Pope Francis’ new encyclical is a window into his own love for the Sacred Heart of Jesus

“We must all rediscover the importance of the heart,” Pope Francis explains fourth encyclicalpublished on October 24, which speaks of “the human and divine love of the heart of Jesus Christ.” In it he calls on believers to rediscover devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and thereby to love our brothers and sisters in the church and the world.

“Dilexit Nos” (“He Loved Us”) is the title of this 28,000-word letter that speaks to the depths of Francis’ own relationship with Jesus.

“It comes from the spiritual experience of Pope Francis, who feels the drama of the enormous suffering caused by the wars and the many (forms of) violence that are taking place now,” said Archbishop Bruno Forte of Chieti-Vasto, Italy. well-known theologian, while presenting the text at a press conference in the Vatican. “He wants to be close to those who suffer, proposing the message of divine love that comes to save us.”

(Top 5 lessons from “Dilexit Nos”, Pope Francis’ new encyclical on the Sacred Heart)

Archbishop Forte said the encyclical provides “the key” to reading Francis’ two social encyclicals. The Pope confirms this when he writes in “Dilexit Nos”: “The present document can help us realize that the teaching of the Social Encyclicals ‘Laudato si’‘and’Fratelli Tutti‘ is not separate from our encounter with the love of Jesus Christ. For by drinking of that same love, we become able to forge bonds of brotherhood, to recognize the dignity of every human being, and to work together to care for our common home.”

Francis continues:

In a world where everything is bought and sold, people’s self-esteem seems to increasingly depend on what they can acquire through the power of money. We are constantly forced to keep buying, consuming and distracting ourselves, held captive by a demeaning system that prevents us from seeing beyond our immediate and insignificant needs. The love of Christ has no place in this perverse mechanism, but only that love can free us from an insane pursuit in which there is no longer room for unnecessary love. The love of Christ can give our world a heart and revive love wherever we think the capacity to love has been permanently lost.

Francis surprised Vatican observers by releasing the encyclical on the eve of the conclusion of the synod on synodality. That was perhaps no coincidence, because it contains an important message for synod delegates and bishops worldwide.

He reminds them: “The Church also needs this love, so that the love of Christ is not replaced by outdated structures and concerns, excessive attachment to our own ideas and opinions, and fanaticism in all forms, which ultimately replace the unnecessary love for God that frees, enlivens, brings joy to the heart and builds communities.”

Rediscovering the heart

In the first of the five chapters of this spiritual treatise, Francis says that in this “age of superficiality” there is a need to “rediscover the importance of the heart.” He recalls how the Bible speaks of the heart as “the place of sincerity, where deceit and disguise have no place.” It usually reflects our true intentions, what we really think, believe and desire, the ‘secrets’ that we don’t tell anyone: in short, the naked truth about ourselves.”

The Jesuit Pope, often described as possessing the charism of cardiognosis, or “knowledge of the heart,” writes:

You could say that I am my heart, because my heart sets me apart, shapes my spiritual identity, and brings me into communion with other people. The algorithms operating in the digital world show that our thoughts and will are much more ‘uniform’ than we had previously thought. They are easily predictable and therefore susceptible to manipulation. That is not the case with the heart.”

Always attentive to the real world, Pope Francis says that ‘when we witness the outbreak of new wars, with the complicity, tolerance or indifference of other countries, or of petty power struggles over party interests, we may be tempted to conclude that our world is in danger. lose his heart.”

But he adds:

We just need to see and listen to the older women – from both sides – who are at the mercy of these devastating conflicts. It is heartbreaking to see how they mourn their murdered grandchildren, or how they long to die themselves after losing the homes where they spent their entire lives…. To see these older women cry and not feel like this is something unbearable is a sign of a world that has become heartless.

Pope Francis reminds people that “our communities will only succeed in uniting and reconciling different minds and desires by starting from the heart, so that the Spirit can guide us in unity as brothers and sisters.”

The heart of history

In chapter 2, the Pope affirms that “the heart of Christ, as a symbol of the deepest and most personal source of his love for us, is at the heart of the initial preaching of the Gospel.”

He recalls that “Christ showed the depth of his love for us not by lengthy explanations, but by concrete actions.”

