J.M.J.
In the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, we find an amazing
receptivity to us—His brothers and sisters. Christ loves us and wants to
embrace, heal and strengthen us.
The month of June, whose thirty days are traditionally
dedicated to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, is not long enough to consider
well the astounding love that the merciful Jesus has for each of us. But it is
a start. Perhaps the mere designation of June to the Sacred Heart may be enough
to push us to reflect on that “Heart that has loved men so much but has been
loved so little in return.”
In his valuable volume, Our Best Friend (Milwaukee: Bruce Publishing Company, 1953), Jesuit
Father Christian Pesch (1835-1925) offered a helpful analysis of the amiability
of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The author defined an amiable person as
one possessed of exquisite manners, thoughtful
consideration for the requirements of pleasant companionship, considerate
yielding to the wishes of others, the gift of conversation; in short, social
adaptability without affectation or ignoble flattery. If, in addition to these
qualities, their possessor has a stately and attractive figure, he is the
living embodiment of the ideal, amiable person. (page 49)
Was Jesus the Messiah amiable? Yes, Father Pesch
argued, in both moral excellence and attractiveness of manners. Yet, Christ
“was compelled to hide His amiability under a veil in order that men might not
be enslaved by His external attractiveness and lose sight of weightier
considerations.” (page 50)
This last point is one we have heard before. Before
His Passion, Jesus did not usually allow the full force of His glory to be
seen, realizing that it would overcome those who saw it. This was also the case
after His Resurrection.
Indeed, Jesus is the most amiable of all persons.
Again, Father Pesch:
It is our destiny to enjoy the unsurpassed amiability
of Jesus for all eternity, and to draw therefrom unspeakable delights. How
senseless it would be, then, to sacrifice this eternal joy or even to diminish
it for the sake of some creature whose charm is doomed soon to return to the
dust whence it came. Let us strive, then, to form as perfect an image as
possible of the amiability of our glorified Savior, and to impress this image
so indelibly in our hearts that the allurements of creatures may not prevail
against it. We must learn to enjoy our Savior. (page 52)
To enjoy our Savior! The mere sound of such an
utterance thrills our weary hearts. May the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus make
this so! May we learn to enjoy Jesus and bask in His unparalleled amiability.
Father Pesch concluded his meditation on the
amiability of the Sacred Heart by stressing:
The highest expression of love toward another is that
a man offer Him his heart. So loving is our Savior that, despite all our
infidelities, He wishes to give us His Heart. Oh, let us accept this gift, let
us consider it as our most precious treasure, let us honor it and pay it
homage! Let us live in this Heart, and living in It we shall “taste, and see
that the Lord is sweet” (Ps. 33:9).
Heart of Jesus, full of goodness and love, have mercy
on us!
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