RBWords

     There is a literary device called synecdoche, by which a part of something is used to mean the whole.  In the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the heart of Jesus is used as a way of expressing the whole of Jesus!  At some point in the history of the understanding of human anatomy, the heart began to be seen as the center of emotional life. (In the bible, the kidneys were often regarded in that way, but translators have substituted "heart" in Old Testament settings, at least!).  The feast of the Most Sacred Heart gained popularity in the 16th century in France and has maintained a place in Catholic piety ever since.  Pope Leo XIII gave special emphasis to it when he "consecrated" the world to the Sacred Heart in 1899 and approved the Litany of the Sacred Heart which is still in use.  There has been a popular Catholic devotion called the "enthronement of the Sacred Heart" in homes.  Many Catholic religious orders have the Sacred Heart as part of their charism and title.

     This feast emphasizes the compassionate, loving and merciful Jesus, symbolized in his heart.  Some of the pious art that shows this may not be to our contemporary taste, but traditionally it has stuck a deep chord in Catholic imagery and consciousness.  We do make use of "heart" imagery in common parlance and song:  "Cross my heart!"  "Have a heart!" "Your cheating heart!" etc. etc.  Valentine's Day brings out the sentimental "heart" imagery associated with love.  Reading the Sermon on the Mount may acquaint us with a very demanding "heart" of Jesus - a kind of "tough love."  Celebrating the feast of the Sacred Heart should be a time when we examine our own "hearts" to see if they respond well to Jesus' challenging heart!   AMEN