READING 1
Psalm 116:7-17

Turn back, my soul, to your rest, for the Lord has been good to you; he has kept my soul from death, my eyes from tears, and my feet from stumbling. I will walk in the presence of the Lord in the land of the living. I trusted, even when I said, “I am sorely afflicted,” and when I said in my alarm, “These people are all liars.” How can I repay the Lord for all his goodness to me? The cup of salvation I will raise; I will call on the name of the Lord. My vows to the Lord I will fulfill before all his people. How precious in the eyes of the Lord is the death of his faithful. Your servant, Lord, your servant am I, the son of your handmaid; you have loosened my bonds. I will offer you a thanksgiving sacrifice; I will call on the name of the Lord.

READING 2
From a meditation entitled “The Sacred Heart of Jesus as a Furnace of Love for Us”’ by St. John Eudes

Our divine Saviour has done more for us. Not only has He delivered us from eternal death and all the tortures accompanying it, but He has also heaped upon us a superabundance of unspeakable blessings. Indeed, He has given us all His blessings without reserve.

What shall we give Him in return? “How can I repay the Lord for all his goodness to me” (Ps. 116:12)? If we had the hearts of as many Seraphim as there are stars in the sky, atoms in the air, blades of grass on the earth, grains of sand and drops of water in the sea, and if we devoted them solely to love and glorify Him, it would be as nothing compared with the love He has for us and the obligations we have of consecrating our hearts to Him. …

[L]et us love Him who so loves us. If a man of no account, the weakest and lowest of all men, should manifest some kindliness towards us, we could not help loving him. Nay, if even a dumb animal, a mongrel, for instance, attaches itself to us and does us some slight service, we love it. Why then should we not love God who is our creator, our preserver, our ruler, our king, our most faithful friend, our most loving father, our treasure, our glory, our supreme good, our life, our heart, our all? He is all heart and soul and love for us. …

“O my Saviour, I know not if I have yet begun to love Thee as I ought. Now I will begin.” I now mean to love Thee with all my heart with all my soul, and with all my strength. I renounce forever all that is contrary to Thy holy love. Let me die a thousand deaths rather than ever offend Thee. I give Thee my heart; take full and absolute possession of it; destroy in it everything not pleasing to Thee, and rather destroy it itself than to allow it not to love Thee. But am I giving Thee anything in giving Thee my empty heart? O my Lord, if I had the hearts of as many Seraphim as Thy omnipotence could create, with what joy would I consecrate them all to Thee! I offer Thee the precious heart of Thy most worthy Mother, who has more love for Thee than all hearts that have been, are, or shall be. O Mother of Jesus, love Thy Adorable Son for me. O good Jesus, love Thy sweet Mother for me. O all ye citizens of the heavenly Jerusalem, love Jesus and Mary for me, and unite me with your great love, now and eternally.”

REFLECTION

When we reflect on the the way the Heart of Jesus throbs for each one of us, our response always feels inadequate. St. John Eudes uses poetic hyperbole to speak of a worthy offering in the love of countless Seraphim, and yet it is not actually hyperbole. Even that would still be inadequate. Our expressions of love and devotion ultimately always fall short. The closest we come is in the love of the Heart of Mary, because her response is the most perfect mirror of God’s love, a mirror without blemish. And it is also in the Holy Mass that we are given a worthy response, a response which steadily transforms our lives to be a more constant loving response to His love: “Look, O Lord, upon the Sacrifice which you yourself have provided for your Church, and grant in your loving kindness to all who partake of this one Bread and one Chalice that, gathered into one body by the Holy Spirit, they may truly become a living sacrifice in Christ to the praise of your glory” (Eucharistic Prayer IV). In light of this we can ask ourselves: how adequately do I respond to the love of the Heart of Jesus for me? What expressions of love would characterize an adequate response? Do I offer the Mass as a response to His Love with all my heart, mind, soul and strength by my full, conscious and active participation?

PRAYERS

Newman’s Prayer to the Sacred Heart (longer or shorter form)
One of the prayers from the Roman Missal
The Litany of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

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