God is Love

Homily for the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

The fact of God’s love for us is demonstrated throughout the Scriptures. From the moment that Adam and Eve committed the original sin, God was intent on bringing us back, on redeeming us and saving us from all the evil of which human beings are capable.

The Hebrew Scriptures recount the many times that God tried to make a covenant relationship with the people of Israel. God chose them from among all the nations of the earth. God’s choice was not because the children of Israel were particularly better than any other nation. However, God saw that something in these people was promising. Scripture scholars will tell you that if you wish to understand the books of the Old Testament, you should start reading with the book of Exodus. Usually when we read something, we start at the beginning. However, with the Bible the only starting place that makes any sense is the book of Exodus; it is in this book that we read of how God led these enslaved people to Mount Sinai and called their leader, Moses, to the summit of that mountain. There God and Moses sealed a covenant. That covenant is the key to all the other books of the Hebrew Scriptures. The covenant was expressed in this way: “If you will be my people, then I will be your God.” As we continue to read through the Scriptures, it becomes readily evident that the conditional nature of that statement was an error of their thinking. God loves unconditionally. God’s love for this people was not because they were attractive, not because they were particularly intelligent, but because God saw something promising in them and felt that if they experienced the love of God, they might blossom into something better.

We know that the Hebrew Scriptures basically chronicle the failure of God’s chosen people to respond to God’s love. However, God did not ever give up on them. God loved them so much that he sent them his only begotten son so that they might have eternal life. God did not love us because we loved God. God loved us first while the human race was still mired in sin. That love was completely revealed when God sent his only begotten Son to be one of us.

As the history of the church developed, God’s love was expressed in the image of what has become known as the Sacred Heart. That image usually includes a heart that burns with love, a furnace of love.

Some day we will all stand before God and will fully realize just how much God has loved us and how imperfectly we have loved God in return. Yet, because God’s love for us is inextinguishable, our failure to love God in return will not stand in the way of our life with him forever. By placing our faith in Jesus, we are justified and redeemed and forgiven.

The United States Catholic Conference of Bishops has asked that we all spend time today, on the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, praying the Litany of the Sacred Heart. In this beautiful litany, the love of the Sacred Heart is described by so many different images. Perhaps you can use this prayer as a Thanksgiving for the graces received through this Eucharist. Others might find it beneficial to pray this litany in a quiet moment this afternoon or this evening. No matter when you choose to use this prayer, let the love that God has shown for us through his only begotten son overwhelm us and inspire us to tasks of love. In this way, we can give glory and praise to the God who is, according to St. John, love.