Augustine declares of
himself, that you find every thing, wherein the name of Jesus does not
occur, insipid and without interest? You love Jesus, you say, but if His
name leaves you insensible and cold, I am forced to doubt the sincerity
of your love. But as it is also true that mere feeling is very
deceptive, therefore show, by your life, that you really speak the
truth.
The second mark of
sincere love is the care one takes not to grieve or offend the object of
his love. Thus it may happen that a wife says to her husband: "Do you
love me?" and what is his probable reply? "Silly question; would I have
married you had I not?" But evening comes, and the charms of home are
powerless to keep him there. So he goes to the tavern, where the
midnight hour finds him still, yet he knows how much he will grieve his
faithful wife by this evil course. Is she not perfectly right,
therefore, if she says within herself: "Thy lips say I love thee; but
thy life says it is a lie. Thy love is not sincere, or thou wouldst not
be so ready to grieve my heart."
Christian, your
Saviour asks: "Do you love Me?" How does your life answer this question
of the Lord? With what care do you endeavor, not only not to commit a
mortal sin, which would at once banish Christ from your heart; but to
avoid committing even one deliberate venial sin which grieves and
afflicts your Lord? Do you watch over your conscience by the most
assiduous practice of the particular examen? If so, then, indeed, you
speak the truth. But if it would seem that you are careless in regard to
the trifling sins and imperfections,--if you neglect the particular
examen, you place yourself in the greatest danger of sinning, even
grievously, and your lips would utter a lie: your love is only an
illusion.
Even if you would
read from your book the most ardent affections of love, while your lips
say: "Yes, Lord Jesus, I love You;" your life cries out: "It is false."
But how is it, then, if you live with the guilt of mortal sin upon your
soul? Ah! then, indeed, you deeply grieve your Saviour, and banish Him
from your heart.
The third mark of
sincere love is the desire to please the beloved, and to do with zeal
what is required of us by the one whom we love. A well known proverb
says that "love can read in the eyes of the beloved the desire of his
heart." The same is true of a sincere love towards Jesus. A wife needs
not to ask her husband whether he loves her, although he is of a very
undemonstrative nature,--never expressing his love,--if his actions show
that he does, if he is quick to anticipate every wish of her heart; and
fulfill it, if possible; therein lies the real test of love. The same
is true of the sincerity of our love towards Jesus. What He requires of
us is made known by His admonition: "Follow Me!--Be ye holy, as your
Father in heaven is holy." Ask your heart, with what zeal you walk in
the path of Christian perfection, whether it is your earnest wish to
become holy.
And not only that,
but what zeal do you manifest in assisting Jesus to extend His kingdom
on earth, through zeal in the exercise of the spiritual and corporeal
works of mercy? With what solicitude do you endeavor to prevent others
from offending God, particularly those whom the Lord has confided to
your care, watching that they fulfill their duties as faithful and
zealous children of the Church?
Do you try earnestly
to lead infidels and heretics to the way of salvation, and the knowledge
of the true and only Church wherein salvation is to be found; and to
support over the whole earth the kingdom of God, that zealous
missionaries may be enabled to preach the gospel among the heathens? Can
you say with truth that you are zealous in each of the above duties? If
so, then you may indeed rejoice, for it is well with you; and your life
replete with holy deeds shows that you sincerely love your God. But, on
the contrary--and oh, with how many is not this the case! --if you are
satisfied to live an ordinary Christian life, and, even this merely from
the force of habit; if you do not at the very moment you awake from
sleep, resolve to let your aim be to grow always better and better; to
constantly multiply the good works you perform, to never lose an
opportunity to save and sanctify others;--if, I repeat, beloved in
Christ, it is thus with you, then your love for Jesus is far from being
sincere.
And if you are
content to be solicitous only for your immediate family or your own
parish Church, as far as necessity requires; and even if you show
yourself an active parish child, yet neglect every thing in regard to
caring for the salvation of souls, as if it were a duty belonging only
to priests, then the sincerity of your love towards Jesus is rather
self-deception. Whosoever loves Jesus sincerely provides for the
salvation of souls, even though he be not a Paul nor a Priest,
remembering the admonition of the disciple of love: "As He has shed His
blood for us, so we should be ready to shed ours for each soul."
The fourth mark of
sincere love is that magnanimity and fidelity which leads us to make
sacrifices, even if we should have to suffer by assisting others.
Behold a married couple blessed with the goods of the world, with health
and happiness, because prosperity has smiled upon their lives. You ask
me whether they love one another, and to what degree? A question
difficult to answer, while they continue to lead such a delightful life.
On the contrary, suppose a youth and maiden to enter the married life
with every prospect of health and happiness, and behold! after a few
months, the hand of the Lord is laid heavily upon her, and He calls her
to pass under His chastening rod. The wife becomes incurably ill, the
husband loses his entire wealth, yet their love remains the same; yes,
its flame burns even more brightly than before. Ah, yes! they love each
other truly.
You say: "Yes, I love
Jesus;" show it by your love for the cross, by your patience, if the
Lord imposes His chastening hand upon you. If then your affections of
love multiply towards Jesus, and you esteem yourself happy that He has
drawn you to Himself by the royal way of the cross, we know that you
really have a sincere love towards Him.
And what in all this world so effectively conduces to this condition of
sincere love, as one glance at the most Sacred Heart of Jesus and an
assiduous cultivation of that beautiful devotion; for that Heart shed
the last drop of blood for you on the cross, in sincere love. You have
this Sacred Heart present in the Blessed Sacrament. Go then before the
tabernacle, and think of Him who nourishes you so often with the Holy
Sacrament, and gives it to you as food.
The better to
illustrate this I will relate the following event: It happened that a
ship was lost at sea, and those of the passengers who escaped the wreck
were cast upon a desert island. Among them was a mother with a nursing
infant. However, the joy of the passengers at their rescue was of brief
duration, for they discovered that the soil was bleak and barren, and
afforded no food whatever. And no vessel appeared to bear them away, the
mother sat holding the starving child to her breast, from which it had
drawn the very last drop of milk.
The mother had no
nutriment, how could she nourish it? It drew with such force that it
took from her veins the life blood, yet she uttered no word of
complaint. The mother becoming weaker and weaker, the passengers
entreated her to let the child die, and, perhaps, her own life might be
saved. But she was deaf to their prayers, and still allowed the babe to
drink her blood; yes, to the very last moment of her life, which was
indeed at hand, for her head drooped upon that faithful breast; and when
the prayers of wrecked passengers, that they might be rescued, were
heard and a vessel came in sight, she was dead. The child lived and grew
to man's estate, and when the youth heard what his mother had done for
him, and how she had nourished him with her blood, the heroic act filled
his heart with such ardent love for her, that from the very depths of
his yearning heart he often cried: "O mother! mother! could I but once
behold you, if even for one moment, only to thank you for your devoted
maternal love. Oh, how happy would I not feel!"
Christians, what that
mother did, the Sacred Heart of Jesus is doing daily in the Most Holy
Sacrament, and has done it for nineteen hundred years, by nourishing us
with His precious blood. As children of God, as members of the Church,
we can thank Him for it personally. Oh, then, make good use of His
Presence on your altars, particularly by frequent and worthy Communions.
No doubt that will enkindle and nourish in your hearts the, fire of
divine love, as nothing else could in the world; and you will find your
dearest joy in cherishing a sincere, ardent, and faithful love towards
the Sacred Heart of Jesus.--Amen!
