The Sacred Heart and Roe Overturned

Courtesy of The Pillar

After Mass today, we prayed the Litany of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. My favorite line is this:

Heart of Jesus, desire of the eternal hills, pray for us

This was during adoration - I am lucky to have this offered every Friday at my church - but the prayer had a special significance with today being the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

I like that line because it represents, to me, God’s very creation calling out to him in love. It is even more intimate than St. Anthony preaching to the fishes (and them listening). The hills can’t talk, walk, or even move toward Jesus - they just wait, with all their being-ness, for the One who created him.

And it was, of course, also special for contemplating the mercy contained in Jesus’s sacred heart, on this day when, after 49 years, Roe v. Wade was found to be unconstitutional, and overturned. Think of the sheer number of prayers, the hours of fasting, that led to this point. It is unfathomable. God truly works outside of time, and scoops all that up, and just like that, the world is changed.

It is surreal to read this:

Held: The Constitution does not confer a right to abortion; Roe and Casey are overruled; and the authority to regulate abortion is returned to the people and their elected representatives.

There are many angles to consider - how each state will now outlaw or enshrine abortion in their own laws or constitution; the work ahead of pregnancy centers in supporting women; the need to create a real culture of life (and come now, what does that really mean?); the federal response; and I even wondered, how will this affect our population?

Think about it: all these years - 63 million aborted children later - we are missing people. You are missing cousins, siblings, neighbors, colleagues, you never met. And yes, our world is missing the artists, the engineers, the peacemakers, the scientists, the authors, the teachers, the coaches, the leaders, the interpreters who would have been - all lives, interrupted. And then, the surrounding lives interrupted. It is like fabric tearing, dominoes falling, as each life is connected to others.

As for me, I want there to be more Americans. This was my sincere thought today! How cool, that we are now in a time when our world will be gifted with these lives that would not have been otherwise. Can you imagine? Human lives saved and gifted directly into the world. It is no small thing.

There are a lot of things that need prayer right now, the most obvious being the further protection of life at the state level, and for pregnancy centers to have the resources they need, yes. But more: what about all the women who are scared? Those that are crying at the Supreme Court today because they genuinely believe, because of this culture’s lies, that their lives are in danger? What about the great change of heart that needs to happen so that we do genuinely value life as a society, and where does that begin? Praise God as you read about the abortion clinics closing, but pray for the women who truly believe that was their only way out. Pray there will be more of a coming together between both these sides.

This is only the beginning of something, the first right step, an opening of light into our world, there is no doubt about that.

Sacred Heart of Jesus, pray for us!

Next up: The Sacred Heart of Jesus

We have, ladies and gentlemen, reached Ordinary Time. Green vestments, normal stuff in your Sunday readings. You know the deal. And it’s good!

Do you during “ordinary time” look forward to the next big “thing?” As in - what is the next significant day in the calendar, the next feast, the next reason to celebrate?

The next big thing right now is the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, coming up on June 24. Because I realize this is not something I know a ton about, I am going to a.) pray along with Pray More Novenas Sacred heart novena (sign up here), and as an intention pray to know Jesus’s heart better; and b.) do some general research. I’ll start here.

The heart being the thing we think of as the center of our love, I will certainly pray to love as Jesus does. Tall order, especially for ordinary time! But that’s a year-round prayer, anyway

By the way, I would be remiss not to mention that yesterday was the Feast of St. Anthony of Padua. I find my own devotion to him grows - it’s just a good idea to pray to St. Anthony, especially if you are looking for something. And I’d say most of us are looking for something.

May your ordinary times be blessed.

Praying the Truth

During Lent I read William A. Barry, SJ’s, Praying the Truth. From the back of the book:

The thought of being wholly honest with God can be a scary thought indeed. After all, it’s daunting enough for us to be completely truthful with our closest friends and family members. If we were to tell God the truth about everything in our lives - and about everything in our hearts and minds - God’s reaction might be too much for us to bear…

This is true. No matter how much we may tell ourselves “God, I give you all!” chances are, there is some way we hold back, or change the truth slightly, so it is more palatable for God, or really, for ourselves. This is done out of fear - of rejection, of our pride being hurt, of falling short of an imaginary standard, and so on.

I think about when I was very little and heard in Sunday school that I had to love God with my whole heart. And, knowing God read my thoughts, I remember thinking, “God! I really do love you with my whole heart!” and hoped he believed me. But it wasn’t true, because I didn’t know God, and was actually scared of Him.

As adults, there is absolutely the same tendency toward keeping things to oneself, or presenting a sanitized version of what we are experiencing, before God. This may be particularly true of Catholics, as we are presented with many examples of pious and holy people in the saints. Saints really seem to know how to pray, don’t they? And I think, yes, Jesus, if you’ll just believe me, really I want to abandon myself to your will as much as St. Therese did. I really mean it!

It’s as if there is a sense that if we show God our shortcomings, he will take His love away.

As Fr. Barry writes, God’s love is unconditional. Until we can be fully truthful with God, we will not experience that unconditional love. How can we, if our own fear stands in the way?

Further, God desires friendship with us very much, and honesty is the bedrock of friendship. And, as Fr. Barry writes, “God is not so much interested in giving me marching orders as in our friendship.”

Fr. Barry invites the reader to examine the places in our own lives where we may be holding back - your anger and rage, your fears, your attractions, your sadness, your sins. He presents the image of Jesus speaking to the two disciples of John the Baptist, “What are you looking for?” (John 1:38) Your spontaneous response - not your crafted, careful response - is what you desire. Always present this to God. He can handle it.

This was an excellent book to read during Lent, and it is one I will return to in the future to be reminded of the truth of how God views me, and the part I play in bringing myself to Him fully in prayer.

In prayer, the truth really will set you free.