Chapter 19: Forty Flames or Aspirations of Love: Offered to the Loving Heart (4)

Fourth Meditation

The Sacred Heart of Jesus Loves Us with an Everlasting and a

Boundless Love

THE SACRED HEART OF Jesus Loves Us WITH AN

EVERLASTING Love

THE DIVINE HEART of our Saviour is filled with eternal love for us. To realize this truth one should understand two things about eternity: first, that it has neither beginning nor end; secondly, that i t comprises in itself all ages, past, present and future, all the years, months, weeks, days, hours and moments of the past, present and future, and that it comprises them in a fixed and permanent manner, holding all those things united and joined together in one indivisible point. That is how eternity differs from time. Time runs on incessantly; as one moment arrives, another elapses and i s left behind, and so one never sees two moments of time together. But in eternity everything i s permanent; whatever is eternal always remains of the same extension.

That is why the eternal love of the Sacred Heart of Jesus for us comprises two elements. First, this incomparable Heart has loved us from all eternity, before we were and could have known and loved it, even in spite of the vision and knowledge that it had of all our offenses which were present to its vision as they are now. Secondly, the amiable Heart of Jesus loves us at every moment with all the love wherewith it has ever loved us and shall love us throughout all eternity. Thus we can see the difference between God's love and ours. Our love is a passing act; the love of God is constant. The love that

God has exercised towards us for a hundred thousand years remains in His Heart together with that which He will dispense a hundred thousand years from now. Eternity implies that in God there i s nothing past nor future, but all is present, so that God loves us now with all the love wherewith He has loved us from all eternity and wherewith He will love us forever.

0 eternity of love! 0 eternal love! If I had existed from all eternity, I should have been bound to love Thee from all eternity; and yet, my God, I have not begun to love Thee as I should. But at least let me begin now, 0 my Saviour, to love Thee as Thou wouldst be loved. 0 God of my heart, I give myself to Thee to be united to Thy ceaseless love for me from all eternity. I surrender myself to Thee to be united to the love wherewith Thou lovest Thy Father before all centuries, so as to love the Father and the Son with an eternal love.

THE SACRED HEART OF Jesus Loves Us WITH A

Boundless Love

The loving Heart of Jesus loves us with a boundless love. The divine and uncreated love which possesses that adorable Heart, is nothing else but God Himself. Now, since God is unlimited, His love is also unlimited. Since God is everywhere, His love is everywhere, in all places and in all things. Therefore, the Sacred Heart of Jesus loves us not only in heaven, but He also loves us on earth. He loves us in the sun, in the stars and in all created things. He loves us in the hearts of all the denizens of heaven and in the hearts of all persons that have some measure of charity for us on earth. All love for ourselves existing in the hearts in heaven and on earth is a participation in the love of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Moreover, He loves us even in the hearts of our enemies despite the hatred they bear us. I even make bold to say that He loves us in hell, in the hearts of the devils and the damned, in spite of all their wrath and

hatred, since the divine love is everywhere, filling heaven and earth like the presence of God.

0 boundless love, I plunge myself into thy fires and flames that fill all created beings, i n order to love my God and my Saviour in all places and in all things. 0 Jesus, I offer Thee all the boundless love of Thy Heart, of the adorable Heart of Thy Divine Father, the lovable heart of Thy holy Mother, and of all the hearts that love Thee in heaven and on earth. I ardently desire that all creatures of the universe be transformed into flaming fires of love towards Thee.

Ejaculatory Prayer: How late have I loved Thee, 0 goodness so ancient and yet so new, how late have I loved Thee. Sero te amavi, bonitas tam antiqua et tam nova, sero te amavi. 123-

Fifth Meditation

The Sacred Heart of Jesus Is the Source of the Life of the God-Man,

of the Mother of God, and of the Children of God

The Sacred Heart of Jesus is the Source of the

Life of the God-man

THE ADORABLE HEART of our Saviour is the source of the life of the God-Man, and consequently is the source of all the thoughts and feelings of the Son of God on earth, of all the words He pronounced, of all the actions He performed, of all the sufferings He endured, and of the incomprehensible love wherewith He did and suffered all things for our salvation. Therefore, it is to Thy loving Heart, 0 m y Jesus, that our obligation is due. What shall we do to thank Thee? We can do nothing more pleasing to Thee than to offer Thee thy most divine Heart. I offer it then to Thee, my Saviour, in union with the infinite love wherewith it hath accomplished so many wonderful things for our Redemption.

The Sacred Heart of Jesus is the Source of the Life

Of the Mother of God

The Sacred Heart Of Jesus is the source of the life of Mary, the Mother of God. When that admirable Mother was carrying her Be

loved Son in her blessed womb, her virginal Heart was the source of the natural bodily life of her divine Child, but the Heart of that adorable Child was, at the same time, the source of the spiritual and supernatural life of His most worthy Mother. Hence the divine Heart of the Only Son of Mary was the source of all the pious thoughts and feelings of His Blessed Mother, of all the sacred words she spoke, of all the good deeds she performed, of all the virtues she practised, and of all the pains and sorrows she suffered in order to cooperate with her Beloved Son in the work of our Salvation.

