Solemnity of Most Sacred Heart of Jesus
June 11, 2021
Solemnity of Most Sacred Heart of Jesus
Lectionary: 171
Reading I
Thus says the LORD:
When Israel was a child I loved him,
out of Egypt I called my son.
Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk,
who took them in my arms;
I drew them with human cords,
with bands of love;
I fostered them like one
who raises an infant to his cheeks;
Yet, though I stooped to feed my child,
they did not know that I was their healer.
My heart is overwhelmed,
my pity is stirred.
I will not give vent to my blazing anger,
I will not destroy Ephraim again;
For I am God and not a man,
the Holy One present among you;
I will not let the flames consume you.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (3) You will draw water joyfully from the springs of salvation.
God indeed is my savior;
I am confident and unafraid.
My strength and my courage is the LORD,
and he has been my savior.
With joy you will draw water
at the fountain of salvation.
R. You will draw water joyfully from the springs of salvation.
Give thanks to the LORD, acclaim his name;
among the nations make known his deeds,
proclaim how exalted is his name.
R. You will draw water joyfully from the springs of salvation.
Sing praise to the LORD for his glorious achievement;
let this be known throughout all the earth.
Shout with exultation, O city of Zion,
for great in your midst
is the Holy One of Israel!
R. You will draw water joyfully from the springs of salvation.
Reading II
Brothers and sisters:
To me, the very least of all the holy ones, this grace was given,
to preach to the Gentiles the inscrutable riches of Christ,
and to bring to light for all what is the plan of the mystery
hidden from ages past in God who created all things,
so that the manifold wisdom of God
might now be made known through the church
to the principalities and authorities in the heavens.
This was according to the eternal purpose
that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord,
in whom we have boldness of speech
and confidence of access through faith in him.
For this reason I kneel before the Father,
from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named,
that he may grant you in accord with the riches of his glory
to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner self,
and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith;
that you, rooted and grounded in love,
may have strength to comprehend with all the holy ones
what is the breadth and length and height and depth,
and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge,
so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Take my yoke upon you, says the Lord;
and learn from me, for I am meek and gentle of heart.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
OR:
1 Jn 4:10b
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
God first loved us
and sent his Son as expiation for our sins.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Since it was preparation day,
in order that the bodies might not remain on the cross on the sabbath,
for the sabbath day of that week was a solemn one,
the Jews asked Pilate that their legs be broken
and they be taken down.
So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first
and then of the other one who was crucified with Jesus.
But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead,
they did not break his legs,
but one soldier thrust his lance into his side,
and immediately blood and water flowed out.
An eyewitness has testified, and his testimony is true;
he knows that he is speaking the truth,
so that you also may come to believe.
For this happened so that the Scripture passage might be fulfilled:
Not a bone of it will be broken.
And again another passage says:
They will look upon him whom they have pierced.
Reflection: HEART OF FLESH
Devotion to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus did not begin with St Margaret Mary Alacoque, and much less Devotion to the Divine Mercy with St. Faustina Kowalska! They originated under the cross of Christ, through the vision of the Beloved Disciple. The two saints mentioned above, of course, popularized them in their present form. Probably Jesus thought that Christians did not fully understand the mysteries of his open Heart revealed by him to three people closest to his Heart - his Mother and his two beloved disciples, John and Magdalene! Let us look at the passage we just heard. "They will look upon the one whom they have pierced!" What did they see when they looked? Blood and water flowing from his heart pierced by a lance. "He who saw this testified so that you also may believe. His testimony is true, and he knows that he tells the truth, and these things happened that the Scripture might be fulfilled." In all the Scripture you do not find such a strong, insistent, four-fold testimony for a small detail - that water and blood came out of a new wound. As we know the fourth Gospel is replete with symbolism. Right on that day, the Paschal Day, the day before the great Sabbath, in the temple of Jerusalem, the abode of God on earth, hundreds of lambs and calves were being sacrificed on the main altar, for the remission of the sins of Israel. The blood and the water used to wash the altar were flowing down to the Kidron stream through an opening on the wall of the holy temple! It is this scene with which John likens what was happening on Calvary. The holiest temple of God, the most acceptable single Victim, sacrificed for the sins of the New Israel was Jesus Christ. From his open heart everything that God had in mind to donate to Humanity was given, there symbolized by blood and water. They stand for the Holy Spirit, for forgiveness, the sacraments of Baptism and Eucharist, given in total love to that little Church standing under the cross. That is why John gives his most solemn four-fold witness to this "sight"! Christian tradition has understood this, and prays poetically to this King of all hearts: "Heart of Jesus cleft for me, let me hide myself in Thee!"