Homily for June 8h, 2016. Feast of the Sacred
Heart: John 19:31-37.
“When they
came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs,
but one soldier thrust a lance into his side, and immediately blood and water
flowed out. The soldier who thrust the sword into the Lord’s side is called, in
legend, St. Longinus. The legend says that he was almost blind; but that his
sight was restored when some drops of Jesus’ blood fell upon his eyes;
whereupon he cried out, “Truly, this was the Son of God” (Mark 15:39).
Moving from
legend to history, it is noteworthy that from antiquity Christians, starting
with the ancient Church Fathers, have interpreted the blood and water that
flowed from Jesus’ side as symbols of baptism and the Eucharist. In baptism we
are made God’s sons and daughters, hence brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ.
The body and blood of Jesus which we receive in Holy Communion nourish us.
Unlike ordinary food, which through the process of digestion becomes part of
us, so to speak, the heavenly food of the Eucharist makes us into what we
receive, members of Christ’s body, the Church. An ancient prayer, known by its first two words
in Latin as the Anima Christi, says:
“Soul of Christ, sanctify me; body of Christ, save me; blood of Christ
inebriate me.”
We experience
something like intoxication when we receive the Lord’s blood devoutly: with
sorrow for our sins and thanksgiving for God’s blessings; for Christ’s blood
comes from his heart. And that explains why the Church gives us this passage
from John’s gospel on today’s feast of the Sacred Heart. The feast celebrates
the Lord’s love for us. Unlike human love, the love of Jesus Christ which we
celebrate today is unconditional. Like God himself, this love is always there.
God never stops loving us, even when we fail to respond to him. It is because
of this unconditional, no-strings-attached love that God never grows tired of
forgiving us, though we too often grow tired of asking for his forgiveness. Our
wonderful Pope Francis said that within days of his election as Bishop of Rome.
He has repeated the statement many times since.
We pray, then,
in this Mass: “Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us. Sacred Heart of Jesus,
make our hearts like yours.”
No comments:
Post a Comment