As we come to the celebration of the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, some of us may have memories of the images dating back to childhood with pictures of the Sacred Heart hanging in the home or in classrooms. For other readers, mention of the Sacred Heart of Jesus may be something quite new.
In 2024, Pope Francis issued his Encyclical, Dilexit Nos: The Human and Divine Love of the Heart of Jesus Christ, which provides many rich insights into the meaning of such a feast day. Pope Francis begins by reminding us of the significance of the human heart. He says that for every person, no matter where they come from, the heart is regarded as the place where we are authentically ourselves, from where our passions emerge and where our treasures are kept. Sometimes we speak from the heart, act from our heart. The algorithms we now refer to in our digital world are uniform, predictable and can be manipulated, but this is not the case with the heart.
If we devalue the heart … we miss the messages that the mind alone cannot communicate; we miss out on the richness of our encounters with others; we miss out on poetry. We also lose track of history and our own past, since our real personal history is built with the heart.
Pope Francis also reminds us that there is a missionary imperative that flows from the Heart of Jesus, as he named the call “to bring good news to the poor”. We can be challenged by the question:
Would it please the Heart that so loved us, if we were to bask in a private religious experience while ignoring its implications for the society in which we live?
With the name of the Congregation being Sisters of Saint Joseph of the Sacred Heart, Mary MacKillop had great devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, shared this with the Sisters, and also ensured the Sisters were actively engaged in ministries, particularly those that reached out to the poor and neglected.
Along with these reflections and our best wishes for a Happy Feast Day, we share greetings from our Founders:
Now that we are in the month of the Sacred Heart, may that loving Heart bring to one and all of you, Its own true spirit – Its spirit of love, true charity and sweet humility.
May the Sacred Heart of Jesus fill you all with love, that you burn and glow with it more and more.
Sr Josephine Dubiel
Congregational Leader