The Burning Love of God!

Friday, June 27, 2025

Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

Ez 34:11-16; Rom 5:5b-11; Lk 15:3-7

The solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus invites us to reflect on God’s burning love for us. 

Though we can trace the origin of the practice of meditating over the pierced side of Christ to the early Church, devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus gained prominence in the 17th century through revelations to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque. In his revelations, Jesus showed her his Heart, burning with love for humanity, and expressed his desire to be honoured through a special veneration. From these visions came the tradition of the 12 Promises. Chief among them is the pledge of Jesus to bless every place where his Heart is honoured and displayed.

Apart from the history of God’s revelation, Christian life is built on God’s zealous love, symbolized in the burning heart of Christ representing his immense love for humanity. 

The readings of today invite us to reflect on the burning love of God for humanity. The biblical tradition prefers the image of ‘shepherding’ to reflect on God’s love for His people. Hence, a reflection on the sacred heart of Jesus should also be founded on Jesus the Good Shepherd. Here, we must note that in continuation with the Old Testament imagery of shepherding, Jesus assumes the role of the Good Shepherd in the New Testament. 

But why is the imagery of the shepherd more compelling when we reflect on God’s love? A shepherd’s approach to his sheep is more relational. The shepherds typically spend their whole day with the sheep, and the companionship lasts for months together. In the meantime, the shepherds develop such profound understanding of their sheep that they know their grazing pattern, bleating communication, and their occasional tendency to stray away from the flock. While the shepherds’ knowledge of their sheep is thus profound, their lives are characterized by a sacrificial attitude. A shepherd would not be able to lead his sheep if he were not prepared to face the perils that surround such a profession that shares some characteristics with vagabonds. To cite a few, they must be prepared to dare the constant threat of thieves, dangerous animals, exposure to inclement weather, the nomadic nature of the profession, and solitary wandering all day long. A shepherd undergoes all these for the sake of the sheep he leads. In other words, unless a shepherd is prepared to mortgage his life, a shepherd’s work is unthinkable. 

It is against this backdrop that we understand God as the Shepherd of Israel and Jesus as the Good Shepherd. Such is the love of God that we celebrate in the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. 

The first reading from the book of the prophet Ezekiel addresses a people in exile, betrayed and abandoned by their leaders. God condemns such false shepherds of Israel and promises through the prophet to search, gather, and heal His sheep. Prophet Ezekiel highlights the shepherding heart of God through the fact that God does not give up on His sheep. 

The second reading underscores the sacrificial heart of Jesus as made visible in his supreme sacrifice on the cross. God’s grace shows that God loved us first even though we were sinners. Relating Jesus’ sacrifice to today’s feast, we understand that the Sacred Heart of Jesus is the heart that bled for us because God considered us lovable even in our sin. 

The Gospel text highlights the seeking heart of Jesus the Good Shepherd. The fact that the Good Shepherd goes after the lost one, leaving the ninety-nine, proves that he is no ordinary shepherd. Through a love that looks irrational, Jesus highlights the mystery of Divine Folly – a God who seems to act imprudently by human standards, though His ‘foolishness is wiser than men’ (1 Cor 1:25). 

In light of the reflection on the three readings, we are inspired to ask ourselves what it means to enthrone the Sacred Heart of Jesus in our homes.

Enthroning the Sacred Heart of Jesus in our homes is a public declaration of our faith and our commitment to living a Christ-centered life. When Christ becomes the center of our house, his presence will continue to shape our words, actions, and lives too. The act of enthroning the Sacred Heart of Jesus also demonstrates that Christ is the primary occupant of the house, and we shape our Christian identity and existence around the burning love of his Sacred Heart. Thus, the One who rules over the house will rule over our hearts to let others understand the transforming love of Christ. 

Let us pray that we may be consumed by the love of the Sacred Heart of Jesus to replicate the same in our lives. 

Fr. Dhinakaran Savariyar