Praise eternal, 0 my Jesus, to Thy divine Heart! 0 my Redeemer, in thanksgiving for the great wonders of grace that Thy filial Heart hath wrought in Thy glorious Mother, I offer her maternal Heart flaming with love for Thee.

The Sacred Heart of Jesus is the Source of Life of the

Children of God

The Sacred Heart of Jesus is the source of life of all the children of God. Since it is the source of the life of the Head, it is also the source of life of the members; and since it is the source of life of the Father and the Mother, it is the source of life of the children. That is why we should regard and honor that benign Heart as the source and origin of all the good thoughts in the minds of all Chris' tians, of all the holy words that have issued from their lips, of all the virtues that they have practised and of all the toil they have borne for their sanctification as Christians.

0 my Saviour, may all these things be transmuted into immortal praise to Thy most Sacred Heard 0 Jesus, since Thou hast given me that very Heart to be the source of my life, let it be, I beseech Thee, the sole source of all my feelings and affections, of all the faculties and functions of m y soul, and of all the use I make of my interior

and exterior senses! In fine, let it be the soul of my soul, the spirit of my spirit, and the Heart of my heard Ejaculatory Prayer: 0 Heart of Jesus, principle of all good, to Thee be praise and glory for ever.

0 Cor Jesu, Principium omnium bonorum, tibi laus, tibi gloria in aeternum!

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Sixth Meditation

The Three Hearts of Jesus Which Are But One Heart

The Divine Heart of Jesus

WE HAVE THREE, HEARTS to adore in our Saviour which, nevertheless, are but one single Heart by virtue of the hypostatic union.

The first is His divine Heart existing from all eternity in the bosom of His Adorable Father, which is but One Heart and one love with the love and Heart of His Father, and which, with the Heart and love of His Father, is the source of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, when He gave us His Heart, He also gave us the Heart of His Father and of His Adorable Spirit; hence His marvelous words: Sicut dilexit me Pater, et ego dilexi vos. "I love you with the same Heart and the same love wherewith I love m y Father."(1) My Father loves me with an eternal, boundless and infinite love; I love you also with a love that is eternal, boundless and infinite. My Father causes Me to be what I am, God like to Himself and Only Son of God; and I make you to be by grace and participation ~what I am by nature and essence, that is to say, Gods and children of God, seeing that you have but One and the Same Father as I, a Father who loves you with the same Heart and the same love wherewith He loves me: Dilexisti eos sicut et me dilexisti. ( 2 ) My Eternal Father has constituted Me universal heir of all His goods: Constituit haeredem universorum;'(3)and I make you My co-heirs: Haeredes Dei et cohae (I). John 15, 9. (2). John 17, 23 (3). Heb. x, 2.

redes Christi; ( 4 ) I promise to give you possession of all My treasures: Super omnia bona sua constituet eum.( 5 ). My Father finds all His pleasure and delight in Me; and I take My delight and pleasure in you: Deliciae meae esse cum filiis hominum. ( 6 )

0 goodness! 0 love! 0 God of love, how is it possible for the hearts of men to be so hard and cold towards Thee who art all aflame with the fire of love towards them? Oh, let all my joy and delight be in thinking of Thee, in speaking of Thee, in serving and loving Thee! 0 my All, let me be wholly Thine, and do Thou alone possess all that is in me.

The Spiritual Heart of Jesus

The second Heart of Jesus is His spiritual Heart, which is the will of His holy soul, a purely spiritual faculty, whose function is to love what is lovable and to hate what is hateful. But the divine Saviour so perfectly sacrificed His human will to His Divine Father that He never exercised it while on earth and will never exercise it even in heaven, but He sought uniquely and solely His Father's will, according to those words of His: "I seek not my own will, but the will of him that sent me." ( 7 ) "1 came down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of Him that sent me." 8 Now, it is out of love for us that Our Lord renounced His own will, in order to perform the work of our salvation solely by the will of His Father, in particular when He prayed to Him in the Garden of Olives: Pater, non mea voluntas, sed tua fiat, "Father, not my will but thine be done!" (9) (4 ). Rom. 8, 17 (5). Matt. 24, 47. (6). Prov. 8, 31. (7). John 5, 30. (8). John 6, 38. (9). Luke 22, 42.

0 God of my heart, if for love of me Thou didst sacrifice Thy utterly holy and divine will, how much more should I renounce my own will for love of 'thee, wholly depraved and corrupted as it is by sin! Ah, let me renounce it with all my heart forever, imploring Thee most humbly, 0 my adorable Redeemer, to crush it like a serpent full of venom and to establish in its place the rule of Thy divine will.

The Corporeal Heart of Jesus

The third Heart of Jesus is the Sacred Heart of His deified body, a furnace of love divine and of incomparable love-for us. Since the corporeal Heart is hypostatically united to the Person of the Word, It is enkindled with flames of infinite love for us. Its love is so intense that it constrains the Son of God to bear us continually in His Heart; to fix His eyes ever upon us; to take such a great interest in the smallest things concerning us that He verily numbers all the hairs of our head, allowing not one of them to perish; to ask His Father that we might make our eternal abode within His bosom: Pater, quos dedisti mihi, volo ut ubi sum ego; et illi sint mecum;(10) and to assure us that, if we vanquish the enemies of His glory and of our salvation, He will make us sit with Him on His own throne, and will let us enter into possession of the same kingdom and the same glory that His Eternal Father has given Him.

