Oh, sacred heart of Jesus, I place my trust in thee,
Whatever may befall me, Lord, though dark the hour may be;
In all my woes, in all my joys, though nothing but grief I see,
Oh, sacred heart of Jesus, I place my trust in thee.
For some, the words of the traditional Catholic prayer and acts of devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus recall, perhaps sentimentally, a simpler time and era in human history. For Pope Francis, however, devotion to the Sacred Heart is medicine for a people who have become “heartless,” for a society that has become indifferent to greed and filled with fear, anger and violence.
“The symbol of the heart has often been used to express the love of Jesus Christ. Some have questioned whether this symbol is still meaningful today,” writes the pope in his most recent encyclical, Dilexit nos, “He loved us,” published in October 2024.
“Yet living as we do in an age of superficiality, rushing frenetically from one thing to another without really knowing why, and ending up as insatiable consumers and slaves to the mechanisms of a market unconcerned about the deeper meaning of our lives, all of us need to rediscover the importance of the heart.”
In contemplating the Sacred Heart, believers can be filled with the “living water that can heal the hurt we have caused, strengthen our ability to love and serve others, and inspire us to journey together toward a just, solidary and fraternal world,” he continues.
Unquestionably, we live in an age of chaos and disruption. Our constant frenetic pace — fed by socioeconomic and political uncertainties compounded by a 24/7 news cycle — has left us exhausted and even numb to the tragedies of our broken world.
We are indeed testing the capacity of the human mind, heart and soul to absorb, cope and respond. Some question whether humankind is losing its humanity. Others suggest the problems of the modern world are rooted in humanity’s empathy for the marginalized and the vulnerable.
Pope Francis believes otherwise:
“In this ‘liquid’ world of ours,” he writes in his encyclical, “we need to start speaking once more about the heart and thinking about this place where every person, of every class and condition, creates a synthesis, where they encounter the radical source of their strengths, convictions, passions and decisions.
“Yet, we find ourselves immersed in societies of serial consumers who live from day to day, dominated by the hectic pace and bombarded by technology, lacking in the patience needed to engage in the processes that an interior life by its very nature requires. In contemporary society, people ‘risk losing their center, the center of their very selves.’
“‘Indeed, the men and women of our time often find themselves confused and torn apart, almost bereft of an inner principle that can create unity and harmony in their lives and actions. Models of behavior that, sadly, are now widespread exaggerate our rational-technological dimension or, on the contrary, that of our instincts.’
“No room is left for the heart.”
“Christ’s love, he reminds us, “can give a heart to our world and revive love wherever we think that the ability to love has been definitively lost.”
From this Easter Monday, 21 April, through the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Friday, 27 June, take a moment each day to make room for the heart. Make room for daily reflections of Pope Francis, who in his latest encyclical invites Catholics, and all people of good will, to rediscover the Sacred Heart and the radical love at the heart of the Gospel.
Join the worldwide CNEWA network, as we together encounter the “pierced heart of the Lord.” Click here to sign up for Sacred Heart daily email reflections from Dilexit nos.