XVI — THE HEART OF JESUS OUR REFUGE

Presence of God. — O Jesus, deign to introduce me into your most sacred Heart, and let it be the place of my recollection, my refuge, my rest.

Meditation

1 — Repeatedly the liturgy of the feast and of the whole octave of the Sacred Heart presents the Heart of Jesus to us as ark of salvation, as our shelter and refuge. “Heart, ark... of grace, of forgiveness, of mercy. Heart, most pure sanctuary of the new covenant, holier temple than the old... Who will not choose in this Heart his eternal dwelling?” sings the hymn at Lauds. “In these most blessed openings of Christ’s Heart I will take refuge,” exclaims St. Peter Canisius; “in them I will place my most secure nest” (Roman Breviary, Wednesday in the octave, lesson VIII). This has always been the aspiration of contemplative souls, souls of interior life: to take refuge in Christ’s Heart as in their preferred shelter. St. Teresa Margaret of the Heart of Jesus wrote in her final resolutions: “My God, now forever I intend to shut myself in your most loving Heart as in a desert, there to live in You, with You, and for You a hidden life of love and sacrifice” (cf. Sp. p. 324). The soul that desires to deepen Christ’s mysteries, that desires to understand something of his infinite love, finds no better means than to enter into his Heart or, as St. John of the Cross expresses it, “to hide in the breast of her Beloved, since in this opening He invites her in the Canticles saying: ‘Arise, make haste, my beautiful one; come, my dove, into the clefts of the rock and the opening of the wall’” (C. 37, 5). Shut yourself, then, in Christ’s Heart to contemplate his mysteries and his love; but shut yourself in it also to find there a defense for your interior life. It is a place of retreat always at your disposal, where you can take refuge even while living amid occupations and concerns. When noise, curiosity, chatter, and the vanities of the world try to invade you, use the holy practice of taking refuge, with a swift interior movement, in the Heart of Jesus; there you will always find recollection and peace.

2 — “In every temptation, take refuge diligently in the lovable Heart of Christ, and place before yourself his goodness and charity, and compare with these your lowliness, malice, infidelity, arrogance” (Roman Breviary, Wednesday in the octave of the Sacred Heart). Yes, the Heart of Jesus will be your safest shelter during temptations. If you want to escape the snares of Satan and your evil nature, take refuge in the Heart of Him who conquered Satan and who by his wounds healed our miseries. Jesus is the victor over evil; taking refuge in Him, you will have nothing to fear. The storm may still roar against you, but your soul will be well sheltered and protected from shipwreck. Whatever kind of battles you must sustain, even the most harsh and humiliating, keep intact your trust in that divine Heart which is the salvation of those who hope in Him. “Cor Jesu, salus in te sperantium,” the Church has us say in the litanies of the Sacred Heart.

And even in falls, in daily infidelities, continue to trust in this most sweet Heart: “with great confidence cast your sins into the abyss of his charity,” St. Peter Canisius admonishes you, “and you will find yourself immediately freed from them” (Roman Breviary, ibid.). And St. Bernard says with greater force: “I have committed a great sin: conscience will be troubled, but it will not be confounded, because I will remember the wounds of the Lord. For He was wounded for our iniquities. Who is so condemned to death that he cannot be freed by the death of Christ?” (Roman Breviary, octave of the Sacred Heart, lesson IV). With this confidence, have recourse to the Heart of Jesus and take refuge in it in all your falls. Despite the good will to be always faithful, it will often happen to you, whether through weakness or surprise, to commit some fault. Humble yourself deeply for it, acknowledge your misery with humility; but let the recognition of it never draw you away from the Heart of Jesus. Return to Him as the prodigal son to the Father’s house; and returning, ask pardon, kiss his most sacred wound, renew your resolve to establish your dwelling in this Heart full of goodness and mercy.

Colloquy

“O sweetest Jesus, the crookedness of my sins would forbid me entrance into your Heart. But since an incomprehensible charity has widened and enlarged your Heart, and since You, who alone are Holy, can make clean one conceived of unclean seed, O most beautiful Jesus, wash me from guilt, cleanse me from my sins. Purified by You, may I draw near to You, Most Pure One; may I enter and dwell in your Heart all the days of my life, to know and to do what You will of me!” (St. Bonaventure, Mystic Vine, 3, 4).

“Where, indeed, will the weak find sure and stable security and rest if not in your wounds, O my Savior? The safer I dwell there, the more powerful You are to save me. The world rages, the body weighs me down, the devil lays snares: I do not yield, because I am founded on You, solid rock. If therefore, O Christ, I remember your wounds, I shall remember this medicine so powerful and effective; I cannot be frightened by any malignant disease. Therefore I, full of confidence, will take from your bowels, O Lord, what is lacking in me, for in You mercies abound, nor do the openings of the wounds through which they flow fail. They pierced your hands and your feet, with a lance they opened your side; through these wounds it is granted me to taste and see how sweet You are, O Lord! “The iron pierced your soul and reached your Heart, so that You might know how to pity my infirmities. From the wounds of the Body the secret of your Heart is laid open, that great mystery of mercy is laid open, those bowels of compassion are laid open, through which You came to us from on high. Where, more clearly than in your wounds, could it appear that You, O Lord, are sweet and meek and full of mercy? For no one has greater mercy than He who gives his life for the condemned and those sentenced to death. Therefore all my merit is your mercy, O Lord, and I will not be without provision as long as You are merciful” (St. Bernard, In Cant. 61, 3-5).