Masterpiece Sunday: The Sacred Heart

Feuerstein, Martin. The Sacred Heart of Christ, Oil on canvas, private gallery. Public Domain.

Often when we think of Jesus, the first image that comes to mind is one of the Sacred Heart. Some of us grew up seeing a painting of it on our parents' walls and others in our parish church. I know for myself, it can be a nostalgic reminder of when times were simpler…I can visualize walking through the front door of my Catholic grade school and seeing the Sacred and Immaculate Hearts framing the picture of the pope.

What fear or anxiety currently grips your heart? We all have worries or things that feel out of our control. And many of us have some beautiful desires to care for those we love, but these loves can sometimes become askew as we fixate and worry about certain things. Whether you feel consumed by worry about your child coming back to the faith or about a friend making a bad decision, we all have things that shake our hearts to their core.

I often justify my worries by telling myself I care and that is why I go in circles of worry. The feast of this past Friday confronts each of us with a beautiful but humbling truth: Jesus is in control.

Trust is the healing balm to anxiety and fear. I am not saying this in an overspiritualized way - In certain situations we should say something or do what we can. I am meaning that a lot of our biggest worries and troubles ultimately aren’t the circumstances themselves, but actually our inner perspective. Fr. Jacques Philippe mentions in his book Interior Freedom, “Very often we feel restricted in our situation, our family, or our surroundings. But maybe the real problem lies elsewhere: in our hearts" (pg 20). 

In this image, we can quickly be invited to receive this truth. In a scene which is surrounded by total blackness, one of the most unique and gripping things is the light shining in Jesus’ eyes. This image doesn’t invite one to be an onlooker of a scene happening to people in front of them (like Stations of the Cross). The viewer is invited into a moment of communion.

Jesus is not just gently opening His tunic to reveal His wounded heart. It is as though He has eagerly waited for this moment and He drastically draws the covering away as though to say “I have been waiting for you. Come and see this heart which loves you.” This image reminds us of person and relationship - the things which heal fear that constricts our hearts.

We can feel like circumstances, pain, or trail make it impossible to have peace. But Jesus tells us otherwise. He says, “I was wounded. Death seemed like the end, but it was not. Rest in this heart, knowing I make all things new. (Rev 21:5)."

As you sit with this image today, pause and rest with Jesus. Look into His eyes. Reveal your troubles to Him. Jesus, we surrender ourselves to you, take care of everything.