Sacred Heart vs. Immaculate Heart by Fr. Steve Mondiek

On June 7th, we celebrated the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and on that day we contemplate the pierced Heart of Christ, shedding His Precious Blood on the Cross, burning with love for his people, surrounded by a crown of thorns as he continues to suffer for love of us.

And the following Saturday, June 8th, is the feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. These two celebrations always are back-to-back, with nothing separating the Heart of Jesus from the Heart of his Mother. Their hearts were united from the moment the divine heart began to beat in his Mother’s womb, nestled below her virginal heart. They were united in suffering on Calvary, united in exultation on Easter, and united in eternity when God raised His Mother’s heart into Heaven to beat alongside his.

So, when we meditate on the Sacred Heart, pondering the depth of God’s love for us, we need to contemplate the Immaculate Heart as well to see the response we are invited to make with our lives.

With the Immaculate Heart of Mary, her heart is entirely given over to the Lord, in love of him and of his people. Her heart burns with love for God, a love that pours out to all of her children because she given over to be our mother on Calvary. When we look on the burning heart of Jesus, we remember that our God is like a consuming fire (Heb 12:29), burning away our imperfections in the power of his love that will never be deterred. When we look on Mary’s heart, we long to love the Lord with the all-consuming intensity of Our Lady. We are now motivated to love others as Mary does, by our thoughts and actions.

We also notice the crowns that surround the Sacred and Immaculate Hearts. Jesus’ is the same thorny crown pressed into his sinless brow, a sign of the pain and mockery he suffered on Calvary and suffers today. This, too, speaks of his love for his people, that he would so gladly suffer indignity and torture to bring home one lost sheep.

Mary’s heart, on the other hand, is wreathed in roses, a testimony to her love and purity. But roses have thorns, witnessing to the mortification required of anyone who seeks to imitate her virtue. Our small sufferings, when accepted for love of God, can be transformed into a thing of beauty. The Immaculate Heart, then, invites us to purity, mortification, and joy in our sacrifice.

We also see that Our Lord’s Heart has been pierced by a soldier’s lance after he died. When Our Lord rose from the grave on Easter, he still retained his wounds that were displayed to the Apostles. His glorified body still has the marks of his deep suffering. A reminder that our wounds will not be just erased, but they will be glorified.

As Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father, he looks at the holes in his hands, of which Isaiah prophesied, “See, upon the palms of my hands I have written your name” (Is 49:16). Jesus looks at these wounds and rejoices that by them, we have been healed (Is 53:5).

In Mary’s heart, there is a sword (or seven), in fulfillment of Simeon’s prophecy that a sword would pierce her heart. These swords represent the seven sorrows of Mary, the deep suffering that threatened to destroy her. Traditionally, these seven swords (sorrows) represent: the Prophecy of Simeon, The Flight into Egypt, the Loss of Jesus, The Carrying of the Cross, The Crucifixion of Jesus, and Jesus is Taken Down from the Cross.

More than the thorns of small sacrifices, these are the agonizing pains that we struggle under, the loss and loneliness and fear that we experience. But in Mary’s heart, these swords, too, have been glorified. She does not deny her suffering, or attempt to pry the swords out; she looks to her Son who suffered far more and unites her heart to his, offering him her pain. We, too, must acknowledge the pain in our lives, pain that sometimes comes directly from our decision to follow Christ, and offer it to him, trusting that when we embrace our crosses, he can make us Saints.

In 1942, Pope Pius XII consecrated the entire world to Jesus through the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Many individuals have done the same. Let us ask her once again to intercede that our hearts would be made more like hers in imitation of her Son.