In June we want to entrust your worries to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Dear friends of missions,
Jesus’ Heart was pierced with a spear: “but one of the soldiers with a spear pierced His side, and forthwith there came out blood and water” (John 19:34, KJ21). Water and blood that pour out from it direct us to the two fundamental sacraments thanks to which the Church exists: Baptism and Eucharist. From the pierced side of the Lord flows a living spring that flows down through the ages and strengthens the Church.
The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus is a reflection of God who is Love. Can a person remain insensitive to such an act of God's love? By recognizing and accepting God's Heart over the last centuries, people have responded to the need for worship that results from it. In Poland alone, there are over 400 parishes dedicated to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. There are also religious congregations, both women's and men's, who live by the charism and spirituality stemming from the need to honor the Sacred Heart. These include the Sisters of the Sacred Heart, the Society of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Ursuline Sisters of the Agonizing Heart of Jesus, and the Sacred Heart Priests.
The faithful recognize that in this Heart, which was opened to each of us on the cross, lies our refuge and our salvation. And this Heart has been calling out to the whole world throughout the centuries: “Come unto Me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28, KJ21). This Heart desires to enter into our daily lives, our worries and difficulties; it desires to take upon itself the full weight of our struggles and, in return, offer peace and comfort. All acts of worship, devotion, and prayer have meaning only if their consequences are visible in our personal, social, and political lives. And, above all, in our bond with Jesus, the strength of which is tested in the witness we give each day.
In 1999, in his message marking the centenary of humanity's consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, St. John Paul II reminded us: “The person of the year 2000 needs the Heart of Christ to know God and himself; he needs Him to build the civilization of love.” Therefore, to be an apostle of the Heart of Jesus, one must testify with one's entire life that God is close, tender and sensitive to human fate. Moreover, one must share this truth with others. First, however, we learn to listen to and contemplate the pierced, open Heart of the crucified Lord, for from Him we draw strength and reinforcement.
With prayer +
Fr Zbigniew Chwaja SCJ
Mission Secretary
of the Priests of the Sacred Heart in Poland
Throughout June, the Sacred Heart priests will celebrate Holy Mass every day for the intentions sent to us, and at the Mission House in Olsztyn we will read them during eucharistic adoration. Fill out the “June Prayer” form and include your intentions in our prayers at the Secretariat for Foreign Missions of the Priests of the Sacred Heart. Donations made on this occasion will be used to purchase a tractor needed for missionary work with addicted youth in Brazil.