The feast of the Sacred Heart 2026

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Today we celebrate the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and on Saturday the feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Some people might think that images of Jesus and Mary with their hearts ablaze is too sentimental to relate to but in reality they teach us a most important lesson. We are called into a personal relationship with Jesus and his mother. Such a relationship is more than having intellectual knowledge about them. The first reading today from Deuteronomy sets the tone when we hear that, ''The Lord set his heart on you and chose you because of his love for you.'' God knows us totally because he created us but love is more than knowing. Love comes not from the head but from the heart. When a close family member or friend dies we could say I know that my mother is with God in heaven but our first reaction is that I feel sad because she is no longer with me. My tears come from what I am feeling in my heart.

 

Lately I have found that it is a helpful way to pray by asking myself what am I feeling in the depth of my heart. I might feel happy, or sad or at other times frustrated, disappointed or worried. If I believe that Jesus is the friend who said, ''Come to me, all you who labour and are burdened, and I will give you rest for I am gentle and humble of heart,'' then I know he is listening when I pour out to him what is in my heart. Help me, Lord, to respond to the love of your Sacred Heart for by recognzing that you are with me every moment of my life.