Episode Transcript
Speaker 0 00:00 <inaudible>. All right, great. Bishop and Dr the church. Saint Alphonsus says, quote, the reason why soles makes so little progress in virtue you remain grovelling in the same defects and even frequently relapse into grievance sins is because they take but little care to acquire the love of Jesus Christ, which is the golden chord that unites and binds the soul to God to acquire the love of Jesus Christ. Many persons pay much attention to other devotions but neglect pits, whereas this love ought to be the principal object. Indeed, the only devotion of a Christian close quote, the reason why Solos makes so little progress in virtue in main groveling in the same defense and even frequently backslide and mortal sins is because they take a little care to acquire the love of Jesus Christ. Whereas this love <inaudible> the principle devotion of all Christians love started Lord, is just what the feast of the sacred heart it's about and that beautiful statue of the sacred heart really captures in art the essence of this feast.
Speaker 0 01:31 How can a work of art capture the essence of a great feast? In order to understand that. Let's quickly review what we recently learned about holy icons. Remember that an icon is a work of religious art. It's a visual ceremony. It's a sermon without words. It's the word of God put into a visible form, a work of art. It's meant to intuitively convey a theological message to the viewer. The whole point of a holy icon is to reveal something about inexpressible divine truths by using physical symbolic imagery and ideas. If we view this art regularly, the particular spiritual truths which are being proposed network of art will start to become part of our soul. That image will start filling the soul and the viewer just as if we listened to a symphony over and over, the particular musical themes started becoming part of our interior life.
Speaker 0 02:32 So also by viewing an icon over and over the theological themes, those truths should fill ourselves. Okay? The more we view it, the more these spiritual themes are meant to soak into ourselves and by that means become part of a fiber of our very being. Now, let's take all that and apply it. That beautiful statue of the sacred heart over there since today where his celebrating next journal solemnity, this face that statute captures in artwork the essence of the feast. What do we see? We see our Lord and of course he's reaching out with open arms. He's got the wounded hands and there Isabel on his breast is is hard with a crown of thorns wrapped around the heart at a wound piercing head slams pouring forth from the top of it and surrounding it and across. Okay, cross rising up. So given that it's an icon, an icon using visible imagery to reveal something an expressed on thing about inexpressible divine truths that is meant to convey theological message.
Speaker 0 03:43 And the more we view it, the borderless choose they're supposed to soak it our souls. Let's take a few minutes to consider. What does all this mean? What exactly is the sermon being preached without words when reviewed that image? Well, obviously that's an icon which summarize and symbolizes in the first place to aspirations of our Lord to Saint Market. Mariella coke in the late 16 hundreds but the most basic point is that it's an image of our Lord. God became man, the word she became flesh and dwelt amongst us and who's still dwelling amongst us right there and the most at Sackman of the altar. So let's start right there and spend a few minutes talking about Christ our Lord. The first, we need to briefly review two terms that we looked at last time and that's nature and person. Then we'll talk about our Lord Jesus Christ using those terms and we'll rely in this little car heavily on frank sheet for the explanation.
Speaker 0 04:46 So Nature Mashing, we're staying in a cabin in the woods and we hear that funny noise at night. What is that? Is that a curse up there to the Kyle, the wolf? What's out there? We're wondering what that is. We asked the question, what is it with a question? What can it do? We're asking a question about nature's nature is the wetness of something. Fish have fish nature. They swim, they breathe water and so forth. Birds have bird nature, they lay eggs, they've got feathers. We have human nature. We've got a body and a rational soul. A spiritual cell. Men can walk and sank and while African talk in ordinary language, nature answers the questions. What is it or what can it do? That's nature. What is it and what can it do as to what Nesa something person. We're in that cabin in the woods and then we hear somebody knocking at the door.
Speaker 0 05:45 Now, no normal per no. No human beings sitting there was going to go. What was that? But he didn't know what it is. We say who's there? Why? Because we already know it. Someone with a human nature. When we ask the question, who like who's there? We're asking a question about persons. Nature determines what something is and what it could do, but a person in this case, that's who's doing the thing, that's who's knocking at the door. That's who's doing a particular action. I'm talking my nature's and talking. I'm standing here by natures and standing here because I have a human nature. I can stand and talk, but my nature doesn't do any. I'm doing. You're sitting there. Your nature isn't sitting there. You're listening. Your nature isn't listening. A person performs the actions. Remember, nature says, what is it? What can it do? But a person is who is it?
