June is a special month in the life of Christians; it’s the month that we honor the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which was pierced for our offenses and opened out of His immense love for us. In His Sacred Heart, Jesus “invites us to return to the Father's love, the source of every authentic love…His Heart reveals the generosity of God towards sinners” (John Paul II, His Heart is the Heart of the Church). It is from the Heart of Jesus that we receive every grace, mercy, consolation, joy, strength, and aid from Heaven. In her visions, St. Margaret Mary received 12 promises from Jesus to those who practice true devotion to His Sacred Heart. Some of His promises are:
- I will give them all the graces necessary for their state of life.
- I will establish peace in their families.
- I will console them in all their troubles.
- They shall find in My Heart an assured refuge
- Sinners find in My Heart an infinite ocean of mercy.
- I will give priests the power of touching the most hardened hearts
In the Sacred Heart of Jesus, we find a safe haven from which we can draw strength and consolation. These promises should give us confidence, and we should never fear being overcome by our brokenness if we turn to the Heart of Jesus in time of need. As St. John Paul II reminded us, the Sacred Heart “is the source of life since by it victory over death was achieved. It is also the source of holiness, since in it sin – the enemy of our spiritual development – is defeated.” No one bears a cross too heavy; no one faces temptations so great; no one bears a burden so heavy that the Heart of Jesus cannot sustain them – His heart redeems, restores, rejuvenates; and refreshes; in Him every heartfelt longing finds satisfaction.
The reality of this truth – that Jesus’ Heart heals and refreshes – needs to be proclaimed now more than ever. In this month of June, while Catholics honor the Sacred Heart, our culture tries to honor a quite different reality. June has come to be known as “Pride Month”, and during this month a culture is promoted that stands in contradiction to the Sacred Heart. During this month, our fellow men and women are told the lie that their brokenness has no solution; they are told their crosses cannot be born; they are told their attractions are what defines them, what dictates their happiness; they are told their struggles cannot be helped except by walking a path that leads away from the Lord. While we would never tell someone battling addiction they should just give up and accept their fate, that cruelty has become entirely acceptable for persons who struggle with questions of sexual identity. Let it be stated clearly: God loves everyone – He loves all of us no matter our struggles. But we can only receive that love it if we walk the path of conversion, faith, trust, sacrifice, and holiness. This is true whether the struggle is same-sex attraction, pornography, drunkenness, malice, gluttony, impiety, or any other temptation to sin. As the saying goes: “But for the grace of God, there go I.” We are all broken, but the solution is never to abandon ourselves to the temptations we face, nor to encourage or support others in that kind of abandonment. The solution is to abandon ourselves to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. There is room in the Heart of Jesus for all of us, with all of our brokenness – but we can only climb into that refuge when we accept our wounded and sinful nature, surrender to Jesus, and finally believe He is enough for us. He may not take the cross away, but offers solace and relationship in Himself; He offers peace that comes from knowing the fundamental truth of who we are in Him, which brings happiness.
This truth is important for all of us, but it is especially important today for those who struggle with sexual identity and attraction because the culture is telling a lie: that the things that lead away from Jesus’ Heart can satisfy our hearts; that we will never be truly happy unless we give in to the temptations of our fallen human nature. But happiness cannot be found where it doesn’t exist, and so the Church will always promote the only truth that saves, the only truth that can make us truly happy, the only truth that can lead to holiness: that the Heart of Jesus is the only thing that can satisfy our hearts, and they will only rest once they come to rest in Him. It is never the loving thing to deny, obscure, or reject the truth of who we are and who we are called to be in the Lord, no matter what the culture tells us – only the truth can set us free, and we find it in Jesus’ Heart.
None of us quite knows why we experience the particular temptations we experience; this is a mystery that will only be revealed in the life to come. But we know God has a plan for our holiness and happiness that leads us through the cross to a life of glory. Sometimes our weakness and temptations can be exceptionally burdensome, and so we should look upon one another with empathy and compassion, as fellow pilgrims along the way. But this truth remains no matter how we experience our sinfulness: Jesus’ Heart is enough to sustain us. He will give us every grace necessary; He will console us in all our troubles; He will be a refuge for us in time of need; and we will always find in His Heart an infinite ocean of mercy, just as He promised. Together this month, let us all turn with greater devotion and faith to the Sacred Heart of Jesus; let us abandon our temptations, struggles, sins, and brokenness to this wellspring of grace; let us draw nearer to this Heart in prayer and through the Sacraments of the Most Holy Eucharist and Confession. In this way, we will find the peace after which our hearts are always chasing. May God bless you in the week ahead, and may Mother Mary lead us more deeply into the Sacred and Merciful Heart of Jesus. I remain,
Affectionately Yours in Christ,
Fr. Hess
