My dear parishioners,
Peace! The Catechism of the Catholic Church mentions the Heart of Jesus variously. “Scripture is a unity by reason of the unity of God’s plan, of which Christ Jesus is the center and heart, open since His Passover. The phrase ‘heart of Christ’ can refer to Sacred Scripture, which makes known His heart, closed before the Passion, as the Scripture was obscure” (CCC, 112; cf. Luke 24:25-27, 44-46; Psalm 22:14). how in view of the incarnation He loves with a human heart, and “the Sacred Heart of Jesus, pierced by our sins and for our salvation ‘is quite rightly considered the chief sign and symbol of that … love with which the divine Redeemer continually loves the eternal Father and all human beings’ without exception” (cf. CCC, 470, 478; John 19:34; Pius XII Encyclical Haurietis aquas). One form of devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is the Litany of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Here we consider the eleventh of the thirty-three invocations: Heart of Jesus, abyss of all virtues.
The Lord Jesus Christ is true God and true man, perfectly human, perfectly divine as Mother Church teaches clearly in the Councils of Ephesus (431) and Chalcedon (451). The word “virtue” has the Latin term for “man” (vir) as it’s root. To be virtuous is to act in accord with our human nature. The Lord Jesus Christ came to redeem us all by assuming, that is, taking up our human nature in His Incarnation. Accordingly, His Sacred Heart, which is emblematic of His entire Person and mystery, is an abyss of all virtues, human and divine. Saint Thomas Aquinas (+1274) address the theological virtues of faith, hope and charity as well as the cardinal virtues of prudence, temperance, fortitude and justice, and the moral virtues of humility, temperance, generosity or magnanimity, brotherly love or charity, chastity, patience, and diligence (cf. Summa Theologiae II-II Q. 1-169). These classical virtues have been considered by Saints throughout the ages, not only Aquinas but Gregory the Great and Augustine before him. For his part, Saint John Paul II (+2005), who was very devoted to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, introduced a “new” virtue, namely “solidarity” (cf. Laborem Exercens (1981) 8, 20 Sollicitudo Rei Socialis (1987) 9, 21, 23, 26, 33, 36, 38-40, 45-47; CCC, 1939-1942). In Sacred Scripture, while the word “solidarity” may not be used explicitly, it is apparent in Luke 10:25-37; Romans 12:15; 1 Corinthians 12:26; and Philippians 4:12. The various virtues contribute to social cohesion or togetherness. Rather than living in isolation, with the Sacred Heart of Jesus we are concerned about the welfare of the other, the neighbor, whether they are weeping or rejoicing.
Vices isolate one from another and destroy society. The Lord Jesus Christ came to restore the harmony intended from the beginning between Heaven and Earth, between us and God. He has done this through His saving passion, when His Sacred Heart was pierced with a lance.
God bless you!
Father John Arthur Orr