Speaker 0 06:32 Who's actually performing this action? Okay, so speaking, thinking, laughing, talking. All these things are possible because we have human nature, but our nature doesn't do we do. I do. A person, a particular person doesn't. Okay, now let's apply all this. Last time we looked at the most holy trinity and the most Holy Trinity. There's one nature and three persons, Huh? No, we don't want to be irreverent here because we're talking about God, so we want to be careful, but another way of saying when we say in the most holy treated, there's one nature to persons in other way of saying that isn't a holy trinity. There's one, one and three who's what is who we're talking to? What? Notice God, divine nature. Who? God the father, God the son. God the Holy Ghost. Three persons, one nature. We express that beautifully in the create. That'll be sounded soon.
Speaker 0 07:27 Okay. Nature tells us what is it? What can it do? Person tells us who is it? Who's doing it and the most holy trinity, we have one nature, three persons or one witness and three whose that's just a review from last time. Okay? Now Look at Christ our Lord in Christ our Lord. There's one person and two natures in Christ, her Lord. There's one person and two natures without being irreverent. That means we could say there's one who the two what it says, okay, one person, two natures. Nature tells us what is it? What can it do? The person tells us, who is it? Who's actually doing it in Christ your Lord. There's one person actually doing anything in two natures which determine what that one person can do. Unlike us, they only have one nature to call on to do things crush. Her load has two natures, but there's only one person actually operating.
Speaker 0 08:24 Okay, so who is that one person? Christ our Lord since second person of the most plus the trinity. God the son. The divine word is the divine person. When we're talking about a person, Christ for Lord is a divine person. Our Lord is not the first person who most of us, the trinity is not God the father. Our Lord is not the third person, last solicitor, and he's not God. The Holy Ghost. Our Lord is the second person or the most blessed attorney. God the son, the word. So if we asked her, who are you? He's God, the son. The word made flesh, okay, but if we ask her, Lord, what are you? He could give two answers because he's got two natures. He has two natures. He has two witnesses, he has divine nature and he has a human nature. And human nature means he has a human body and human soul.
Speaker 0 09:16 Since nature determines what something is and what it can do and then start, Lord has two natures. He can do everything that goes with being God. He can raise the dead. Cascade, runs into hell and multiply loaves and fishes and science go ways and he can also do everything that goes along with being a man. He can be born and the most blessed Virgin Mary, he can eat. He could work as a carpenter, he can drink, he can suffer. He can die, but remember that person tells us who is it, who's actually doing it, which means that whatever our Lord does, whatever he's doing, whether he's working as a carpenter or multiplying loaves and fishes or whatever our Lord does, it's always the person that does the action. Persons do actions in our Lord. There's only one person. The second person I was the trinity, God the Son.
Speaker 0 10:14 This means that everything our Lord does everything, every single thing he does, whether it's breathing, whether it's sleeping well, it's performing miracles. Everything is done by God and crushed her Lord. There's one person in two natures and the two natures of Christ. Our Lord are United in that one divine person. They're United in that one divine person. Now the theologians have a fancy $4 term for this union of the two natures and the one divine person. It's called the hypostatic union. If you ever hear, read the word hypostatic union. We don't have to be intimidated by the fancy terminology at all because now we know exactly what it means. It means that union of the two natures of Christ in the one person, the Union of his divine nature and his human nature and the divine person, the second person or the most blessed at Trinity, it's a personal union.
Speaker 0 11:10 That's where the union is in the person. The two natures are United in the one person. That's the hypostatic union. So if we ever come across that term hypostatic union, now we all know what it means. Now, this just leaves us in a slightly more luminous darkness, but if we really love our Lord, we want to know as much as we can about him. Okay? Pondering the last gospel bear fruits here. That's something good that we should ponder. Every time we're here we think about these things we know about the one person and the two natures. So that's the foundational truth anyway. What we're dealing with the icon, we're dealing at the foundation. The first level, of course we're dealing with Christ our Lord. Now he's taking a quick look at that. Let's consider some of the other trues that are being expressed in his work of art.
