LITANY OF THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS, PART VI
22. HEART OF JESUS, PIERCED WITH A SPEAR
The prophet Zechariah spoke about an anonymous person who would be pierced and toward whom people would turn their gaze in faith and wonder (See Zec 12:10). John, the beloved disciple, witnessed the fulfillment of that prophecy in Jesus when a soldier "thrust his spear into His side and immediately blood and water flowed out" (Jn 19:34).
That spear represented our numberless sins against God, our callousness and cruelty toward our neighbor, and our ingratitude against God's incarnate Son, That deep wound in the side of the innocent Redeemer was the culmination of the numerous signs of supreme love He had already given on the last days of His earthly life.
And from that pierced side flowed the streams of salvation made available by the Holy Spirit in the Church, especially through the Sacraments of Baptism and the Eucharist. That rivulet of blood and water, foreshadowed in the jet of water that gushed forth from the rock hit by Moses in the desert (see Num 20:8-11), would be the source of salvation and spiritual nourishment for all believers until the end of time.
And as Mary Most Holy saw the spear pierced the side of Her Son, Her grieving heart was pierced, too, by the sword of compassion. Thus was the prophecy of Simeon fulfilled!
27. HEART OF JESUS, SOURCE OF ALL CONSOLATION
All human beings experience sadness. We have many reasons to be sorrowful because of sickness, the destructive violence of nature, the wickedness of people, and even our own moral frailty. In our loneliness, our being rejected or despised; in our physical and emotional affliction, it is natural for us to seek comfort and consolation. Many try to find this in creatures. Those who are really wise seek their consolation in the heart of Jesus, for He is the one in whom God, the Divine Consoler of His people, has found His fullest and enduring manifestation.
Throughout His life, Jesus was, indeed, a source of consolation for the afflicted: the sick, the cripple, those who had lost a loved one, and those who were rejected by the self-righteous. In all truth, Jesus could say, "Come to me, all you who labor and are heavily laden, and I will give you rest" (Mt 11:28).
And Jesus wants that we too, become a source of consolation for all our brothers and sisters who are afflicted in one way or another. This is a challenging task which no one would be able to fulfill without the empowerment of God's grace. That's why Jesus sent to His Disciples the Holy Spirit as the "Divine Consoler" in order that they / we, too, might console all those who suffer in whatever way (See 2 Cor 1:4).
28. HEART OF JESUS, OUR LIFE AND RESURRECTION
God has life in Himself and is the source of all life. Jesus, the eternal Son of God, has life in Himself, too, (see Jn 5:26) and is the source of our life, both as our Creator and Redeemer. When He became a human being, His mission was to bring us life to the full (see Jn 10:10), even at the cost of His own earthly life.
Jesus is the source of our life also when we die spiritually because of our sins, for sin is, indeed, the source of our spiritual and physical death (See Wis 2:24 and Rom 5:12; 6:23). Dead because of our sins, Jesus becomes our resurrection, Such was the message contained in His calling back to life the son of a widow at Naim, the daughter of Jairus, and His friend Lazarus.
Such was the message of His forgiving the sins of the paralyzed man and of the adulteress. In all truth, Jesus could declare to Martha: "I am the Resurrection and the Life. Whoever believes in Me, even if he dies, will live" (Jn 11:25).
In His power and in His name, we have become "Children of the Resurrection" - spiritual resurrection from our sins and even physical resurrection at the end of time, when Jesus will defeat death forever by transforming our mortal body into the image of His own risen body and we will live with Him forever (See 1 Cor 15:50-55 and Rom 8:11).
29. HEART OF JESUS, OUR PEACE AND RECONCILIATION
Our hearts yearn for peace. It is only when we are perfectly at peace with God, others and ourselves that we experience perfect happiness. But this peace is endangered and destroyed by sin, for sin sets us on a collision course with God, our neighbor and ourselves. This is what happened to humankind with the first sin and all the other sins that followed it. This is what happens to us whenever we allow sin to rule our lives. Left to ourselves, we would never have been able to be fully at peace. It was only thanks to God's intervention that we human beings were once again able to enjoy the peace we yearn for.
