Behold this heart which has so loved men...
This is not the best reproduction of the image of the Sacred Heart but it is one that I like very much as it shows Our Lord offering us His heart, His love - presenting it to us freely, as He does in the Eucharist.
Don Marco sent me the hymn from the Office of Matins for the feast:
O Heart of God¹s Eternal Word,
Creation¹s origin and end:
How great the mystery of your love
To make of man, mere dust, your friend.
O Heart of flesh which has sustained
The wound we on ourselves inflict:
How great the mystery of your love
Outpoured on us the blind and sick.
O Heart of Jesus, strong and sure,
Obedient to the bitter end:
How great the mystery of your love
To suffer Golgotha¹s torment.
O Sacred Heart whose burning love
Craves to set all the world ablaze:
You yearn for us to share your life:
What can we offer but our praise?
O Heart of God the Father¹s joy,
O Heart of Christ, the Spirit¹s lyre,
What else have we in heaven but you,
Our morning praise is all desire. Amen.
I also like this image very much, and for the very same reason. Is it not in the Gesù Church in Rome? I remember praying before it in 1975. This particular image conveys that Our Lord is apealing to us for a response to the gift of His Heart. "My son, give me your heart, and let your eyes keep to my ways," was one of the antiphons at Lauds this morning. He asks for our hearts — not to leave us heartless — but to give us His own in exchange.
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