Rev. Frs. Eric Castro and Roy Bellen, our ministry team; brother priests and assisting deacons; men and women religious; civil and lay leaders of the parish; parishioners and devotees of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus; dearly beloved in Christ: Happy Fiesta po saating lahat!

Today, we are gathered by our love for Jesus and his love for us. In this Eucharist, which is his continuous self-giving and our attempt to respond in self-offering, we experience the blazing love of his Sacred Heart and re-dedicate ourselves to learning and following its ways. With arms outstretched, Jesus offers his heart to us to convey his constant availability for us, especially when we are wearied and burdened by life. He also points to his heart, as if instructing us that the secret to life and the path to salvation is to love like him. These two steps, of encountering his love and loving as he loves, are intimately related.

St. John proclaims in our second reading that: “everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love”. In a profound manner, St. John underscores the vital necessity of knowing God and being familiar with his love in order to be able to love. In other words, someone’s inability to love is usually caused by a deficiency in or privation of love from those around; and a blindness to and lack of appreciation for God’s constant and pervading care for him or her. Kapagpakiramdam natin na salat tayo sa pagmamahal, sinisikap nating punuan ang pagkukulang. Sa prosesong ito, kung minsan, naituturing nating kakumpitensya ang iba sa pagmamahal o nagagamit natin sila para sa ating sariling kaligayahan. Sa parehong  paraan, nakakapanakit tayo sa iba, at tanging ang sarili lamang natin ang ating minamahal. Experiencing love is the condition for the possibility of loving.

Thus, the first message of the Sacred Heart is: “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest”. He invites us to let go of our idols, false securities, and worldly sources of affirmation to come home, immerse ourselves in, and be engulfed by his warm, unconditional, and unwavering love. Sa gitna ng magulo at malupit na mundo, iniaalay ni Hesusang kanyang puso bilang tahanan. Sa pag-uwi natin sa kanyang puso, dinadala niya tayo sa mahigpit na yakap ng Banal na Santatlo.

While resting in his heart, we may still have doubts whether God truly loves us or whether we deserve his love. Our readings help us in this regard. The first reading recounts God’s election of insignifcant Israel, his saving them from slavery in Egypt, and his remaining faithful to his covenant with them eventhough they were not faithful to him. In its turn, the second reading illustrates the extent of God’s love for us by not only reaching out in the incarnation, and giving everything for the atonement of our sins in the passion, but even abiding until the end of times in and through the Holy Spirit given us. If this is not enough, guided by the psalm, we can look back at our day, week, month, or year to relish God’s uninterrupted benefits, pardon, healing, and redemption, that is, his everlasting kindness and compassion upon us.

This truth may be hidden to the wise and the learned who try to constrain the immensity of God’s love to the limits of what is humanly logical. But for the little ones, the humbled and the humble who depend on and surrender to God’s love, this revelation is quite easy to understand and accept. Knowing God and experiencing his love, through Christ, in the Holy Spirit, we are now enabled to move to the next step of being more loving people. St. John cannot be any clearer: “if God so loved us, we also must love one another”.

The second message of the Sacred Heart is: “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me”. Scriptures attest to how Jesus spent his days and emptied himself ministering to the people. Through his preaching, teaching, healing, and forgiving, he served his brothers and sisters, especially those cast out by the socio-cultural and religious norms of that time. While intending nothing but the good, he had his own share of rejections and persecutions, that would eventually lead to the cross. Given all these, we however do not hear him complaining, giving up, or dragging his feet to ministry.

His yoke was easy and his load light because they were borne out of love for his Father in heaven and for us. He was carried and sustained by the dynamic power of love. The Sacred Heart teaches us that when we lose the perspective of love in our life, we will surely feel tired with and burdened by what we do. But when we do everything with and for love: instead of fatigue, there is energy; instead of sterility, there is creativity; instead of meaninglessness, there is profound meaning; when there is the temptation to give up, perseverance comes. The Sacred Heart shows us that life’s crown of thorns and  crosses can be borne if there is much love. We thus not only reach out to our brothers and sisters, but also to give everything for them; and after giving everything, we remain and abide to continually be available to them.

