Heart of the World

Today, the Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart, the last of the series of great holy days that overflow from the Paschal Mystery... and fittingly, this feast brings us right back into the heart of that Mystery; the mystery of Christ's love for humanity. And the symbol of that love is his heart which was pierced by a lance as he hung on the Cross and from that wound flowed blood and water, the signs of the Eucharist and Baptism, the birth of his holy Church.

Hans Urs von Balthasar has written a wonderful paean to the Sacred Heart and to Christ's love for the Church and humanity entitled 'Heart of the World'. The following reflections are taken from that powerful and mystical book:

"And so, the Word came into the world. Eternal life selected for itself the abode of a human Heart. And it resolved to live within this trembling tent; it deigned to let itself be struck... But God housed in a heart! How easy he now was to reach! How swiftly he could be hurt!... How exposed God had made himself! What folly he committed! He had himself betrayed the weak spot of his love... Incomprehensible sign, set up in the world's midst, between heaven and earth! The divine Ocean forced into the tiny wellspring of a human Heart!

"This Heart lives on service. It does not seek to glorify itself, but the Father alone. It does not speak of its love. It performs its service so unobtrusively that it is almost forgotten, as we forget our heart under the stress of our affairs. We think that life lives of itself. No one listens to his own heart, not even for a second - his heart that bestows hour after hour on him... We have grown used to love. And we no longer hear the tapping finger that knocks day and night at the gate of our soul; we no longer hear this question, this request to enter.

"But: Be at peace! I have overcome the world. The torment of sin has already been submerged in the stillness of love... The shallower abyss of rebellion has been swallowed up in unfathomable mercy, and throbbing majestically reigns serene the Heart of God."

Above is a photo of the statue of the Sacred Heart in St Cuthbert's Seminary, Ushaw in County Durham. I used to spend time staring into the tender and loving eyes of that image and ponder the depths of Jesus' love for me and for all people. May this poor reproduction lead you to ponder his love, compassion and mercy which is without end, the very "Heart of the World"...