(Dt 7:6-11, 1 Jn 4:7-16, Mt 11:25-30): Colored by the Sacred Heart, Blossoming in His Love
On this day heated by an intense warmth, it is a time embraced by a prayerful heart—praying that the Sacred Heart of the Lord, which burns even hotter than the temperature of the earth and the atmosphere, may completely color our hearts.
At times, as we look upon the chaotic disorder of this world and reflect deeply with tears upon the endless cycle of wounds and animosity, our hearts ache with a deepening desire that the love and peace sustained by the Lord's love might not be a distant mirage. I pray we never forget that shaping the history of this world does not mean lazily leaving everything to the Lord or avoiding our part; rather, it relies on our diligent sweat and actions, longing for and desiring His love upon this earth. The Lord is calling us to join Him in this very work.
In the Book of Deuteronomy, chapter 7, verse 7, it is written:
"It was not because you are the largest of all nations that the LORD set his heart on you and chose you."
Looking back at my own sacred vocation as His servant invited onto the Lord’s path, I cannot help but confess that the warm memories of that calling were not built upon my own competence or human abilities. Instead, they were filled with the blessings wrought by His delicate and merciful Providence.
Such was the emotional and spiritual family background that guided me to love. Such were the narrow alleys that allowed me to understand the tears of the poor, and the time I spent growing through deep empathy with those who are suffering. Even down to the resolve that enabled me to hold fast to the righteous purpose of life—I can only say that not a single thing could have been achieved by myself; every bit of it was placed along the journey guided by Him.
Looking back at last, all that this body and soul can offer in return—so as to respond without failing—is what was spoken in the subsequent verse 11:
"You must therefore carefully observe the commandments, the statutes and the decrees which I enjoin on you today."
That I can respond in this way is because the words of the First Letter of John, chapter 4, verse 10, have pierced my soul:
"In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as expiation for our sins."
And it is because such profound gratitude became the very foundation that allowed me to grow while placing my hope in Him.
Therefore, we should not live in the foolishness of pride, thinking we have done enough just by passing through this world, nor in the foolishness of giving up. Instead, we must live imploring the strength of perseverance and love, refusing to waste a single moment. Wherever our footsteps reach, I desire to press forward, praying to become a blessed instrument of grace: so that parched places may be bedewed with grace, the lonely may find a friend, and the souls of those stopped short by drought may regain vitality. We do this while fully believing the words spoken in verse 13:
"This is how we know that we remain in him and he in us, that he has given us of his Spirit."
Although the time and circumstances given to each of our lives may differ completely, the temperature and the fruits of our lives will be vastly different depending on the intention and resolve with which we move forward. Will you not offer yourselves, so that the flame burning from the Sacred Heart of the Lord may consume us?!
As the Lord says in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 11, verses 28 and 30:
"Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. ... For my yoke is easy, and my burden light."
Until we can finally rest in the embrace of the living Lord at the very end where our entire journey arrives. Like Saint Augustine, who confessed, "Our heart is restless until it rests in you," may this be a blessed time of prayer, that we may be called to the grace of being with the Lord after bringing forth blossoms and bearing fruit through a life lived with all our devotion. Amen.