In chapter 3, Francis explains that in the “consecration to the heart of Christ… what we contemplate and adore is the whole Jesus Christ, the Son of God made man, represented by an image that accentuates his heart.”

He recalls that “the universal human experience has made the image of the heart unique. Indeed, throughout history and in different parts of the world, it has become a symbol of personal intimacy, affection, emotional attachment and the capacity for love. When two people fall in love and become close to each other, their hearts beat faster; when we are abandoned or deceived by someone we love, our hearts sink.”

(Give the devotion of the Sacred Heart a second chance)

“We must never forget that the image of the heart speaks to us of the flesh and of earthly realities,” Francis writes. “In this way, it points us to the God who wanted to become one of us, a part of our history and a companion on our earthly journey.”

However, he notes that “love and the human heart do not always go together, because hatred, indifference and selfishness can also reign in our hearts.” But, he writes, “we cannot achieve our fulfillment as human beings unless we open our hearts to others; only through love do we become fully ourselves.”

Even in today’s world, he writes, “since the heart is still seen in the popular mind as the affective center of every human being, it remains the best means of expressing the divine love of Christ, eternal and inseparable united with his wholly human love.”

Francis recalls that “the heart of Christ has always been present in countless ways in the history of Christian spirituality.” He summarizes how this commitment is rooted in Scripture and has developed over the centuries in the life of the Church, including in the writings of countless saints and recent popes.

He writes that John Paul II presented the growth of this devotion in recent centuries “as a response to the rise of rigorous and disembodied forms of spirituality that neglected the richness of the Lord’s mercy” and “as a timely call to resist offer efforts to create a world that leaves no room for God.”

Pope Francis says that today a case can be made that “instead of Jansenismwe are facing a powerful wave of secularization that seeks to build a world free of God. In our societies we also see an increase in varied forms of religiosity that have nothing to do with a personal relationship with the God of love, but are new manifestations of a disembodied spirituality.”

The Pope calls for a “renewed reflection on the love of Christ, represented in his Sacred Heart. For there we find the whole Gospel, a synthesis of the truths of our faith, all that we adore and seek in faith, all that answers our deepest needs.”

In chapter 4, Francis recalls how this devotion “reappears in the spiritual journey of many saints, all very different from each other; in each of them the devotion takes on new shades.” He mentions St. Bonaventure, St. Francis de Sales, and several “holy women,” among them Julian of Norwich And St. Margaret Mary Alacoquethe 350th anniversary of which is currently being celebrated.

It is not surprising that Francis, the first Jesuit pope, devotes an entire section to the place of the Sacred Heart in the history of the Society of Jesus, from St. Ignatius Loyola to Pedro Arrupe.

The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius encourage people to “enter into the heart of Christ” to “enlarge our own hearts” and train them to “feel and enjoy” and “talk about” the message of the Gospel to talk to the Lord,” the Pope wrote.

He remembers how St. Charles de Foucauld And St. Thérèse of Lisieux– to whom Francis is particularly devoted – “without wanting to, he reshaped certain aspects of devotion to the heart of Christ, helping us to understand it in an even more evangelical spirit.”

A missionary heart

In the encyclical, Francis refers to aspects of the spirituality that accompanies devotion to the Sacred Heart, including “the inner desire to provide comfort to that heart” and “the practice of ‘restoration’.”

In the final chapter, Francis emphasizes the community, social and missionary dimension of any authentic devotion to the Heart of Christ, which, because it “leads us to the Father,” also “sends us to our brothers and sisters.”

In an important passage, Pope Francis writes:

The Christian message is attractive when it is experienced and expressed in its totality: not just as a refuge for pious thoughts or as an occasion for impressive ceremonies. What kind of worship would we give to Christ if we were content with an individual relationship with Him and showed no interest in relieving the suffering of others or helping them live better lives? Would it please the heart that loved us so much if we basked in a personal religious experience while ignoring its implications for the society in which we live?

He then emphasizes “the missionary dimension of our love for the heart of Christ” and says: “To be able to speak of Christ, by testimony or by word, in such a way that others seek to love Him is the greatest desire of our lives. every missionary.”

“If we are concerned about helping others, this in no way means turning away from Jesus,” the pope wrote. “On the contrary, we encounter him in a different way.”