We are continuing our series of articles to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of our approval and, during the month of June, dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, we would like to highlight how this devotion has an important place in our charism and Rule of Life.
We offer all our daily work to the Heart of Jesus in reparation for sins and for the Salvation of mankind. Furthermore, each first Friday of the month, we consecrate our religious community to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and, throughout the month of June, we solemnly sing the litany to the Sacred Heart. These devotions help us to meditate and to grasp what it means for the Missionaries of Divine Revelation to love this Holy Heart that beats for souls.
At the start of our vocational journey, each of us was attracted by the love with which the Heart of Jesus called us to Himself. Then as now, in the contemplation of the Blessed Sacrament on the Altar, we immerse ourselves in that same Heart. In the heart of Jesus all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden (c.f. Col 2: 3). It is this admirable Heart that teaches our hearts the boundless breadth of love; it is precisely the Heart of God that wants to meet ours. In our mission as consecrated women, united with that of many other generous souls who have chosen to live for God, we too rest our heads on the Master's chest following the example of the "beloved disciple". We too can listen to the beating of His heart benefitting from the intimacy of His presence. The beautiful mosaic of the Sacred Heart in our chapel helps us to accept the Lord's invitation to come to Him and to listen to His heart so that we might learn from Him.
For us, Missionaries of Divine Revelation, this Heart is not only the Heart of our Saviour. For He is also our divine Spouse who, by His providential plan, has attracted us to Himself and has incorporated us into this religious community as we made the sacred vows of religious profession. At dawn or sunset, it is not uncommon to glimpse a sister in the chapel who, while the rest of the world is at rest, having a lively and vibrant dialogue with the Lord. During these moments, the words of the Lord come to mind, "I will lead her into the desert and speak to her heart" (Hos 2:16). This verse admirably expresses the tenderness of a love that seeks the beloved. It is a love that is united with Him and that intends to stay and listen to the treasure of wisdom inherent in His Sacred Heart. This is the loving dynamic that the Sacred Heart teaches us. It is a love that is free, rich, strong and always desires to give Himself intensely to those He has loved with a particular grace. With a community life, such as ours, the Sacred Heart of the Lord is also our bond of unity. The writing above the arch in our chapel reads, Cor Unum or One Heart. At the school of the Sacred Heart of Jesus we learn to love and to tune ourselves to the rhythm of the sweet Heart of the Redeemer so that we can walk together as one body in this family of the Missionaries of Divine Revelation. Often our mission may take us to different places physically, but location is unimportant because, where the love of the Sacred Heart is cultivated, it is possible to remain united as we all work together for the Salvation of souls.
In fact, intimacy with God never separates us from the rest of the world, much less from our evangelising mission. In fact, only those who have God in their Heart can open themselves to others. Only those who have contemplated the mystery of God can transmit it and, despite the various activities, continue to feel, in the depths of their soul, Jesus’ heartbeat, the lessons that we have received from Him and the causes that are dear to His Heart. When you approach the tabernacle of eternal joy, which is the Heart of the Lord, it causes you to relinquish every jealousy, every cynicism and teach others to do so too. Indicating the font of inexhaustible goodness that is the very Eucharistic Heart of Christ and finding the disarming beauty of His everlasting, boundless love also encourages us to love Him, to imitate Him and also to serve Him. This way our lives abide in the Heart of Jesus, with the capacity to love our neighbour with the same love that we have received from the Heart of Christ.
We conclude with a beautiful, ancient intercessory prayer that we often recite: Sweet Heart of my Jesus, make me love you more and more. Sweet heart of Mary, be the salvation of my soul.
God bless us
And the Virgin protect us