Speaker 0 11:58 Saint Alphonsus points out. And when Adam rebelled against the Lord and hid himself from his face, God went in search of Adam. He went and search of Adam and call the aftermath as if with tears. Adam, where are you, Adam? Where are you? It's the words of a father seeking a lost son. And here we see Christ our lord reaching out to us with open arms. It's the posture of a good shepherd seeking a lost sheep, calling out to his loss sheet. Say Dennis <inaudible> says that God follows sinners. Like if despise lover begging them to not destroy their immortal souls. We can see the wounds in his hands. Here's tans. He's reaching on love to reassure us that even though we've heard him, he won't hurt us. St John Chris System says that Christ himself begs us, and what does he begging us to do? He's begging us to be reconciled with God because it's not God who's acting like an enemy, but it is us.
Speaker 0 13:17 And then we can see his heart with the plains pointing out symbolizing our Lord's love for us. And that made it be the most astonishing thing because we cannot all say, each one of us can say honestly that God loves me, and if that isn't astonishing enough, ask yourself, God loves me, but what am I on? Proud, rebellious, sinful dust and the infinite God loves me. Each one of us can say that, and he's calmed down on a search rescue mission to save us and he's waiting for us with open arms. He waits for us back there in the confessional to heal her wounds because straight now back on the path to heaven and he's waiting for us up there. He must bless it. Sacrament of the alter to give us the strength to do our duties and not fall into our bad habits and our sins do.
Speaker 0 14:22 Why is he doing all that? Because he loves us and that's what's expressed with those flames, Huh? How great is that love he has for us. Our Lord said to St Matilda quote, my love for souls, it's yet the same as that love which I had for them at the time of my passion. I would die as many times is that our souls to save. And he said to Saint Gertrude, the grade, if were useful, I would suffer all that I have suffered for the entire world to save you alone. In other words, our Lord loves us and has loved us from all eternity. With such great luck. Did each one of us can truly say to himself, if I were the only center that ever lived and everyone else were spotless and immaculate, our Lord loves me so much because he would gladly become man and suffered his terrible passion and dad chest for me.
Speaker 0 15:24 If I were the only center, he would've still done all that just for me because he has a burning desire that each one of us spend eternity with him in heaven. So why is this sacred heart visitable? It's not because it's outside of the chest and mounted on his clothes. That's ridiculous. It's because his sacred heart is so white. Hot incandescent with a fire was love that it's shining forth from the interior shines forest and brilliance. And those planes aren't just symbolic. Some of the saints have also experienced in a small way their own hearts burning and glowing with the divine love. For example, the heart of Saint Paul, the Cross was inflamed with divine love to such a point, but his clothing would always be scorched and the region which lay over his heart, Saint Gerard and Jello, who else explained splint, experienced these flames of love explained quote.
Speaker 0 16:25 He's explaining how this could be. God is a consuming fire. When he enters his soul, he inflames it and it's affection sometimes become so intense that they even appear on the body. Close quote, say Gerard Magella, I want occasion. Saint Gerard was speaking some Carmelites to the grill down the speaker room of a Karma. There's two of these great big heavy duty iron grills. They're about 18 inches apart. I can't remember. So when you're, if you're in the speaker room, speak to the cloister, your lights, they're on one side of the grill, separated from you by these big giant iron gray. Anyway, Saint Gerard was speaking to the nuns when he suddenly fell into an ecstasy. Then unstated and I quote, he became as luminous as the son and incandescent to such a degree that the iron great with this ornamental points then under his hands, like soft wax, close quote.
Speaker 0 17:20 Now Saint Paul, the Cross burnt with such divine love, his heart with skirts, scorches clothes and Saint Gerard for such divine love that he closed like the sun and softened iron and their love is just a tiny reflection of the love burning in that Lord's car. Imagine how the sacred heart of our Lord God himself Burns with love. Of course, he kept that heaven except on certain occasions like when he revealed a portion of that to Saint Margaret Mary. She got the situs clamps of that love Ernie and his heart. She comments on Saint Margaret Mary Code. If you only knew how much I feel drawn to love the sacred heart of our Lord Jesus Christ, he has strengthened me in the conviction that he takes great pleasure. He being know, loved and honored by his creatures. As pleasure is so great that he promised me that all those who are devoted and consecrated to him will never be lost.
