Sometimes certain people get on my nerves, and it’s hard to love them. Sometimes people behave badly toward others, and it’s hard to love them, too. Sometimes people have hurt me; it’s hard enough to forgive them and even harder to love them.
The first letter of John tells us that God is love, and remaining in his love means loving others as he does. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus commands us to love our enemies, just as our heavenly Father loves them. From the cross, he even prays for the forgiveness of those who crucified him.
But it’s hard to love those who irritate me or who’ve hurt me or who behave obnoxiously or cruelly. With effort, I succeed in being kind and fair to them maybe 75% of the time, though that percentage falls quickly if I’m tired or hungry or disappointed. Sometimes I want to say to Jesus, “This yoke doesn’t seem easy to me.”
I know I’m not the only person to feel this way, but that doesn’t help. Jesus doesn’t say, “Love each other just like most people do” but “Love one another as I have loved you.” And that’s why this feast day, the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, is so important.
Salvation, as I’ve said before, means union with God, which means, before everything else, loving as he loves. But we all have human hearts, which are limited, weak, impatient, impetuous, a little bit selfish, sometimes rebellious. Only Jesus has a heart which is both human and divine.
This doesn’t mean that there’s no hope for us; but it does mean that loving like Jesus loves is something beyond our natural abilities, something supernatural. So we need to pray to have the heart of Jesus. Today’s feast day is a reminder and an opportunity to do just that. We might pray today at Mass, “Jesus, give me your heart.”
You know that Ignatian prayer often involves using your imagination, so when I find someone difficult to love, I sometimes ask the Lord: “Jesus, how do you see this person?” Or I pray, “Jesus, give me your eyes so that I can see this person as you do.” Sometimes it helps to try to imagine what Jesus sees. What we’re really asking for is a heart that loves like Jesus’ heart.
Once a good priest gave me some good advice in confession. Jesus tells us to pray even for our enemies. Usually we pray that they change—that’s not wrong, it’s not a bad prayer. But if we want to have the heart of Jesus, this priest told me, “Don’t just pray that they become easier for you. Pray for their unrestricted good.”
With years of effort, maybe I’m up to 76% of the time being decent to my enemies. But at least I’ve come to realize that, even if it’s a supernatural goal and requires supernatural help, even if every step of progress makes us realize just how much more we have to go, it’s always worth the effort to seek the heart of Jesus.
Readings: 1 Jn 4:7-16, Mt 11:25-30
Homily for the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus
John XXIII College, Perth, Australia
Tony Lusvardi, S.J. 