Blessed be the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus!
"What strikes us most in contemplating the Sacred Heart of Jesus are the flames which consume and surround It. These mysterious flames cannot be contained even in that burning Heart; they escape through the wound, pass around the cross and among the thorns, covering and penetrating It completely. In a word, it is a burning Heart, an inflamed Heart. And what is this sacred fire which thus consumes the Heart of Jesus? It is the love which He has for us. 'I am come,' said He, 'to cast fire on the earth; and what will I but that it be kindled' (Luke 12:49). One day, discovering His breast to Margaret Alacoque, He said to her: 'My Heart, loving passionately mankind, can no longer contain the flames of Its charity; it is necessary for It to manifest Itself to them, in order to enrich them with the treasures It contains.' At another time, showing her again the interior of His adorable Heart, He showed It to her as a burning furnace, glowing with flames.
"Love was the life of the Heart of Jesus, was the mainspring of all Its movements, and of Its sorrows. It was love that caused Him to be born, to act, to suffer, and to weep; it was love, finally, which made Him die. And in the divine Eucharist, it is love that induces Him to give Himself to us; to be our guest, our companion, our Savior, our food and nourishment. 'O Lord!' exclaimed St. Gertrude, 'if men but knew how Thou dost love them: if Thou wouldst but reveal to them the infinite riches of Thy Heart, they would all fall at Thy feet, and would love but Thee. O mystery of infinite charity and abyss of love!'
"What answer would you give, O Christian, if this good Master said to you as He did to His disciple: 'Lovest thou me? Dost thou give me heart for heart love for love?' What would be your reply? Examine yourselves, place your hand on your own heart and see if it beats with love for Jesus. Alas! its affections are, perhaps, only for creatures; how few generous souls are there, how few hearts which really belong entirely to God, to Jesus Christ. How few are they who love infinite love. How do we manage not to love that which is so lovable? Oh! let us ask of Him a tender love with which to love Him, a strong love to suffer for Him, a confiding love in order to be able to lean by turns on His Heart and on His cross. Heart of Jesus, celestial flame, divine fire, destroy in us all that is not pure, and grant that our affections may be entirely thine. May we live only for love and die of love."
~Father Martin Berlioux in Month of the Sacred Heart
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