Father Julian Tenison Woods had a profound love for God and a mystic appreciation of all God’s creation. I believe this came from his own experience of being loved by God and was expressed through the symbolism of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. He named the Congregation he co-founded with Saint Mary MacKillop, the Sisters of Saint Joseph of the Sacred Heart and he often signed his letters to the Sisters with the phrase “Yours most faithfully in the Sacred Heart”.
Fr Julian’s spirituality was very much influenced by the people and places where he lived. His experience of being with the Marist Fathers in 19th century France, immersed him in the popular devotion of honouring the Sacred Heart of Jesus. [It was in Paray-le-Monial, France, that visions received by St Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647-1690) gave the Church this new way of expressing God’s love for our world.] At that time daily/weekly Eucharist was not necessarily available, so sincere prayers and devotional practices filled the void. It was only natural then that Fr Julian tapped into the imagery of those times to support the people who longed for spiritual nourishment in the new colony of Australia.
Fr Julian saw the Sacred Heart of Jesus as a way to express the mystery of God’s human heart. In honouring the Sacred Heart of Jesus, he was praising God, the source of all Love. In Jesus’ giving of himself for us through his life, death and resurrection, God’s Love was shown as tender, compassionate and inclusive of all. Fr Julian endeavoured to live out this Love through his service of others every day. His vision was for the Sisters of Saint Joseph to live similarly – to recognise the Sacred Heart of Jesus in the suffering and vulnerable people they served in the world around them. He urged them to get their strength through taking refuge in the Heart of Jesus in all their cares.
Fr Julian had a mystical view of the world – he saw God’s presence with him wherever he was – but it was through his relationship with the Sacred Heart that he experienced God’s love so intensely that it turned his contemplation into action for the good of others.
I wonder what Fr Julian would say to us today about the Sacred Heart of Jesus? Perhaps:
The world today is overwhelmed by division, wars, anxiety and fear. We need a beacon of hope shining out love, mercy and unity and we can find that in the image of the Sacred Heart. Let us find refuge in the Heart of God in our time of need. Let’s God’s love be our strength in suffering, our release in confusion and the fire that motivates us. The Sacred Heart is the heartbeat of God in the world, calling us to hope and compassion. Let us draw near to that Heart and become hearts of love for others.
Carmel Jones rsj