Speaker 0 18:22 Since he is the source of all blessings. He was showered them in abundance on every place where a picture of his divine heart shall be set up and honor. He will read it, reunite broken families will protect and help those who are in any necessity and those who approach him with confidence, he will turn aside the blows of divine justice so as to restore to grace those who have fallen from it. His sacred heart is the holy of holies, the very sanctuary of love. He's all powerful. To bring men peace, turn inside the chest, punishments of our sins and attaining mercy for us. Close quote, he promised me that all those who are devoted and consecrated to him will never be lost. He'll shower blessings and abundant son. Every place where a picture of his divine heart shall be set up and honored. He will reunite broken families.
Speaker 0 19:21 He will protect and help those who are in need and he'll approach him with confidence. He restore grace to those who have fallen from it and turn off her side. The chest punishments, our sins have gone upon us and obtained mercy for us. A read the promises, the sacred art made to Saint Margaret Mary for those Catholics are devoted to a sacred heart. We've all heard them before but they bear repeating. Number one I will give to them all the graces necessary for their state of life. Number two, I won't give peace in their families. Number three I will consult them in all their troubles. Number four, they shall find in my heart and assured refuge during life and especially at the hour of death. Number five, I will pour abundant blessings down on all the undertakings. Number six, sinners shall find in my heart the source and infinite ocean of mercy.
Speaker 0 20:31 Number seven to happen souls Shelby, come fervid. Number Eight, servant's souls shall right's Feedly to great perfection. Number nine, I were blessed the homes in which the image of my sacred heart shall be exposed and honor. Number 10 I will give to priests the power to touch the most hardened hearts. Number 11 those who propagate is to glow ocean. She'll have their name written in my heart and she'll never be as faced. And number 12 they all powerful love of my heart will grant to all those who shall receive comedian on the first Friday of nine consecutive minds. They grace a final repentance. They shall not die under my displeasure, nor without receiving the sacraments, my heart, Shelley, to be their assured rescue edge at that last hour. Our Lord loves nets and he loves to be loved and to be known and to be honored by us.
Speaker 0 21:37 He Burns with a desire for each one of us to spend eternity in heaven with him, but do we burn with that same desire just after Corpus Christi. In June of 1675 our Lord appeared to state market Mary. While she was praying before the most blessed sacrament, she described what happened and as we listened to our Lord's words might be profitable for each one west. Examine our lives and see if our Lord might be speaking to any of us. Okay. Saint Margaret. Mary quote, our Lord revealed to me His divine heart and said the whole, this heart, which has loved men so much that it has spared nothing in order to testify to them. It's love and return. I received from the greater number of man, nothing but in gratitude with irreverence and sacrilegious by the coldness and contempt, which they show me in a sacrament of love, close quote.
Speaker 0 22:44 So the crown of thorns and the wound and the cross symbolize the reality that our sins already references and sacrileges and coldness and contempt for him. The most bus Itzhak men and flicked terrible plane on his heart and yet he still loves us. And that with some kind of sissified feminized love. What was the crucified heroically? Strong. A love. It's an absolute consuming fire and he's burning with that very love right now, right there. And if they heavily loved that field, Saint Gerard with Shela could melt the iron grills that held in the Carmelites. Just think of what the consuming fire that fills a sacred heart can do and our own spiritual life as things that hold us down. If we properly dispose ourselves and make fervent, holy comedians and then spend the next 15 to 20 minutes fanning those flames of love, which are burning in the depths of our hearts by telling our Lord that we love him and begging him to help us love him ever more and more.
Speaker 0 23:56 If we're not sure what to say, we can just keep repeating those inspired words of Saint Peter, Lord God knowest that I love the Lord, Thou knowest that I love the Lord Thou knowest that I love today. Santo Alphonsus says, the reason why souls makes so little progress in virtue and remain grovelling the same defects and even frequently relapse in the mortal sins is because they take but little care to acquire the love of Jesus Christ. But now we know how to practice devotion to the sacred heart, heart of Jesus burning with love for us and flame our hearts with love of the, the name of the father, the son and Holy Ghost. Hey Man.
