Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus - Year A


The feast is celebrated 19 days after Pentecost, always on a Friday. Despite an ancient tradition of honoring the heart of Jesus, it was only in the seventeenth century that a nun, Marie-Margaret Alacoque, by emphasizing the importance of the heart of Jesus, succeeded in popular propagation of the veneration.

The feast became a celebration in the universal Church in the nineteenth century. At the center of the feast is the heart of Jesus, full of love for the world. According to the Gospel of Saint John, when Jesus died on the Cross, a Roman soldier pierced his side with a spear. "One of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once blood and water came out" (John 19:34). An ancient tradition sees in the water and the blood elements of a birth, that from the wounded side of the crucified Jesus the Church was born.

In the tenth century in the West, an identification began between the wounded side of Jesus and the heart. The heart is the place of love and for love of the human person Christ died for us on the Cross. Sister Marie-Margaret Alacoque from France saw visions in which Jesus asked her to spread the spirituality of the Sacred Heart, a spirituality focused on the love of Christ. She received the support of the head of the Jesuits in the region, Father de la Colombiere.


The readings of the feast this year (Year A) help us understand the importance of the feast. The reading from the Gospel is from Matthew (11:25-30), Jesus' exclamation of joy, which also alludes to his heart: "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light".

The first reading is from Deuteronomy (7:6-9.11), underlining the love that God has in His heart with regard to His people: "It was not because you were more numerous than any other people that the Lord set his heart on you and chose you-- for you were the fewest of all peoples. It was because the Lord loved you".


On the day after the feast, on Saturday, we honor the Immaculate Heart of Mary, a heart that was in the perfect image and likeness of the heart of her son.

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