Discover & Make Known the Love of God
The vocation of Religious of the Sacred Heart is to go to the heart of life with the attitudes and feelings of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. – when you hear the expression ‘to be the Heart of God on earth’ what does it mean to you? – what would you say are the attitudes and feelings of the Heart of Jesus? – how do you express the attitudes and feelings of the Heart of Jesus in your life?
This is what union with the Sacred Heart of Jesus looks like – responding to daily life according to His Heart. – do you sometimes tend to dismiss simple, daily things as unimportant? – how do you nurture attentiveness to small details? – when have you felt that you responded to a situation according to the Heart of Jesus?
Mercy is a disposition of the Heart of God. When we reveal the love of the Heart of God, we are instruments of mercy. And closeness to the Heart of God draws us close to those for whom God has a special love – the forgotten and excluded. – when have you experienced God’s mercy? – in what ways might you act as an instrument of mercy? – who are the forgotten and the excluded in your local community?
The Catholic Church in Australia celebrates Migrant & Refugee Sunday on the last Sunday in August. The message of Bishop Vincent Long, Delegate for the Australian Catholic Migrant and Refugee Office, for this occasion can be read here. Esmey Herscovitch RSCJ marks Migrant & Refugee Sunday 2015 by reflecting on the readings for the day. She asks “Where are our hearts?” The one thing I remember from a talk many years ago on the new code of Canon Law i.e. Church law, is that laws are made to protect peoples’ rights and freedoms and not to bind and constrict. Today’s readings focus to a large extent on law and observance. The first reading from
Esmey Herscovitch RSCJ reflects on entering into the Heart of Jesus. “Come to me all you who labour and are burdened and I shall give you rest. Shoulder my yoke and learn from me for I am gentle and humble of heart and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matthew 11:28-30) We are invited to come to him – to be refreshed and sustained; in entering into the Heart of Jesus we enter into the Heart of God, into the heart of the world with all its struggle and pain. We are invited to share his yoke – to be for the heart of the world the heart of
This reflection sheet on Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus provides a brief history of the Feast of the Sacred Heart, some thoughts from Australian theologian Mary Brennan RSCJ, and questions for reflection.
This guided meditation is from the Province of Scotland and Ireland. The meditation invites us to let go of fear, anger and anxiety and open our hearts to the compassion of the Heart of God. It is best done standing but can also be done sitting. You will need to scroll down the page to find the link to the audio file.
In this reflection for the USA Canada Province’s First Friday Reflection, our own Sr Annett Hanrahan discusses her painting of the Cosmic Christ: “I live in the South Pacific, in New Zealand, which is a multi-cultural country, including Maori, Polynesian, Pakeha, and peoples from all parts of Asia. I could not find any images that spoke to me or to any of us of a powerful, loving God, with an all-embracing, all-forgiving love that we as human beings can open to and understand in our very humanness. I wanted to probe the incarnational reality of God in Christ and in all of creation in a language that might have some