Absolutely Obsessed

Celebrating our love for the Sacred Heart of Jesus

06/27/2025

Luke 15:3-7 Jesus addressed this parable to the Pharisees and scribes: "What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert and go after the lost one until he finds it? And when he does find it, he sets it on his shoulders with great joy and, upon his arrival home, he calls together his friends and neighbors and says to them, 'Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.' I tell you, in just the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance."

Immaculate Conception parish is absolutely obsessed with images of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Have you noticed this? We have a painting of the Sacred Heart in the sacristy that I brought out for your veneration this morning. Of course, we have placed the statue of the Sacred Heart on an altar to highlight Jesus’ sacrificial love (altars are always for sacrifice). In the sacristy there is also a stained glass window of the Sacred Heart appearing to St. Margaret Mary Alocoque, a French nun who promoted devotion to the Sacred Heart in the 1600’s.

In St. Anne’s Chapel the Sacred Heart of Jesus greets visitors before they enter the doors. And still another statue of Jesus’ Heart stands in a stately posture awaiting the visitor’s veneration when they kneel to pray. And there are probably other images of the Sacred Heart of Jesus hiding out here and there that I haven’t even noticed. The Sacred Heart is ubiquitous in our parish and our love for Jesus should be too.

The Solemnity of the Sacred Heart always falls on the Friday after the Sunday of the Feast of Corpus Christi. And that closeness is no coincidence. Many parishioners walked last Sunday in the procession carrying Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament on his “sedia gestatoria”, portable throne, through the streets of Fort Smith. Why? Well, it was mid-summer and we were bored and couldn’t think of anything better to do that walk outside in the sweltering heat for four hours.

No, we walked while carrying the Blessed Sacrament, the Corpus Christi, or more precisely, the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Corpus Christi is Latin for “the Body of Christ.” But what part of Christ’s Body do you think is hidden in that Holy Bread? Is it his eye, or maybe his tongue, or perhaps a foot, or maybe it’s his hand. Nope.

That Sacred Host contains no other part of Christ’s Body than his most important member, namely, his Sacred Heart. That is the connection between last Sunday and this Friday. And therefore, just like images of the Sacred Heart are found in every nook and corner of our church, so we took Jesus’ Heart to the streets so his glorious love could be glimpsed by every citizen of our fair city.

That obsessive devotion to the Sacred Heart is exactly why we built such an elaborate and expensive back altar for the Blessed Sacrament. Yes, we could have saved a lot of money and erected a simple table or niche that would have been adequate, or as we say, “good enough for government work.” But such a meager effort would not have been “good enough” for I.C. parishioners who are absolutely obsessed with the Sacred Heart.

Now, there is also a very practical side to devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, namely, our hearts must learn to beat like his. That is, if his heart loves each of us unconditionally and sacrificially – demonstrated beyond doubt on the cross – then we must love our Lord in return in the same way. His Sacred Heart and our sinful hearts have to eventually beat in sync.

And by the way, where do we learn to love like that? Well, first and foremost in our marriage. That is the true purpose of marriage: to train our hearts to love like Jesus’ Sacred Heart. Every marriage, especially the troubled ones, are a school of the Sacred Heart, where we learn the truly tough love called the cross. And our professor in this school is our spouse, or as the Buddhists paradoxically put it: “My enemy, my teacher.”

Let me conclude with a little prayer to the Sacred Heart that sums up what I am saying: “O most holy heart of Jesus, fountain of every blessing, I adore Thee, I love Thee, and with a lively sorrow for my sins, I offer Thee this poor heart of mine. Make me humble, patient, pure and wholly obedient to Thy will. Grant, good Jesus, that I may live in Thee, and for Thee. Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make my heart like unto Thine. Amen."

Praised be the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus!