Today's Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus presents an image that once spoke convincingly to a Church gone lukewarm. The exposed heart of Jesus with flames leaping from the top, and a crown of thorns surrounding it, was a stark symbol of the unlimited love Jesus has for each of us. Reproductions of the Sacred Heart were found in statues, paintings, holy cards, in Churches and homes, along with the Litany of the Sacred Heart and the 12 promises made to St. Mary Alacoque, the Visitation Sister to whom Jesus revealed this compelling image. The warmth of his loving heart inspired people to return to active practice of the faith for centuries. However, the trend over the last 50 years has been a turning from that comforting love to a materialism, indifference, and even rampant and active atheism.
Locally, we have one fifth of a class of intelligent graduates from a prestigious academy caught in an underage drinking party, and a local wealthy town witnessing a huge surge in heroin overdosing. One guidance counselor laments that many young people have lost hope, hence their turning to alcohol, drugs and suicide in alarming rates. A pastor describes the reality of a "post-Christian Society" in which people cling to a few remnants of their faith, which are not enough to supply substance and meaning to their lives. Will the Loving Heart of Jesus find another way to touch the cold hearts of this generation? Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us all.
Bro. Rene
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