Kuwait City, 27 June 2014
Homily of the Apostolic Nuncio
His Grace Archbishop Petar Rajič
Dt 7:6-11; 1 Jn 4:7-16; Mt 11:25-30
Modern medical science teaches us that the human heart has the physical characteristic and function of being a pump that moves blood through the veins throughout the body. It works day and night, whether we are awake or at sleep, making sure that the blood flow is continuous from our head to our toes. The spiritual attribute of the heart is that it is at the center of our emotions, thoughts and desires. When we speak of the human heart, we know that we speak of the inner and intimate aspect of the person.
Today’s Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus presents us with the human and divine heart of our Lord Jesus Christ. In the Old Testament the Lord said to his people: The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people of his own possession because the Lord loves you. God loved us first and decided to establish a bond between him and us, the work of his hands. He had no other reason except that of his love towards us.
The Psalmist confirms this essential feature of God when he says: The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. Our God is a God of love. He acts only out of love, and has bound himself to his people with an eternal bond of love. And since there are no limits to God, so too his mercy is everlasting, so also his love for us will never end.
We know and believe the love God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. Here we come to know that God is among us, when the love that we experience in our lives inspires us to reciprocate this love by works of charity towards our neighbour. We believe that God is love and the power of his love knows no bounds. If we believed more in the power of divine love, we would be able to change the world. Those who believe in the love of God have the confidence of divine protection. They no longer remain under the influence of sin and are able to face all the difficulties of life with the help of the same divine love through the Holy Spirit.
The Lord Jesus invites us to himself: Come to me. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly of heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Jesus speaks directly from his heart: Come to me. His offer is open to all those who want to taste his love, but includes a challenge: Take my yoke. True love always involves commitment. As believers in God we confidently accept the yoke or commitment of loving because we want to learn from him… who is the master and the source of love. Our relationship with God then, is an inner, spiritual bond, based on a desire for God and his love.
Our devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Divine heart pierced with a spear on Calvary, should therefore be a prayer to discover and accept the Lord’s immense love with reverence and gratitude. May the Lord Jesus create within each of us a gentle and humble heart like his, capable of pumping out good works throughout the Body of Christ, which is his Church.
