The solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus reveals to us that at the heart of Christian life and faith is the unconditional and total love of God revealed on the cross of Christ. In the blood and water flowing from his heart, we see symbolized and wonderfully expressed the fundamental sacraments of our Christian life: Baptism, the living water that purifies us, and the Eucharist, the food and drink that nourish us. Let us therefore show God our immense gratitude by responding to his love with an active faith that gives itself without reserve.

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus (s) (B)
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Texts taken from the Missal “On Your Word” May-June 2021

FIRST READING

From the Book of the Prophet Hosea (Hos 11:1,3-4,8c-9)
When Israel was a child I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. It was I who taught Ephraim to walk, taking him by the hand; yet they never knew that I was their healer. I drew them with human cords, with bands of love; I was like one who lifts an infant to his cheek, and I bent down to feed him. My heart is overwhelmed within me, my compassion grows warm and tender. I will not give vent to my blazing anger, I will not destroy Ephraim again, for I am God and not a human being, the Holy One among you; I will not come against you in wrath.

Commentary on the first reading

In the Old Testament there is a passage in which the theme of God's heart is expressed with absolute clarity: it is in chapter 11 of the Book of the Prophet Hosea, where the opening verses describe the dimension of the love with which the Lord, a God who is both father and mother, turned to Israel at the dawn of its history. In truth, Israel responds to God's tireless predilection with indifference and even ingratitude. Yet he never abandons Israel into the hands of its enemies: “My heart is overwhelmed within me, my compassion grows warm and tender” (v. 8). The heart of God trembles with compassion! On today's solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Church offers this mystery for our contemplation: the mystery of the heart of a God who is moved and pours out all his love upon humanity. A mysterious love, revealed to us in the texts of the New Testament as God's immeasurable passion for humanity.

SECOND READING

From the Letter of Saint Paul the Apostle to the Ephesians (Eph 3:8-12,14-19)
Brothers and sisters, to me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given: to proclaim to the Gentiles the inscrutable riches of Christ and to bring to light for everyone the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God, who created all things, so that through the Church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the principalities and authorities in the heavenly places. This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and confident access to God through faith in him. For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that he may grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are rooted and grounded in love. May you have strength to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Commentary on the second reading

Paul expresses his amazement at what he has come to know of the mystery of God: Christ chooses to dwell in the hearts of the faithful in a supreme dialogue of love and life. Through this dialogue, the disciple can discover the universe of love contained in the heart of God. Our heart too, if rooted in Christ, can come to understand, in faith, the breadth, depth, and height of the experience of love that the Son came to reveal to us. Indeed, when we allow the Spirit to make his way within us, we discover the immense riches of Christ's love, and God's presence is no longer a concept but becomes a profound experience that strengthens us inwardly, giving us complete and lasting confidence. Paul, who had experienced separation from Christ, understands that there is nothing more precious than Christ and his love. His divine heart then calls to our heart; it invites us to leave ourselves behind, abandon our human securities, trust in him, and, following his example, make ourselves a gift of love without reserve.

GOSPEL OF THE DAY

From the Gospel according to John (Jn 19:31-37)
Since it was the day of Preparation, and so that the bodies would not remain on the cross during the Sabbath—for that Sabbath was a solemn day—the Jews asked Pilate to have their legs broken and the bodies removed. Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who had been crucified with him. But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. Instead, one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and immediately blood and water flowed out. He who saw this has testified so that you also may believe. His testimony is true, and he knows that he tells the truth. These things occurred so that the Scripture passage might be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken.” And again another passage says: “They will look upon him whom they have pierced.”

Commentary on the Gospel of the day

In this cruel act of breaking the legs of the two criminals, there is the Romans' mercy, as they wanted to bring the condemned men's suffering to an end as quickly as possible. To die on a cross meant dying of asphyxiation, because the rib cage was compressed by the weight of the body. Breaking the legs prevented the condemned person from expanding the rib cage by pushing with the legs, and within two or three minutes he would die. Jesus did not need this; he was already dead. The act by which the soldier verified Jesus' death testifies that he had stopped breathing. It is a surreal scene: God, the Eternal One, the Almighty, hanging lifeless on a cross, pierced by a spear. But what was supposed simply to be a verification of his death becomes a window into his mystery. That piercing allows us to glimpse Christ's own heart, from which “blood and water” flow. Our God does not disdain to offer his life in order to continue being present among us through the sacraments, which convey the flow of a new life. Jesus' pierced heart on the cross is the source from which redemption and salvation spring forth for humanity. We are invited to turn the gaze of faith toward that heart, as the quotation from the prophet Zechariah suggests: “They will look upon him whom they have pierced.”