God reconciled us to Himself through His incarnate Son Jesus Christ, the "Prince of Peace" (Se Is 9:3-6). His earthly birth brought peace to all men of goodwill. (See Lk 2:14). Throughout His life, Jesus bestowed peace on so many troubled souls through His love and forgiveness.
Peace was His last gift to His Disciples before He died (see Jn 14:27). It was also His first gift to them after His resurrection (See Lk 24:36 and Jn 20:19). He became "Our Peace" (Eph 2:14) by offering His life on the cross to atone for our sins, and thereby achieve our ultimate reconciliation with God (see Rom 5:10), which is the indispensable condition for us to be also reconciled - to be at peace - with our neighbor and our very selves.
30. HEART OF JESUS, VICTIM FOR OUR SINS
Sin is a terrible offense against God's love. It attracts the wrath of Divine Justice as a lightning rod attract the destructive charges of electricity in stormy weather. All sinners deserved to suffer the just and terrible punishment due to sin, but God in His great mercy, spared them / us by allowing an innocent Victim to atone for the sins of all. The Apostle Paul expressed this dramatic and life-saving "substitution" through the most powerful sentence, "For our sake, God made Him to be sin who did not know sin, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Cor 5:21).
The coming of God's Son into this world "in the likeness of sinful flesh" was not an arbitrary imposition, but the result of His generous volunteering: "Holocaust and sin offering You took no delight in. Then I said, ' . . . Behold, I come to do Your Will' " (Heb 10:6-7). And in Christ's self-offering to be the new and true Lamb of Sacrifice and Paschal Lamb, mankind found its salvation, His innocent and most precious Blood atoned for the sins of all and shielded sinners from the blows of the Angel of Divine Justice.
Jesus carries on His intercession for sinners in heaven as He stands in the presence of the Father, with the marks of His Passion. This is how He continues to be "The Lamb of God," the innocent Victim that takes away the sins of the world.
LITANY OF THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS, PART V
Mario Collantes
The Messenger of Divine Love
Volume III, Number 1
July-September 2008
That spear represented our numberless sins against God, our callousness and cruelty toward our neighbor, and our ingratitude against God's incarnate Son, That deep wound in the side of the innocent Redeemer was the culmination of the numerous signs of supreme love He had already given on the last days of His earthly life.
And from that pierced side flowed the streams of salvation made available by the Holy Spirit in the Church, especially through the Sacraments of Baptism and the Eucharist. That rivulet of blood and water, foreshadowed in the jet of water that gushed forth from the rock hit by Moses in the desert (see Num 20:8-11), would be the source of salvation and spiritual nourishment for all believers until the end of time.
And as Mary Most Holy saw the spear pierced the side of Her Son, Her grieving heart was pierced, too, by the sword of compassion. Thus was the prophecy of Simeon fulfilled!
27. HEART OF JESUS, SOURCE OF ALL CONSOLATION
All human beings experience sadness. We have many reasons to be sorrowful because of sickness, the destructive violence of nature, the wickedness of people, and even our own moral frailty. In our loneliness, our being rejected or despised; in our physical and emotional affliction, it is natural for us to seek comfort and consolation. Many try to find this in creatures. Those who are really wise seek their consolation in the heart of Jesus, for He is the one in whom God, the Divine Consoler of His people, has found His fullest and enduring manifestation.
Throughout His life, Jesus was, indeed, a source of consolation for the afflicted: the sick, the cripple, those who had lost a loved one, and those who were rejected by the self-righteous. In all truth, Jesus could say, "Come to me, all you who labor and are heavily laden, and I will give you rest" (Mt 11:28).
And Jesus wants that we too, become a source of consolation for all our brothers and sisters who are afflicted in one way or another. This is a challenging task which no one would be able to fulfill without the empowerment of God's grace. That's why Jesus sent to His Disciples the Holy Spirit as the "Divine Consoler" in order that they / we, too, might console all those who suffer in whatever way (See 2 Cor 1:4).
