The Pierced Heart of our Redeemer:
Calling Us to a Greater Discipleship
Dear Friends of the Heart of Christ,
Over Holy Week this year I was able to watch some “Jesus” videos, one among them Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ.” All of them seemed to play up the drama that is so obviously inherent in the death of Jesus and His struggles and sufferings from the religious and civil leaders of His day. Of course, this is the stuff of which good theater is made, focusing as it most often does on the more shocking elements of the story line; of these Mel Gibson’s portrayal is at its best. Toward the end of the movie, I paid close attention to the scene of the piercing of Jesus’ heart (I had seen the video at least 3 or 4 times previously). It was particularly noticeable, as I watched it intently this time, that as the Roman soldier thrust his lance into the side of the Lord a tremendous burst of fluid sprayed out, drenching the unsuspecting guard with its contents. It was a most effective scene, I thought, visually communicating a unique moment of catharsis in the Passion narrative.
In the second reading for Good Friday taken from the catecheses of Saint John Chrysostom we are instructed as to the meaning of the piercing of Jesus’ heart. St. John writes: “…when Christ was dead, but still hung on the cross, a soldier came and pierced His side with a lance and immediately there poured out water and blood. Now the water was a symbol of Baptism and the blood, of the Holy Eucharist. …There flowed from His side blood and water. Beloved, do not pass over this mystery without thought; it has yet another hidden meaning… from these two sacraments the Church is born… since the symbols of Baptism and the Eucharist flowed from His side, it was from His side that Christ fashioned the Church…”
How interesting that what has been noted as the greatest of the sacraments should emerge from the wounded heart of Jesus. Baptism and Eucharist are so life-giving and that these should be the foundation stones of the Church coming forth from Jesus’ dead body already confirms the transformative power of redemptive suffering. This transformation is already on the faces of Jesus’ persecutors, and already on their lips too. We witness the proclamation of the nearby Roman officer stationed close to the cross. His reported words according to the New American Standard Bible are: “Truly this man was the Son of God.”
On this second Sunday of Easter, we encounter in the Gospel reading a similar reaction from the disciple Thomas who was not present to see the actual wounds of Jesus’ body. Only when he inserts his fingers into the gashes and realizes that they are not illusions, but the real thing, is his faith awakened and activated. He responds in like fashion as the guard under the cross by making a proclamation of faith, “My Lord and my God.” But Jesus replies to him, saying: “Thomas because you have seen me, you have believed: blessed are they who have not seen and, yet have believed.” (John 20:29)
It is this leap of faith in the divine mysteries that surround the life of Jesus that are often a stumbling block to our world. How we wish to humanize and de-mythologize the supernatural aspects of the Gospel accounts and rely only on the explainable (and often political) circumstances that shaped Jesus’ external existence. In the recent television release called “Killing Jesus” this is exactly, in my estimation, what has taken place. The transformative, spiritual dimension has been minimized and watered down to make way for the human “constructions” that could have happened in the life of Jesus, but, of course, are possibly only dramatic touches that appeal to the sensual side of our secular culture.
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For me, it is much better to focus on another event that will feature the person of Jesus: the upcoming exhibition of the Shroud of Turin, scheduled to take place in a few days time, from April 19 through the 24 of this month. Viewing the Shroud has had a profound impact on those of little or no faith, changing even the hearts of skeptical scientist. As one former agnostic testifies: “The evidence from the Shroud made me realize there is an objective and independent evidence to confirm that every element of the Passion, Crucifixion, and Resurrection occurred in precisely the ways described in the Gospels.” Another contemporary viewer of the Shroud remembers her experience with similar sentiments: “I remember the silence… I was awestruck. I couldn’t say a word. The Shroud made me realize the brutal sufferings of Jesus… Jesus was beyond brutally beaten. It made me realize the suffering, beyond belief, that He went through for our sake. You felt it was just for you He did that…” (Quoted from the paper National Catholic Register, April 5th, 2015.)
The wounds of Jesus, besides changing hearts, call us to a greater discipleship. As with Thomas and the Roman centurion there is a realization that our lives must take on a definite orientation. God does not want to settle for a cozy mediocrity, but awaits the fullest cooperation that our hearts can give. The choice to dedicate ourselves entirely to God, can come only from us. It requires courage to embrace such a resolution and patience to work with the mysterious ways in which God purifies souls, making them fit witnesses to His eternal truths.
In his meditations, on the pierced heart of Jesus, Pope Benedict XVI as Cardinal points out that the Heart of Jesus is not concerned with self-preservation but with self-surrender. He notes: “The Heart of Jesus saves the world by opening itself. The collapse of the opened Heart is the content of the Easter mystery. The Heart saves but it saves by giving itself away. Thus, in the Heart of Jesus, the center of Christianity is set before us. It expresses everything, all that is genuinely new and revolutionary in the New Covenant. This Heart calls to our heart. It invites us to step forth out of the futile attempt of self-preservation and, by joining in the task of love, by handing ourselves over to Him and with Him, to discover the fullness of love which alone is eternity and which alone sustains the world…” (Quoted from Behold: The Pierced One, Ignatius Press, 1988.)
Of course, to embrace this task of loving self-surrender in our daily lives is an ongoing process of painstaking proportions. It is not high drama but often the hidden, unrecognized deeds of inner trust, patience, forbearance, persevering prayer…. Today as we celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday we might call to mind the laborious life of the saint who was instrumental in this devotion – Faustina Kowalska. Her commitment to God did not spare her the infinite round of setbacks and human disappointments that filled her short life. If you but randomly open her Diary and start reading a page or two, most probably you will find her praying for the inner strength she needed to cope with misunderstanding, or sickness, or challenging spiritual direction, or family and community dilemmas, etc. Always, it seems, her daily life was touched by some variation on these, yet the bottom line was never wavering: unflinching trust in the power of the wounded heart of her Redeemer. Keeping her heart close to the divine pierced Heart of the Lord gave her the strength to be a true disciple of Christ so that she could pass each hour of each day in peace and joy with a merciful outreach to all whom she encountered.
Christ’s heart has always desired living witnesses to enflesh its love and compassion. Saints Margaret Mary and Faustina Kowalska, and a host of others have paved the way for us to continue the work of the Sacred Heart. To be an agent of Christ’s overflowing goodness and mercy, is to effect a tremendous achievement in our world, even if our efforts remain for the most part hidden and unrecognized. Those who remain steadfast in their witness, will reap the reward of their efforts in the long run. As the truly faithful ones described in the book of Revelation, the victors will be given “the morning star” which signifies an unending experience of union and glory. Let us pray that the Heart of Christ will grace us with the desire and determination that filled the hearts of Saint Margaret Mary and Saint Faustina so that we too can be faithful disciples and proclaim as they did: “O Heart of Jesus, I wish to be and to do all for Your love…” and “Jesus, I trust in You.”†