First Friday of the month,

Our prize is the blood of Christ, who, from generation to generation, saves us from death and feeds us in times of hunger. The Church offers us the words of the psalmist to help us enter into the mystery of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and his love for us. They remind us that God’s heart conceals plans for each individual’s personal history; plans of freedom and life. We are not random and insignificant products of evolution. Each of us is the fruit of God’s thoughts. Each of us is wanted, each of us is loved, each of us is needed”.

Contemplating Jesus on the cross, we see that He let His heart be pierced to give us further proof of His unconditional love for us. Saint Ambrose emphasises that ‘just as Eve was born from the side of Adam when he fell asleep, so the Church was born from the pierced heart of Christ when he died on the cross’ [3]. In a sense, we can say that our origin lies in the pierced heart of Jesus. Our Christian life stems from this source, like a spring to which we can return whenever we need strength on our journey.

„ Jesus on the cross, with his heart pierced out of love for humanity, provides an eloquent response to the question of the value of people and things, rendering words completely superfluous.
‘When we celebrate the Sacred Heart of the Lord, we realise that behind every moment of suffering and defeat, there is someone who considers us irreplaceable. People and their lives are of such great value that the Son of God gave himself up to redeem, purify and uplift them.”

It is a heart that keeps looking for us. Sometimes our peace may be threatened when we discover the presence of sin in our lives, perhaps when we fall into temptation and become entangled in our own vices. We hate the sin that takes us away from God and hurts us and others, yet we cannot seem to find a way out of it. In such moments, our willpower seems idle, and we may feel paralysed in our spiritual life. However, if we think that our hearts are somehow unresponsive, we can take comfort in the knowledge that Jesus’ heart is tender and humble; it offers solace to those who turn to him: ‘Come to me, all you who are struggling and overloaded, and I will strengthen you’ (Mt 11:28). Christ is also a good shepherd who constantly looks for us, paves the way for us, and carries us on his shoulders again. Knowing that his heart never sleeps, even when ours seems far away, gives us the confidence to face our daily struggles once more.

„ The heart of the Good Shepherd tells us that his love knows no bounds; that he never grows weary or gives up. He is inclined towards us all, especially those who are far away. There he tenaciously shows the needle of his compass; there he reveals the weakness of his special love because he wants to reach everyone and not lose anyone”.[5] Our sins are no longer a reason to discourage us from wanting to be with God. The Lord allows us to experience weakness, which opens up the possibility of humility. He relies on our efforts, so that driven by his grace, we can rise. Sometimes, salvation history is carried out against hope in hope (Rom 4:18), that is, through our weaknesses. We often think that God relies only on our good and winning side, but in reality, most of his plans are implemented through and despite our weakness.

To make our way back… ↔ ON THE CROSS Jesus gets his side pierced with a spear: ‘The Saviour’s open heart attracts everyone to draw on the springs of salvation with joy’. Contemplating Christ in this way will help us find courage and our way back to friendship with God. ‘Find refuge in his wounds on his hands, on his feet and in his side,’ advises Saint Josemaría, ‘and your will to start again will be strengthened, and you will set off again with greater determination and effectiveness’. If we want to escape the trap of despondency, the best remedy is to think less about our limitations and to calmly contemplate the heart that was pierced by the sins of all.

‘You are still accompanied by mistakes,’ said the founder of Opus Dei, ‘and it hurts you! At the same time, however, you walk with such joy that it is as if your heart will jump out. And because your failures hurt you — the pain of love — they no longer rob you of peace.’⁹ God does not want our sins to fill us with sadness or burden us. That is why He gave us the gift of confession, so that we can regain joy whenever we need it. Repentance, or grief over one’s own faults, is inherent in a loving heart. It is not a feeling of despondency for not living up to the expectations of others or ourselves; rather, it is a sadness born of love for God, who does everything necessary for us.

In the heart of Christ, we will always have a place to which we can return. Become humble and enter through that door. If we ever find ourselves lost, we can count on Mary’s help. She shows us the way into her Son’s open side with her maternal gaze.