The paradox is, as we lose and die to ourselves in loving, we find our truest selves and the fullness of life. Created in the image and likeness of God, who is love, we attain fulfillment in loving. Moreover, in every act of authentic and selfless love, we also see the face of God and become intimately united with him. As St. John puts it: “whoever remains in love, remains in God and God in him”. At hindi ba ito ang kahulugan ng langit — na ang Diyos ay nasa puso ko, at ako ay nasa puso ng Diyos? Therefore, a loving person is a fully human person and is someone who experiences heaven even while on earth. Moreover, a loving person, in his loving, makes the other experience God’s abiding presence as well. For: “If we love one another, God remains in us”.

Whenever we refer to the Sacred Heart, we usually think of a supernatural and divine heart, and rightly so. But we should also remember that it is also a human heart. It is a human heart, that was so much in touch and in love with his Father in heaven, that it was able to love his brothers and sisters on earth in a supernatural and divine manner. The Sacred Heart of Jesus therefore reminds us that our hearts are like his. We have the potential to imitate his ways. We just need to come to him to experience his healing love and learn from him to love as he loves. Amen. (Photo from the FB Page of the National Shrine of the Sacred Heart of Jesus)

Rev. Frs. Eric Castro and Roy Bellen, our ministry team; brother priests and assisting deacons; men and women religious; civil and lay leaders of the parish; parishioners and devotees of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus; dearly beloved in Christ: Happy Fiesta po saating lahat!

Today, we are gathered by our love for Jesus and his love for us. In this Eucharist, which is his continuous self-giving and our attempt to respond in self-offering, we experience the blazing love of his Sacred Heart and re-dedicate ourselves to learning and following its ways. With arms outstretched, Jesus offers his heart to us to convey his constant availability for us, especially when we are wearied and burdened by life. He also points to his heart, as if instructing us that the secret to life and the path to salvation is to love like him. These two steps, of encountering his love and loving as he loves, are intimately related.

St. John proclaims in our second reading that: “everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love”. In a profound manner, St. John underscores the vital necessity of knowing God and being familiar with his love in order to be able to love. In other words, someone’s inability to love is usually caused by a deficiency in or privation of love from those around; and a blindness to and lack of appreciation for God’s constant and pervading care for him or her. Kapagpakiramdam natin na salat tayo sa pagmamahal, sinisikap nating punuan ang pagkukulang. Sa prosesong ito, kung minsan, naituturing nating kakumpitensya ang iba sa pagmamahal o nagagamit natin sila para sa ating sariling kaligayahan. Sa parehong  paraan, nakakapanakit tayo sa iba, at tanging ang sarili lamang natin ang ating minamahal. Experiencing love is the condition for the possibility of loving.

Thus, the first message of the Sacred Heart is: “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest”. He invites us to let go of our idols, false securities, and worldly sources of affirmation to come home, immerse ourselves in, and be engulfed by his warm, unconditional, and unwavering love. Sa gitna ng magulo at malupit na mundo, iniaalay ni Hesusang kanyang puso bilang tahanan. Sa pag-uwi natin sa kanyang puso, dinadala niya tayo sa mahigpit na yakap ng Banal na Santatlo.

While resting in his heart, we may still have doubts whether God truly loves us or whether we deserve his love. Our readings help us in this regard. The first reading recounts God’s election of insignifcant Israel, his saving them from slavery in Egypt, and his remaining faithful to his covenant with them eventhough they were not faithful to him. In its turn, the second reading illustrates the extent of God’s love for us by not only reaching out in the incarnation, and giving everything for the atonement of our sins in the passion, but even abiding until the end of times in and through the Holy Spirit given us. If this is not enough, guided by the psalm, we can look back at our day, week, month, or year to relish God’s uninterrupted benefits, pardon, healing, and redemption, that is, his everlasting kindness and compassion upon us.

This truth may be hidden to the wise and the learned who try to constrain the immensity of God’s love to the limits of what is humanly logical. But for the little ones, the humbled and the humble who depend on and surrender to God’s love, this revelation is quite easy to understand and accept. Knowing God and experiencing his love, through Christ, in the Holy Spirit, we are now enabled to move to the next step of being more loving people. St. John cannot be any clearer: “if God so loved us, we also must love one another”.

The second message of the Sacred Heart is: “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me”. Scriptures attest to how Jesus spent his days and emptied himself ministering to the people. Through his preaching, teaching, healing, and forgiving, he served his brothers and sisters, especially those cast out by the socio-cultural and religious norms of that time. While intending nothing but the good, he had his own share of rejections and persecutions, that would eventually lead to the cross. Given all these, we however do not hear him complaining, giving up, or dragging his feet to ministry.

His yoke was easy and his load light because they were borne out of love for his Father in heaven and for us. He was carried and sustained by the dynamic power of love. The Sacred Heart teaches us that when we lose the perspective of love in our life, we will surely feel tired with and burdened by what we do. But when we do everything with and for love: instead of fatigue, there is energy; instead of sterility, there is creativity; instead of meaninglessness, there is profound meaning; when there is the temptation to give up, perseverance comes. The Sacred Heart shows us that life’s crown of thorns and  crosses can be borne if there is much love. We thus not only reach out to our brothers and sisters, but also to give everything for them; and after giving everything, we remain and abide to continually be available to them.

The paradox is, as we lose and die to ourselves in loving, we find our truest selves and the fullness of life. Created in the image and likeness of God, who is love, we attain fulfillment in loving. Moreover, in every act of authentic and selfless love, we also see the face of God and become intimately united with him. As St. John puts it: “whoever remains in love, remains in God and God in him”. At hindi ba ito ang kahulugan ng langit — na ang Diyos ay nasa puso ko, at ako ay nasa puso ng Diyos? Therefore, a loving person is a fully human person and is someone who experiences heaven even while on earth. Moreover, a loving person, in his loving, makes the other experience God’s abiding presence as well. For: “If we love one another, God remains in us”.

Whenever we refer to the Sacred Heart, we usually think of a supernatural and divine heart, and rightly so. But we should also remember that it is also a human heart. It is a human heart, that was so much in touch and in love with his Father in heaven, that it was able to love his brothers and sisters on earth in a supernatural and divine manner. The Sacred Heart of Jesus therefore reminds us that our hearts are like his. We have the potential to imitate his ways. We just need to come to him to experience his healing love and learn from him to love as he loves. Amen. (Photo from the FB Page of the National Shrine of the Sacred Heart of Jesus)

Rev. Frs. Eric Castro and Roy Bellen, our ministry team; brother priests and assisting deacons; men and women religious; civil and lay leaders of the parish; parishioners and devotees of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus; dearly beloved in Christ: Happy Fiesta po saating lahat!

Today, we are gathered by our love for Jesus and his love for us. In this Eucharist, which is his continuous self-giving and our attempt to respond in self-offering, we experience the blazing love of his Sacred Heart and re-dedicate ourselves to learning and following its ways. With arms outstretched, Jesus offers his heart to us to convey his constant availability for us, especially when we are wearied and burdened by life. He also points to his heart, as if instructing us that the secret to life and the path to salvation is to love like him. These two steps, of encountering his love and loving as he loves, are intimately related.

St. John proclaims in our second reading that: “everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love”. In a profound manner, St. John underscores the vital necessity of knowing God and being familiar with his love in order to be able to love. In other words, someone’s inability to love is usually caused by a deficiency in or privation of love from those around; and a blindness to and lack of appreciation for God’s constant and pervading care for him or her. Kapagpakiramdam natin na salat tayo sa pagmamahal, sinisikap nating punuan ang pagkukulang. Sa prosesong ito, kung minsan, naituturing nating kakumpitensya ang iba sa pagmamahal o nagagamit natin sila para sa ating sariling kaligayahan. Sa parehong  paraan, nakakapanakit tayo sa iba, at tanging ang sarili lamang natin ang ating minamahal. Experiencing love is the condition for the possibility of loving.

Thus, the first message of the Sacred Heart is: “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest”. He invites us to let go of our idols, false securities, and worldly sources of affirmation to come home, immerse ourselves in, and be engulfed by his warm, unconditional, and unwavering love. Sa gitna ng magulo at malupit na mundo, iniaalay ni Hesusang kanyang puso bilang tahanan. Sa pag-uwi natin sa kanyang puso, dinadala niya tayo sa mahigpit na yakap ng Banal na Santatlo.

While resting in his heart, we may still have doubts whether God truly loves us or whether we deserve his love. Our readings help us in this regard. The first reading recounts God’s election of insignifcant Israel, his saving them from slavery in Egypt, and his remaining faithful to his covenant with them eventhough they were not faithful to him. In its turn, the second reading illustrates the extent of God’s love for us by not only reaching out in the incarnation, and giving everything for the atonement of our sins in the passion, but even abiding until the end of times in and through the Holy Spirit given us. If this is not enough, guided by the psalm, we can look back at our day, week, month, or year to relish God’s uninterrupted benefits, pardon, healing, and redemption, that is, his everlasting kindness and compassion upon us.

This truth may be hidden to the wise and the learned who try to constrain the immensity of God’s love to the limits of what is humanly logical. But for the little ones, the humbled and the humble who depend on and surrender to God’s love, this revelation is quite easy to understand and accept. Knowing God and experiencing his love, through Christ, in the Holy Spirit, we are now enabled to move to the next step of being more loving people. St. John cannot be any clearer: “if God so loved us, we also must love one another”.

The second message of the Sacred Heart is: “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me”. Scriptures attest to how Jesus spent his days and emptied himself ministering to the people. Through his preaching, teaching, healing, and forgiving, he served his brothers and sisters, especially those cast out by the socio-cultural and religious norms of that time. While intending nothing but the good, he had his own share of rejections and persecutions, that would eventually lead to the cross. Given all these, we however do not hear him complaining, giving up, or dragging his feet to ministry.

His yoke was easy and his load light because they were borne out of love for his Father in heaven and for us. He was carried and sustained by the dynamic power of love. The Sacred Heart teaches us that when we lose the perspective of love in our life, we will surely feel tired with and burdened by what we do. But when we do everything with and for love: instead of fatigue, there is energy; instead of sterility, there is creativity; instead of meaninglessness, there is profound meaning; when there is the temptation to give up, perseverance comes. The Sacred Heart shows us that life’s crown of thorns and  crosses can be borne if there is much love. We thus not only reach out to our brothers and sisters, but also to give everything for them; and after giving everything, we remain and abide to continually be available to them.

The paradox is, as we lose and die to ourselves in loving, we find our truest selves and the fullness of life. Created in the image and likeness of God, who is love, we attain fulfillment in loving. Moreover, in every act of authentic and selfless love, we also see the face of God and become intimately united with him. As St. John puts it: “whoever remains in love, remains in God and God in him”. At hindi ba ito ang kahulugan ng langit — na ang Diyos ay nasa puso ko, at ako ay nasa puso ng Diyos? Therefore, a loving person is a fully human person and is someone who experiences heaven even while on earth. Moreover, a loving person, in his loving, makes the other experience God’s abiding presence as well. For: “If we love one another, God remains in us”.

Whenever we refer to the Sacred Heart, we usually think of a supernatural and divine heart, and rightly so. But we should also remember that it is also a human heart. It is a human heart, that was so much in touch and in love with his Father in heaven, that it was able to love his brothers and sisters on earth in a supernatural and divine manner. The Sacred Heart of Jesus therefore reminds us that our hearts are like his. We have the potential to imitate his ways. We just need to come to him to experience his healing love and learn from him to love as he loves. Amen. (Photo from the FB Page of the National Shrine of the Sacred Heart of Jesus)

Rev. Frs. Eric Castro and Roy Bellen, our ministry team; brother priests and assisting deacons; men and women religious; civil and lay leaders of the parish; parishioners and devotees of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus; dearly beloved in Christ: Happy Fiesta po saating lahat!

