The Sisters Of the Visitation of Tyringham

Live + Jesus

OUR URGENT NEED FOR THE SACRED HEART

by Sister Joan Bernadette

November 2008

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Dear Friends of the Heart of Christ

One of the most moving experiences of my monastic life has been to watch a Sister die. I remember quite well the first time I saw one of our Sisters die. I had just pronounced my first vows in March of 1983 and had taken the profession name of Bernadette to add to my baptismal name of Joan. Our community already had a sister named Mary Bernadette. She was then our oldest sister, being 91 or 92. Soon after my vows, her already frail health began to deteriorate and on a hot July day, feast of St. Ignatius Loyola, she died. Having shared the same religious name and patron for a few months made her dying a particularly meaningful event for me. In the years that followed I was present at the deaths of more Sisters. Each had something memorable about it. I can still recall so clearly the night of Trinity Sunday 1985 when the cries of a dying sister pierced the chanting of our Night Office and made the words of its reading from the Book of Revelation stand off the page for me..."They shall see him face to face and bear His name on their foreheads. The night shall be no more. They will need no light from lamps or the sun, for the Lord God shall give them light, and they shall reign forever."

Again as I readied myself for this talk on All Soul's day, I recalled all the recent passings that have come into my life ...the superior who received my first vows, the close friends of many years associated with our Wilmington monastery, the new friends linked to us here in New England, those whom we hold immensely dear to our hearts. The passage of time seems so incredibly swift as I look back from a new vantage point.

The Church has placed today's Solemnity at such a poignant time of year when we can witness the decay of earthly things, reminding us that there is a time to live and a time to die. For most of us still very much in the throes of living, and perhaps worrying about the pressing issues of our day, dying may be the furthest thing from our mind. Instead we desire to live and live life to its full. And so the perennial question confronts us, how does one live life to the full? The answer that I would like to offer for today's reflection centers on God and on devotion to the Sacred Heart and our acknowledgement of our need, our urgent need for God.

As we know, there are so many forces at work to obliterate the thought that God exists. The popularity in today's culture of such books as The God Delusion or God Is Not Great make it appear ludicrous and naive that we should even dare to believe in God's existence, let alone a place or state of encounter with God. One comes across so many denouncements of God which pelt us on our daily journeys like "God can't be real if He allows so much suffering to happen, it's a waste of time to pray and to go to Church, don't disgrace the intelligence of the human race by believing such fantasies." And so we are pulled by the lure of a world that doesn't need God anymore that can stand on its own feet and can function perfectly well on its own.

But truly we must stop and ask ourselves the question: can God be wiped out so easily, can we erase the existence of God when there is deep within us an unfulfilled yearning for the transcendent? In each of our lives, if we pause and think deeply about it, there must have been moments when another "dimension" dawned in our consciousness. Call it a moment of insight, a light from within, a mystical moment of truth when we were confronted by something other, drawing us toward a higher good. In other words a need asserted itself deep in our being which was far greater than our basic human needs, those that we carry with us every day, and which occupy much of our waking hours.

Speaking for myself, I remember vividly an experience of insight I received a few years ago. It came so unexpectedly and pervaded my own consciousness. I wasn't  even in Church when it happened but was taking a little afternoon siesta, lying prone but reflecting on the resurrection, as it was the Paschal season. I must have been thinking how awesome it was to experience a resurrection and as I was doing so a subtle shift occurred in my awareness. It was as if a veil had been lifted and I was no longer casually engaged in a nice meditation. A spark was ignited and a profound realization came upon me that the words "Eye has not seen, ear has not heard, nor has it dawned on our minds, what God has prepared for those who love Him" were unfailingly true. Although lasting only a brief span of time, the impression penetrated to my very depths.

I believe that God is always trying to break through the layers of our awareness even though all kinds of barriers exist to stagnate or thwart the process. The powers of darkness do their best to blunt our receptivity. Sometimes even the most innocent and natural human needs become so paramount to us that God and what he has to offer are squeezed into a remote corner.

When I was a little girl there hung over my bed a picture of the Lord knocking at a mysterious door, one that visibly lacked a knob in which to enter. I often mediated on this image in my childish way wondering what it meant and in my meditations a mysterious appeal welled up in me. Perhaps in some intangible sense the process of just looking and wondering was the beginning of opening a door to God's presence in my heart. Anyway, that image has stayed alive in my mind and I think it conveys a very simple yet fundamental truth about the spiritual life: God is near but it is a mysterious nearness that requires a sensitivity and willingness on our part to recognize.

Yes, God is present in our lives calling out to us in our deepest needs. God's presence has been promised to creation in every conceivable circumstance even unto the end of time..."for the mountains may depart, and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love will not depart from you..." God's presence permeates history and seeks to draw hearts into a profound encounter with Truth and Love. For centuries, wave after wave of God's presence has splashed upon the face of our earth. God is abiding in our midst and is accessible to us yet it takes real effort on our parts to be aware of this presence. God's silence and quietness can fool us into thinking that there are no strong connecting links between the divine and ourselves. We can imagine to ourselves that getting to know God intimately is impossibly difficult and so beyond our human energies that it just can't be done. Even those who attend Church on a regular basis may wonder why God's presence seems so far away.

