can be called a gift of fire in the heart and hope has been called a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul. Neither faith nor hope can exist without the other. Together they keep Christians moving on the spiritual journey. Without faith and hope alive within Christians, they cannot encourage faith and hope in others. They are like wings that take humankind to the Heart of Jesus. Jesus urges Christians onward: “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened to you” (Luke 11:9).
An anchor, with a crosspiece at the top of the shaft, has been a sign of hope since the days of the early Christians. This sign was often carved on the tombs of the early Christians in the Catacombs of Rome. The anchor symbolized that the deceased buried there had reached the port of eternal salvation or heaven. Paul wrote in Hebrews 6:18–19: “Hold fast to the hope we set before us which we have as an anchor for the soul.” Before the fifth century, a dolphin or two fishes were near the crossbar. The cross on the anchor symbolized Jesus, a code known to Christians, but not to unbelievers. In religious art, the anchor represented hope, courage, safety and confidence.
There is always a safe harbor in the Sacred Heart. This beloved image is very familiar to us; it is the well-loved symbol of Jesus’ immense and all-consuming love for humankind. This unsurpassed love is our anchor and our refuge. The Heart of Christ exemplifies ultimate selfless love. The Sacred Heart gives us whatever help we need to take the next good step. Jesus said he will be with us. He is the best of companions in our little boat.
Kahlil Gibran wrote: “Say not God is in my heart, but rather say I am in the Heart of God.” Jesus invites all humankind to take refuge in his Heart. To dwell in his Heart is to dwell in his goodness and his love. The Heart of Jesus looks upon people more mercifully than they can look upon themselves or others. If individuals place their hearts in the Sacred Heart of Jesus, they love together with the love of Jesus. This is an excellent way to learn to love better. Only in Jesus can Christians find a Heart capable of loving to the fullest extent of love. The strength of Jesus’ Sacred Heart keeps the waters of grace flowing in the Church and in the world. Christians become part of that river of living water by meeting the needs of society through doing God’s will. Christians strive toward seeing others as God sees them, and willing the good that God desires for them. This opposes the popular notion of love which pursues self indulgent pleasure.
The Best Way to Start the Day
To stay on the path of hope, an excellent practice would be to recite the Morning Offering as soon as one gets up in the morning. As a reminder to do this, it would be prudent to post this prayer on the bathroom mirror or closet door:
O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer you my prayers, works, joys, and sufferings of this day in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world. I offer them for all the intentions of your Sacred Heart: the salvation of souls, reparation for sin, and the reunion of all Christians. I offer them for the intentions of our bishops and of all Apostles of Prayer, and in particular for those recommended by our Holy Father this month. Amen.
Father Walter Ciszek, SJ, was imprisoned in the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin’s regime. Through his great suffering he found the Morning Offering an uplifting grace. “Father Ciszek experienced day after day that saying the Morning Offering helped him see the profound truth about God’s will for his life. Offering his own sacrifices with the sacrifice of the Mass gave them meaning. He found out that hopelessness came from injecting too much of self into life. It was his experience that we worry too much about what we can or cannot do, but we can do God’s will, and doing that restores hope.”11
In every life there’s a pause
That is better than onward rush,
Better than hewing or mightiest doing;
‘Tis the standing still at Sovereign will.
There’s a hush that is better
Than ardent speech,
Better than sighing or wilderness crying;
‘Tis the being still at Sovereign will.
The pause and the hush sing a double song
In unison low and for all time long.
O human soul, God’s working plan
Goes on, nor needs the aid of man!
Stand still, and see! Be still, and know!
~V. Raymond Edman
“Blessed Calm”
Within the still, silent milieu of Jesus’ Heart one can sit in his presence and drink in his wisdom. When we offer ourselves to God the Father in the Heart of Jesus we become, along with our weaknesses, faults and limitations, a sign of the holiness of God and of hope to others. In the Heart of Jesus, a Christian is inspired and uplifted by his great love. Uniting our human hearts with the Sacred Heart will help make all of us channels of hope and visible signs of God’s merciful love to humanity.
The Mystical Body
Each Christian is part of Christ’s mystical body the Church. As the Apostle Paul wrote, the body of Christ is made up of many parts. Each person is a cell within this body. The blood of Christ, which pulses from his Sacred Heart, nourishes and energizes all Christians so that they strive to live in hope and contribute to the good of humanity. Jesus’ Heart beats for humanity’s salvation and is pierced by humanity’s sins. Choices by humanity range from contributing to the well-being of the mystical body to fighting against it. To choose the latter is to become like diseased cells in the body of Christ. If the latter is chosen a Christian can seek reunion by praying and receiving spiritual direction and the sacraments, thus becoming a healthy cell once again.
It is regrettable to remain permanently angry with the Church because of some dispute with a priest, a parish, or a doctrine. If all the facts were known it could be possible that there was no reason for the dispute in the first place. Negative ruminations can drain energy, destroy hope and increase bitterness. What are the real reasons behind a dispute? Could it be ignorance, misinformation, laziness, or a strong attachment to one’s own opinion? It takes courage to uncover authentic truth. When deeply hurt by a priest, religious or lay member of the Church, it takes a high degree of inner strength to say, and to truly believe, the words of Jesus: “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.”
Jesus is the King, and the Church is a kingdom of sinners, Jesus is the Shepherd, and we are the straying sheep, God is the Father, and Christians are his wayward children. The Church isn’t a country club for the elite, it is a hospital for sinners. The Church is a family. Members can be frustrating, scandalous, irritating; they will never be perfect. But, when things go wrong, family members do not give up on each other. As Peter said: “To whom shall we go?” Jesus is one with his Church. When he appeared to Saul he didn’t say, “Why are you persecuting my Church?” He said, “Why are you persecuting me?” The Church is the mystical body of Christ. Benedict XVI said: “Despite human weakness, despite difficulties and trials, the Church is guided by the Holy Spirit, and the Lord will never fail to give his aid in sustaining the Church on her journey.” The Catholic Church is a fascinating, ancient, complex, living, global, mystical, jocular, solemn, enchanting bride of Christ.
Mater et Magistra
The central purpose of the Church is to praise the Triune God, and to assist in making people holy. G. K. Chesterton compared the Church to a house with a thousand doors. And inside these doors we see a diversity of saints, scholars, scientists,
