Devotion to the Sacred Heart in June: day 4
4nd June
Our Father, who art in heaven, may your name be sanctified, your kingdom come, your will be done, as in heaven as on earth. Give us our daily bread today, forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.
Invocation. - Heart of Jesus, victim of sinners, have mercy on us!
Intention. - Repair for those who habitually live in sin.
THE HEART
Consider the emblems of the Sacred Heart and try to profit from the teachings that the Divine Master gives us.
The requests that Jesus made to Santa Margherita were different; the most important, or rather the one that contains them all, is the request for love. Devotion to the Heart of Jesus is devotion of love.
To love and not be reciprocated in love is saddening. This was the lament of Jesus: seeing himself neglected and despised by those whom he loved so much and continues to love. To push us to fall in love with him, he presented the flaming heart.
The heart! … In the human body the heart is the center of life; if it does not pulse, there is death. It is taken as a symbol of love. - I offer you my heart! - you say to a loved one, meaning: I offer you what I have most precious, my whole being!
The human heart, center and source of affections, must beat above all for the Lord, Supreme Good. When a lawyer asked: Master, what is the greatest commandment? - Jesus answered: The first and greatest commandment is this: You will love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind ... (S. Matthew, XXII - 3G).
The love of God does not exclude other loves. The affections of the heart can also be directed to our fellow man, but always in relation to God: to love the Creator in creatures.
It is therefore a good thing to love the poor, love the enemies and pray for them. Bless the Lord the affections that unite the hearts of the spouses: give glory to God the love that parents bring to their children and their exchange.
If the human heart leaves itself unchecked, disordered affects easily arise, which are sometimes dangerous and sometimes seriously sinful. The devil knows that the heart, if it is taken by ardent love, is capable of the greatest good or the greatest evil; therefore, when he wants to drag a soul to eternal perdition, he begins to bind it with some affection, first telling her that that love is lawful, indeed dutiful; then it makes her understand that it is not a great evil and in the end, seeing her weak, she throws her into the abyss of sin.
It is easy to know if affection for a person is disordered: restlessness remains in the soul, one suffers from jealousy, one frequently thinks of the idol of the heart, with the danger of awakening passions.
How many hearts live in bitterness, because their love is not according to the will of God!
The heart cannot be fully satisfied in this world; only those who direct affections to Jesus, to his Sacred Heart, begin to look forward to satiety of the heart, prelude to eternal happiness. When Jesus reigns sovereign in a soul, this soul finds peace, true joy, senses in his mind a heavenly light that attracts him more and more to doing well. Saints love God very much and are happy even in the inevitable pains of life. Saint Paul exclaimed: I overflow with joy in all my tribulations ... Who can separate me from the love of Christ? ... (II Corinthians, VII-4). Devotees of the Sacred Heart must always nourish holy affections and strive for the love of God. Love is nourished by thinking of the loved one; therefore often turn your thoughts to Jesus and invoke yourselves with fervent ejaculations.
How much it pleases Jesus to be thought of! One day he said to his Servant Sister Benigna Consolata: Think of me, think of me often, think of me constantly!
A pious woman was fired from a priest: Father, he said, would you like to give me a good thought? - Gladly: Don't let a quarter of an hour go by without thinking about Jesus! - Smiled the woman.
- Why this smile? - Twelve years ago he gave me the same thought and wrote it on a little picture. From that day to today I have always thought of Jesus almost every quarter of an hour. - The Priest, who is the writer, remained edified.
So we often think of Jesus; often offer him his heart; let's say to him: Heart of Jesus, every heartbeat of my heart is an act of love!
In conclusion: Do not waste the affections of the heart, which are precious, and turn them all to Jesus, who is the center of love.
As a sinner ... to Santa
The heart of the woman, especially in her youth, is like an active volcano. Woe if you don't dominate!
A young woman, taken by sinful love, threw herself headlong into immorality. His scandals ruined many souls. So he lived for nine years, forget God, under the bondage of Satan. But his heart was uneasy; remorse gave her no respite.
One day she was told that her lover had been killed. He ran to the scene of the crime and was horrified to see the corpse of that man, whom he had considered as the object of his happiness.
- All finished! Thought the woman.
The grace of God, who is wont to act in times of pain, touched the sinner's heart. Returning home, she stayed for a long time to reflect; he recognized himself unhappy, stained with so many faults, devoid of honor ... and cried.
The memories of childhood came to life when he loved Jesus and enjoyed peace of heart. Humiliated she turned to Jesus, to that Divine Heart that embraces the prodigal son. He felt reborn to new life; hated sins; Mindful of the scandals, he went from door to door in the neighborhood to ask forgiveness for the bad example given.
That heart, which he had previously loved badly, began to burn with love for Jesus and underwent harsh penances to repair the evil done. He enrolled among the Franciscan Tertiaries, imitating the Poverello of Assisi.
Jesus was delighted with this conversion and demonstrated it by appearing often to this woman. Seeing her one day at her feet repented, like the Magdalene, she gently stroked her and said: Brava my dear penitent! If you knew, how much I love you! -
The ancient sinner is today in the number of Saints: S. Margherita da Cortona. Good for her who cut off sinful affections and gave place in her heart to Jesus; King of hearts!
Foil. Get used to thinking about Jesus often, even every quarter of an hour.
Ejaculation. Jesus, I love you for those who don't love you!