In the Mass of this Solemnity we pray: O God, who in the Heart of your Son, wounded by our sins, have deposited infinite treasures of charity; we ask that, in rendering him the homage of our love, we may offer him a broad reparation.
From this moment of prayer, we must draw the immense joy of considering, once again, the living and current love of Jesus for each one. A God with a heart of flesh, like ours! Jesus of Nazareth continues to pass through our streets and squares doing good as when he was in mortal flesh among men: helping, healing, consoling, forgiving, granting eternal life through his sacraments... These are the infinite treasures of his Heart, which continues to pour out generously. Saint Paul teaches that, when ascending on high, he led captivity captive, and poured out his gifts upon men.
Every day, the graces, inspirations, helps, spiritual and material, that we receive from the loving Heart of Jesus are immeasurable. However, He "does not impose by dominating: he begs for a little love, showing us, in silence, his wounded hands". How often have we denied him! How many times has he waited for more love, more fervor, in that Visit to the Blessed Sacrament, in that Communion...
We must make reparation and make amends to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, for our past life, for so much time lost, for so much clumsiness in our dealings with Him, for so much lack of love... "I ask you," we say with words left written by Saint Bernard, "that you accept the offering of the rest of my years. Do not despise, my God, this contrite and humbled heart, for all the years I wasted in a bad way". Give me, Lord, the gift of contrition for so much current clumsiness in my dealings and love towards You, increase the aversion to all deliberate venial sin, teach me to offer as expiation the physical and moral difficulties of each day, the fatigue in work, the effort to leave tasks finished, as You want.
Faced with so many who seem to flee from grace, we cannot remain indifferent. "Do not ask Jesus for forgiveness only for your faults: do not love him with your heart alone...
"Make amends for all the offenses that have been made to him, are made to him, and will be made to him..., love him with all the strength of all the hearts of all men who have loved him most.
"Be bold: tell him that you are more crazy for Him than Mary Magdalene, more than Teresa and Therese..., more crazy than Augustine and Dominic and Francis, more than Ignatius and Xavier".
HCD