This is one of the Solemnities of the Lord that does not fall on a Sunday in New Zealand. However, this should not diminish its importance although, to my mind, it is closely related in its message to the Divine Mercy devotion which has its special day on the Second Sunday of Easter. We can also see with the promulgation of the memorial of Mary, Mother of the Church on the day after Pentecost a focus on the Crucifixion and thereby on the work accomplished by Jesus on the dreadful instrument of Roman torture. This can help to dispel any of the sometimes regrettable and saccharine representations of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, whether in statues or pictures. Jesus had a heart for the poor, neglected and the outcast as well as being a keen observer of nature yet he never stooped to exaggerated and effusive expressions of affection. Rather, he tended to be very restrained: "Woman, here it your son" and "Here is your mother." (John 19: 26-27) Our own love for others needs to imitate that of our Master, as indeed he asked us to: "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have love you." (John 15: 12) That love, coming from the heart of Jesus, is not a question of duty rather of self-giving and everlasting, steadfast covenant love - hesed. Such love: "bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things." (1 Cor 13: 7) The question is not whether our love is nice or pretty or emotional but whether, instead, it is conformed to the heart of God revealed in Christ Jesus: "We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. For those he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn within a large family. And those who he predestined he also called; and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he glorified." (Romans 8: 28-30)
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