28. HEART OF JESUS, OUR LIFE AND RESURRECTION
God has life in Himself and is the source of all life. Jesus, the eternal Son of God, has life in Himself, too, (see Jn 5:26) and is the source of our life, both as our Creator and Redeemer. When He became a human being, His mission was to bring us life to the full (see Jn 10:10), even at the cost of His own earthly life.
Jesus is the source of our life also when we die spiritually because of our sins, for sin is, indeed, the source of our spiritual and physical death (See Wis 2:24 and Rom 5:12; 6:23). Dead because of our sins, Jesus becomes our resurrection, Such was the message contained in His calling back to life the son of a widow at Naim, the daughter of Jairus, and His friend Lazarus.
Such was the message of His forgiving the sins of the paralyzed man and of the adulteress. In all truth, Jesus could declare to Martha: "I am the Resurrection and the Life. Whoever believes in Me, even if he dies, will live" (Jn 11:25).
In His power and in His name, we have become "Children of the Resurrection" - spiritual resurrection from our sins and even physical resurrection at the end of time, when Jesus will defeat death forever by transforming our mortal body into the image of His own risen body and we will live with Him forever (See 1 Cor 15:50-55 and Rom 8:11).
29. HEART OF JESUS, OUR PEACE AND RECONCILIATION
Our hearts yearn for peace. It is only when we are perfectly at peace with God, others and ourselves that we experience perfect happiness. But this peace is endangered and destroyed by sin, for sin sets us on a collision course with God, our neighbor and ourselves. This is what happened to humankind with the first sin and all the other sins that followed it. This is what happens to us whenever we allow sin to rule our lives. Left to ourselves, we would never have been able to be fully at peace. It was only thanks to God's intervention that we human beings were once again able to enjoy the peace we yearn for.
God reconciled us to Himself through His incarnate Son Jesus Christ, the "Prince of Peace" (Se Is 9:3-6). His earthly birth brought peace to all men of goodwill. (See Lk 2:14). Throughout His life, Jesus bestowed peace on so many troubled souls through His love and forgiveness.
Peace was His last gift to His Disciples before He died (see Jn 14:27). It was also His first gift to them after His resurrection (See Lk 24:36 and Jn 20:19). He became "Our Peace" (Eph 2:14) by offering His life on the cross to atone for our sins, and thereby achieve our ultimate reconciliation with God (see Rom 5:10), which is the indispensable condition for us to be also reconciled - to be at peace - with our neighbor and our very selves.
30. HEART OF JESUS, VICTIM FOR OUR SINS
Sin is a terrible offense against God's love. It attracts the wrath of Divine Justice as a lightning rod attract the destructive charges of electricity in stormy weather. All sinners deserved to suffer the just and terrible punishment due to sin, but God in His great mercy, spared them / us by allowing an innocent Victim to atone for the sins of all. The Apostle Paul expressed this dramatic and life-saving "substitution" through the most powerful sentence, "For our sake, God made Him to be sin who did not know sin, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Cor 5:21).
The coming of God's Son into this world "in the likeness of sinful flesh" was not an arbitrary imposition, but the result of His generous volunteering: "Holocaust and sin offering You took no delight in. Then I said, ' . . . Behold, I come to do Your Will' " (Heb 10:6-7). And in Christ's self-offering to be the new and true Lamb of Sacrifice and Paschal Lamb, mankind found its salvation, His innocent and most precious Blood atoned for the sins of all and shielded sinners from the blows of the Angel of Divine Justice.
Jesus carries on His intercession for sinners in heaven as He stands in the presence of the Father, with the marks of His Passion. This is how He continues to be "The Lamb of God," the innocent Victim that takes away the sins of the world.
LITANY OF THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS, PART V
Mario Collantes
The Messenger of Divine Love
Volume III, Number 1
July-September 2008
