June 15th The Excellence of the Sacred Heart by Rev. R.F. Clarke, S.J.
The Sacred Heart of Jesus was the instrument
of a human soul, which contained in it all the perfections,
natural and supernatural, of which the
human soul is capable. It was the ideal of which
the soul, even of the greatest of the saints, was
but an utterly inadequate realization. Its sweetness,
its gentleness, its power to attract, its Divine
beauty were unbounded and almost infinite. Let
us contemplate that Sacred Heart, radiant with
glory and splendor, and adore it with grateful
love. The Sacred Heart received all these perfections in order to dispense them to others. It overflows with graces; they proceed from it in copious streams to all who are willing to receive them. What beauty they impart to the soul that drinks in the stream of grace from that Heart! Every perfection of the Heart of Jesus is communicated to it in some degree, and renders it so beautiful that it is an object of admiration to God Himself. Through the heart of man continually flows the blood that circulates throughout his body. Hence the Precious Blood of Jesus flowed continually through His Sacred Heart. We cannot wonder, then, that in that Blood unbounded virtue is contained. It derives its efficacy from the Heart of Jesus. One drop is enough to cleanse the greatest sin, nay, the sins of the whole world. In that Heart there is the same virtue, and I, a sinner, can take refuge there, knowing that I shall be healed. |