The Portal July 2016 | Page 18

THE P RTAL
July 2016 Page 18

The Sacred Heart of Jesus

Fr Julian Green opens up this devotion for us
“ It is not the physical Heart of Jesus that is important here . Rather , it is the heart as the symbol for all that is most intimate and personal to us .”

When I applied to the Archdiocese of Birmingham to begin seminary formation , twenty-six years ago , I had interviews with four clergymen . One of these was Canon Sean McTernan , at that time Parish Priest of St Theresa ’ s in Perry Barr . Although he was a kindly man , whom I grew to admire and love and whose death earlier this year saddened me greatly , I found him somewhat abrupt in that interview .

I remember one question he asked me was , “ What are your favourite devotions ?” On the spur of the moment , I said “ the Sacred Heart of Jesus ”. Quite why I said that , I am not quite sure , for it was not really the case . However , those words came to be prophetic , through my experience of seminary in Valladolid , Spain .
If you go anywhere in Spain , you will easily find images of the Sacred Heart , not only in churches but on street corners and in prominent places . In Valladolid , the first church that I visited , and one I would often visit , was the Basilica of the Great Promise , not far from the English College , and next door to the former Scots ’ College . The ‘ Great Promise ’, made by our Lord to an eighteenth century Jesuit priest , Bernard Francis de Hoyos , was “ I will reign in Spain and with more veneration than in other places ”. The Basilica church houses an image of the Sacred Heart , arms outstretched in blessing , which dominates the full height of the sanctuary of the Church .
The connection of the Sacred Heart to the Jesuit Order originates from the revelations made to St Margaret Mary in Paray-le-Monial , and to the fact that the Lord desired that the propagation of the devotion be entrusted through her confessor , St Claude de la Colombière , to the Jesuits . It is in Spain , however , that the connection between the spiritual method of St Ignatius of Loyola and the devotion to the Heart of Jesus influenced popular spirituality . Indeed , in Spain – because of the predominance of the Jesuits – people do not refer to going on retreat , but to going on spiritual exercises .
For those of us in these northern climes , with our very practical approach to religion , it is sometimes difficult to go beyond the externals , and to achieve a ‘ knowledge of the heart ’. Coming from this background myself , it took me some time to understand the Spanish spirituality of the Heart of Jesus . Once I did , helped by some very Ignatian ( but not Jesuit ) priests , it became a truly transforming period for me . It is not the physical heart of the Lord which is important here . Rather , it is the heart as the symbol for all that is most intimate and personal to us .
Devotion to the Heart of Jesus relies on a truly orthodox understanding of Jesus who is both God and Man , two integral natures , but only one person . He is “ true God from true God ” but is also truly Man with a humanity like ours , “ in all things but sin ”. His Heart , his inner self , his soul , is fully human , so I can have that cor ad cor , heart to heart knowledge of him . In knowing his human heart , we enter into a knowledge of the divine love with which that Heart beats . Thus , he draws us into the inner life of love at the heart of the Trinity .
When we read the Gospel , we can read it as a narrative , telling us what our Lord said and did . But if we look to the next layer , and seek to discern what is in the Heart of the Lord ( his thoughts , emotions , desires , sufferings , joys …), then we can know that the Lord , who relates to me today in my prayer , has the same intimate attitude towards me . This can be a tremendous source of prayer for us , and the way in which we can give true veneration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus .