Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus isn’t just an old tradition, is it? It’s about a Heart that beats, truly beats, for every single person. A Heart that bled, literally, until the very last drop, when a soldier’s lance pierced His side (Jn 19:34). Just imagine that: a Heart so full of love, it emptied itself for us.
And what do we often do? Though nearly every family has a portrait or statue of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus on their altar, we still behave as inhumane, ungrateful creatures, wandering off into our own little worlds and hurting Him over and over again through our actions toward others. We forget. We doubt. We deny. We even take revenge.
But the mystery of the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus is that it doesn’t judge or condemn us. It simply embraces us. It pulls us close, even when we least deserve it.
The Bible paints a vivid picture of this profound compassion. Time and again, we read how Jesus was “moved with compassion” (Mt 9:36, Mk 6:34). When He saw the crowds, He saw them as “like sheep without a shepherd”, lost, vulnerable, needing guidance. This wasn’t a detached observation; it was a deep, internal ache for their suffering.
His compassion was also intensely personal. When He drew near and saw the city—Jerusalem—He wept over it (Lk 19:41–44), grieving for those who would not recognize the path to peace. And at the tomb of Lazarus, as He witnessed the grief of Martha and Mary, “Jesus wept” (Jn 11:35). These moments give us a glimpse into the very soul of God—revealing a merciful, compassionate, and empathetic Savior.
This is the Heart that beats for humanity—a Heart that truly feels for you and me.
The Gospel of St. Matthew further highlights Jesus’ concern for the vulnerable with these tender words: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Mt 11:28). This is an open call to all who are struggling, feeling lost, or weighed down by life’s hardships. And it’s not a call to the perfect—it’s an invitation from the Sacred Heart itself, yearning to offer solace and peace.
Let me share a simple, touching story about a man named Thomas. He was like many of us, flawed, often stumbling, often lost.
One day, Thomas sat alone in his small, quiet house, surrounded by the rubble of his life. The silence was deafening, amplified by the turmoil in his mind. His heart had turned to stone from bitterness, pushing away the comfort he secretly craved. He felt too lost to be loved. Perhaps, as the prophet Ezekiel once said, he needed a “heart of flesh” to replace his “heart of stone” (Ezek 36:26).
He vaguely recalled a childhood image of the Sacred Heart Jesus pointing to His Heart, radiating light. In his deepest despair, a quiet thought surfaced: Will Jesus still love and accept me?
Closing his eyes, he envisioned a weary Jesus, His Heart not only pierced but eternally overflowing with compassion, echoing that invitation: “Come to me.”
It was a simple moment, but Thomas said it felt like a dam had burst. He wept not from despair, but from a deep sorrow for his coldness, interwoven with an overwhelming sense of being seen and embraced by tenderness. He truly felt the embrace of mercy, love offered in spite of his failings, a healing touch stronger than all his pain.
From that day on, Thomas’s life didn’t miraculously change overnight. The problems were still there. But he was different. That quiet, internal encounter with the Sacred Heart had changed something essential within him. He began going back to church not out of obligation, but from a deep yearning.
He started to pray, offering his brokenness. He began to apologize, humbly and genuinely, to those he had hurt. He often spoke of that moment of “re-discovery.” He would say: “I thought I knew about God’s love, but I never understood His mercy until I felt it, despite everything I had done. It wasn’t earned. It was just... given. Like a bleeding Heart reaching out for me, even when I was running away.”
This is the very essence of the Sacred Heart, a Heart moved with compassion, a Heart that wept, a Heart that calls out: “Come to me... and I will give you rest.”
This is the beauty of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. It is not a Heart that waits for us to be perfect. It is a Heart that continually beats for us, aches for us, and reaches out to us, even when we are ungrateful, even when we wound Him. It reminds us that no matter how far we’ve strayed or how deeply we’ve fallen, that divine, compassionate Heart is always open, ready to embrace us, to heal us, and to draw us back into the warmth of His love, whispering: “Come... come back home.”
And in that whisper, in that gentle invitation, lies the true power and profound comfort of the Sacred Heart of Jesus: the ultimate example of undeserved, boundless mercy that never gives up on us.
May we ask Jesus to make our hearts like His, merciful, compassionate, forgiving, and ever embracing.
Radio Veritas Asia (RVA), a media platform of the Catholic Church, aims to share Christ. RVA started in 1969 as a continental Catholic radio station to serve Asian countries in their respective local language, thus earning the tag “the Voice of Asian Christianity.” Responding to the emerging context, RVA embraced media platforms to connect with the global Asian audience via its 21 language websites and various social media platforms.
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