Oh, how abundant and rapturous is the love of Jesus for such faithless and ungrateful men as we! 0 Jesus, my love, either take away my life or let me live only to love Thee, to praise and glorify Thee unceasingly. Let me die a thousand deaths rather than willingly do anything to grieve Thee! Thou hast three Hearts which are but one and the same Heart, a Heart wholly devoted to loving me continually. Would that I possessed all the hearts in the universe that I might consume them in Thy holy love! (10). John 17, 24.

Ejaculatory Prayer: I love Thee, 0 Most Loving Jesus, I love Thee, 0 infinite goodness, I love Thee with my whole heart and I wish to love Thee more and more.

Amo te, amantissime Jesu, amo te, bonitas infinita, amo, te ex toto corde meo, et magis atque magis amare volo.

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Seventh Meditation

The Miracles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Miracles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in the

Realm of Nature

SET BEFORE YOUR EYES the realm of nature, the great universe comprising so many wonderful things, namely, the heavens, the sun, the moon, the stars and comets, the four elements, of which the air is peopled by such a great variety of birds; the earth, replete with its marvelous abundance of animals, trees, plants, flowers, fruits, metals, stones; the sea, filled with such a prodigious multitude of fishes. Add to that the creatures of reason, men and angels; consider them in the natural state of their creation. What a miracle to have made this amazing universe out of nothing! It is not a miracle, it is a world of miracles without number. Count all the creatures made by God and you will count so many miracles that God has performed in drawing them from the abyss of nothingness. Number all the moments that have elapsed since the creation of the world and you will number so many miracles, since preservation is a continuous creation. There is also an infinite number of other wonders perpetually wrought in the governance of this universe. Now, who is the author of those innumerable miracles? It is the inconceivable goodness and the incomprehensible love of the divine Heart of that adorable Word, mentioned by St. John the Evangelist in the first words of his Gospel: Omnia per ipsum facta sunt. It is because of His love for us that He has made all things, even though He had always before His eyes the ingratitudes, the offenses and the crimes

without limit which He was obliged to suffer and still endures every day from us.

That is why all those things which He created are so many tongues and voices preaching to us unceasingly the ineffable charity of His most gracious Heart and exhorting us to adore Him, to love Him and to glorify Him in every possible manner.

Heaven and earth, says St. Augustine, and all things contained therein, cease not to tell me that I should love my God: Caelum et terra et omnia quae in eis sunt, non cessant mihi dicere ut amem Deum meum.

Miracles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in the

Realm of Grace

Picture the realm of grace, which comprises an infinitude of wonders incomparably surpassing those of the world of nature. It contains all the miracles of sanctity that have been wrought on the earth by the Holy of holies; all the wonders that transpired in the Mother of grace; the entire Church Militant; all the Sacraments, with all the marvelous effects which they produce; all the wonderful things that divine grace has effected and will effect in the lives of all the saints that have been and that shall be in this world. What is the source of all those wonders? Is it not the inconceivable charity of the blessed Heart of our Redeemer, who has established and constantly preserves this amazing world of grace on earth, for love of us?

0 my Jesus, let all these wonders of Thy most loving Heart and all the powers of Thy di vinity and Thy humanity be employed to bless Thee and praise Thee unceasingly and eternally: Benedicite omnes virtutes Domini Domino(1). (I). Dan3, 61.

Miracles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in the

Realm of Glory

Raise your mind and your heart to heaven, to contemplate the realm of glory, the fair, great and glorious city of Heaven, of which all the citizens are forever freed from all kinds of tribulations and showered with countless blessings. Behold that innumerable army of the blessed, quam nemo dinumerari poterat (2) who are more dazzling than the sun, who possess incalculable riches, joys unspeakable, and glories indescribable. Consider the inconceivable happiness which awaits you i n that heavenly Jerusalem, since the Holy Ghost declares that never has eye seen, nor car heard, nor human heart understood nor can ever understand the infinite treasures that God has prepared there for them that love Him. Now, what has made heaven and who is the author of all the miracles contained therein? It is the intense love of the Sacred Heart of the Son of God, who has merited it by His blood, who has filled it with an ocean of unutterable delights, to give us the full and perfect possession of it eternally.

0 my Saviour, graciously let me offer Thee, I beg Thee, as an act of thanksgiving, all the glories and wonders of paradise! If I were possessed of a hundred thousand paradises, how gladly would I, by the help of Thy grace, divest myself of them so as to sacrifice them to Thy eternal praise!

Ejaculatory Prayer: Let the mercies of the Lord give glory to him: and his wonderful works to the children of man. Confiteantur Domino misericordiae ejus, et mirabilia ejus filiis hominum. (2). Apoc. 7. 9.

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