Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Both the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the thought of Mary, the Virgin Mother of God, bring to our minds the immense love which both Jesus and Mary have for each one of us.  When we see so much suffering, so much poverty, so much pain in the world, we are tempted to doubt if God or Jesus Christ cares for us.  In such dark moments it is good for us to think that God said that even if a mother could forget the child of her womb, He could not forget us. (cf. Is49:15).  Each time your eye catches the crucifix, each time you look at a picture of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, God is saying to you through His Son, Jesus Christ, that He cares.  An infant, sleeping in the arms of its mother, may not be conscious of the care that its receiving.  So, too with us in this life, we are sleeping, very often unaware of the unceasing care and love which God has for each one of us.

When we pray to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, we try to make ourselves more conscious of that personal love which Jesus Christ has for each of us.  Remember, He knows us all by our Christian names and thinks of us as individuals.

Devotion to the Sacred Heart, however does not stop at that.  Jesus Christ has said to us:
"This is My Commandment; love one another as I have loved you."  (Jn. 15:17) 

Jesus Christ had a very big heart.  We know many big hearted persons.  To be big-hearted means to be generous to others.  When we think of generosity, we think of money, but there are many ways other than money with which we can be generous.  We can be generous in forgiving.  We can be generous in trying to understand others.  We can be generous with the time we give to others, and I am sure you can think of many other ways in which we can be generous to those whom we meet in life.  Jesus Christ was generous with all that He had to give and He had little or not money.  He was generous in the end in giving His life for all of us.

Extract from 'Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus', 1989

Deep Down Things - selected writing of
Fr. Richard McCullen, CM  - New City Press

Published in St. Peter's Parish Newsletter 17th June, 2007