The urgent question arises then ...how can we become more aware of the presence of God? One sure means, I believe is by fostering devotion to the Sacred Heart in our lives. Let's take a few minutes to think about this. God's self- revelation (God's presence) was brought to its fullness in the heart of Jesus. God exposed his heart to the world through the heart of Jesus letting humanity see what was inside that heart. Yes, we actually have a picture of the contents of the heart of God. We can experience how God wishes to be present to us. First and foremost we get a glimpse of God's generosity because no one is excluded from God's presence. God invites all. God's presence is not for this or that person but really for everyone. We don't need to be a Saint Margaret Mary or a Saint Faustina or even a Saint John the Evangelist to attract God into our hearts. What we need to be is simply our best selves. This is all. No one has the prerogative on the goodness of God. {This reminds me of a story I once heard about the Cure of Ars who was assaulted by a fervent devotee trying to take a piece of his person as a relic. In dismay he turned to the assailant and said, "Make some yourself"  We don't need to wait for God's light to shine on the next person sitting beside us to enjoy the warmth of being close to God. God is looking at each of us with eyes of love, extending a personal heart to heart invitation to come nearer.

The interior of the Sacred One's heart is full of peace and joy. Despite the fact that the Heart of Jesus was pierced and bruised with a multitude of offenses, the suppleness and wholeness that derived from its love was not destroyed. Even in the most dreadful of circumstances there was an unclouded area of true composure and confidence because God was over all. How often we need to remind ourselves of this thought when just the smallest things throw us off center. In God's presence things get to be seen in their proper perspective. The tiny obstacles that bog us down and cause us distress can be met with in a more balanced way with an attitude of hopeful trust. Truly being in the presence of the Sacred Heart gives our inner faculties a chance to rest in God's providential love and care. At the same time, there is also a dynamic energy that radiates from divine heart to human heart causing courage to flourish in our relationships. We stand up for what is true, good, and beautiful in God's eyes and witness to our Christian beliefs and its teachings with greater conviction and purpose.

 Moreover, there is a quality of presence in the Heart of Jesus that enlarges hearts to a new level of loving and understanding. In our praying we may no longer hope for a certain outcome but allow God's grace to work as it pleases. If God brings us darkness and confusion instead of light and certitude, then we surrender to this 'other side' of God's presence. Sometimes God expands our hearts through struggle and we can only participate in this unique kind of presence by means of deep faith and trust.

The Heart of Christ cannot be more praised and honored then when his presence is needed and acknowledged by us. When we place our trust in the love and mercy of God and try faithfully to turn our powers of heart, mind, and will in the direction of the Lord, something of God's presence is going to take root in our being and be communicated outwardly to others. We may not even be aware of this ourselves, but in imperceptible ways grace will be channeled into us and out of us. Great lovers of the Sacred Heart of Jesus resonate a presence that bears the distinctive marks of gentleness and humility, qualities that have always had a disarming effect on our world, because they are so seldom valued and acquired.

We ourselves can be a revelation of the Sacred Heart by living the virtues of that heart, feeding the needs of those around us with those attributes. One single dedicated heart can be a tremendous force for leading others into a meaningful experience of God. May we not discount ourselves from doing our part toward bringing God's presence more fully into the hearts and minds of those around us? May we ask the Holy Spirit's help to create a "civilization of love" in our society remembering that promoting pro-life principles does honor to the heart of Christ who gave his life for the salvation of every created person.

What God seems to want in our lives is a greater and deeper manifestation of our faith and belief in his love for us. Like his persistent questions to Peter, he asks us over and over again, "Do you love me?" Do you have faith in me? Do you honor me in my sovereignty over all creation? If we respond with a determined yes, even though we acknowledge our weaknesses, then God cannot but rise to welcome us into the mysterious regions of his heart where unfathomable treasures await us.

 As I write these lines I think of our many friends, who have passed before us, and who epitomize this dedication to God. They are the salt of the earth in their consistency to live good lives. The thought of God was never far off for them, and though they were immersed in solving the dilemmas of family or work, they ultimately returned to center themselves in God's presence. They have kept the flame of faith burning and now pass it on to us.

There is a lyric which frequently comes to my mind from our Liturgy of the Hours on the Feast of our Founder St. Francis de Sales: "those who love God can never stop thinking about him, longing for him, aspiring to him, and speaking about him." The Holy Spirit will give us the 'right note' to strike in our relationship with God if only we continue with determination on our journey to the heart of God...thinking, longing, aspiring, and speaking of what is about him.

Drawing us on through all the daily needs, through dark nights, restlessness, loneliness, fatigue, indifference, what have you, the Heart of Jesus is truly a consuming fire that won't give up on us. God knows of what we are made and has the power to fan into flame the tiniest bits of love offered to him. So do not stop invoking his presence or hoping in his help or witnessing to his truth and goodness. He is here in the midst of our parched and lifeless souls, ready to respond to our sighs, our pleas, our cries of distress. Let us ask for the faith to taste the sureness and sweetness of his presence and to have great trust in his providential care.

This presentation was given at the Monastery of the Visitation of Tyringham, MA on Sunday November 2, 2008

God be Praised