This past Friday and Saturday, we celebrated the Feast Days of the Sacred and Immaculate hearts of Jesus and Mary. These two hearts are our two models of the Christian life. Both hearts are, to a degree, incomplete without the other. The Immaculate Heart and the Sacred Heart are inseparable.
The Immaculate Heart of Mary is the heart that is totally pure. The Immaculate Heart is the heart that has given itself completely to God in love and service to God. In Mary’s fiat, her yes to God at the Annunciation, she demonstrates her total gift of self to the Lord. This is the culmination of Mary’s entire life. Throughout Mary’s life she has said yes to God, in her prayer, in her service to the temple, in her virginity, in all things, Mary has said yes to God. And Mary’s yes continues after the Annunciation. Mary says yes to her Son starting his public ministry at the Wedding Feast of Cana, yes to Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, and yes to receive St. John the Beloved and the Church, as her son. The Immaculate Heart of Mary is the only heart that can fully receive God because it has fully given itself to God. The Immaculate Heart is the only heart that can hold Christ in the womb, it is the only heart that can receive and hold the heart of Christ, the Sacred Heart.
The Sacred Heart of Jesus is the heart of love. The Sacred Heart is the heart that goes out, the heart that goes forth to get to the beloved. Is the Sacred Heart of Jesus that reaches out and comes to us. Is the heart that is on fire with love for all. However, it is also the heart that is willing to be wounded out of love. The heart that can give itself as a total self-gift to the other as a sacrifice for the sake of the other. That is the heart of Christ.
We are called to have both hearts. We purify our hearts and imitate the Immaculate Heart when we say yes to God in our life. When we say yes to God, we come closer to God, and we turn away from sin. As our heart is purified, we become more capable to receive God and receive the Sacred Heart of Jesus. And when we receive the Sacred Heart of Jesus, we begin to imitate Jesus by going out in love to our neighbor. We love with the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and we allow ourselves to be wounded, to be made a sacrifice for others. Both hearts work together.
We receive the love of God with the Immaculate Heart, and we love like God with the Sacred Heart. The two are inseparable and we cannot be a disciple without one or the other. Imitate Mary in her yes to receive the Immaculate Heart, and sacrifice like Christ to receive the Sacred Heart. Amen.
In Christ,
Fr. Stefan
