Revisiting the Sacred Heart
- Henry Schoenfield
- Jun 4
- 3 min read
As we enter the month of June, devotion in the Christian tradition turns from honoring the Blessed Mother to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. This devotion began to develop in the 12th and 13th centuries as an outgrowth of devotion to the humanity of Christ. And even though devotion to these more traditional aspects of Christianity seems far removed from our 21st century rationalism, there seem to be at least two ways that this devotion can still speak to us – especially given the perilous conditions in which our species finds itself.
The first way really is straight out of the tradition of the Roman Church. Recognizing an irony – that part of the zeal that started the devotion to the Sacred Heart came from Europeans returning from the violence of the crusades, the devotion itself represents a mutual recognition of tender compassion, of love between Jesus and humanity.
Taking this tender love and compassion to a wider circle of humanity, it is clear that compassion between parts of the human family has broken down. And not just between differences of religious belief, tenderness, compassion, love… these are missing elements between groups of people that have become alienated, estranged one from another.
There is no need here for me to name groups that have experienced enmity arising… we all have at least one example (or dozens) to choose from. The Sacred Heart of Jesus can remind us of the best of that to which we are called – to love and defend the alien, widow, and orphan, as scripture so often calls us. The Sacred Heart of Jesus can remind us of the exchange of love between God (however we may conceive God to be) and humanity – and between humanity and God. And of course, this transcending love is not possible without the immanent love between peoples.
This is what I would like to call the outer reminder that the Sacred Heart calls us in devotion – to love one another.
But there’s something deeper, too. It’s worth considering not just the Sacred Heart of Jesus, but also the Sacred Heart of Christ. If one is cultic in scale, the other is, I dare to say, cosmic.
In a perspective from Inner Chrisitanity, Christ is a Cosmic event. And scripture tells us this. With the phrase, “in the fullness of time,” the coming of the Christos – the Anointed One – creation is brought to fulfillment. This is a cosmogonic assertion much more than a theological one. As the Gospel of Thomas puts it:
I am the light
shining upon all things.
I am the sum of everything,
for everything has come forth from me,
and towards me everything unfolds.
Split a piece of wood
and there I am.
Pick up a stone
and you will find me there.
(Logion 77, Bauman)
Understood this way, not only is the Heart of Christ one with the heart of God – the heart of Christ is one with our hearts – with our deepest longing for completion – our deepest seeking for wholeness.
Even given the tumultuous state of humanity in the world today, this longing is still alive and well. If anything, this longing is even deeper and greater today than many days in the past. Indeed, given the context of the world as it is, both levels of this devotion are important for our times – the mutual tender love and compassion – for Jesus, our teacher, for us and for all of humanity. And… drawing us into the heart of unity.
As my colleague in the Christian Wisdom tradition, The Rev. Susan Latimer put it to chant,
May we allow ourselves to be drawn to the heart of the heart of the world – to the root of the root of love.
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