Today, we are gathered by our love for Jesus and his love for us. In this Eucharist, which is his continuous self-giving and our attempt to respond in self-offering, we experience the blazing love of his Sacred Heart and re-dedicate ourselves to learning and following its ways. With arms outstretched, Jesus offers his heart to us to convey his constant availability for us, especially when we are wearied and burdened by life. He also points to his heart, as if instructing us that the secret to life and the path to salvation is to love like him. These two steps, of encountering his love and loving as he loves, are intimately related.

St. John proclaims in our second reading that: “everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love”. In a profound manner, St. John underscores the vital necessity of knowing God and being familiar with his love in order to be able to love. In other words, someone’s inability to love is usually caused by a deficiency in or privation of love from those around; and a blindness to and lack of appreciation for God’s constant and pervading care for him or her. Kapagpakiramdam natin na salat tayo sa pagmamahal, sinisikap nating punuan ang pagkukulang. Sa prosesong ito, kung minsan, naituturing nating kakumpitensya ang iba sa pagmamahal o nagagamit natin sila para sa ating sariling kaligayahan. Sa parehong  paraan, nakakapanakit tayo sa iba, at tanging ang sarili lamang natin ang ating minamahal. Experiencing love is the condition for the possibility of loving.

Thus, the first message of the Sacred Heart is: “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest”. He invites us to let go of our idols, false securities, and worldly sources of affirmation to come home, immerse ourselves in, and be engulfed by his warm, unconditional, and unwavering love. Sa gitna ng magulo at malupit na mundo, iniaalay ni Hesusang kanyang puso bilang tahanan. Sa pag-uwi natin sa kanyang puso, dinadala niya tayo sa mahigpit na yakap ng Banal na Santatlo.

While resting in his heart, we may still have doubts whether God truly loves us or whether we deserve his love. Our readings help us in this regard. The first reading recounts God’s election of insignifcant Israel, his saving them from slavery in Egypt, and his remaining faithful to his covenant with them eventhough they were not faithful to him. In its turn, the second reading illustrates the extent of God’s love for us by not only reaching out in the incarnation, and giving everything for the atonement of our sins in the passion, but even abiding until the end of times in and through the Holy Spirit given us. If this is not enough, guided by the psalm, we can look back at our day, week, month, or year to relish God’s uninterrupted benefits, pardon, healing, and redemption, that is, his everlasting kindness and compassion upon us.

This truth may be hidden to the wise and the learned who try to constrain the immensity of God’s love to the limits of what is humanly logical. But for the little ones, the humbled and the humble who depend on and surrender to God’s love, this revelation is quite easy to understand and accept. Knowing God and experiencing his love, through Christ, in the Holy Spirit, we are now enabled to move to the next step of being more loving people. St. John cannot be any clearer: “if God so loved us, we also must love one another”.

The second message of the Sacred Heart is: “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me”. Scriptures attest to how Jesus spent his days and emptied himself ministering to the people. Through his preaching, teaching, healing, and forgiving, he served his brothers and sisters, especially those cast out by the socio-cultural and religious norms of that time. While intending nothing but the good, he had his own share of rejections and persecutions, that would eventually lead to the cross. Given all these, we however do not hear him complaining, giving up, or dragging his feet to ministry.

His yoke was easy and his load light because they were borne out of love for his Father in heaven and for us. He was carried and sustained by the dynamic power of love. The Sacred Heart teaches us that when we lose the perspective of love in our life, we will surely feel tired with and burdened by what we do. But when we do everything with and for love: instead of fatigue, there is energy; instead of sterility, there is creativity; instead of meaninglessness, there is profound meaning; when there is the temptation to give up, perseverance comes. The Sacred Heart shows us that life’s crown of thorns and  crosses can be borne if there is much love. We thus not only reach out to our brothers and sisters, but also to give everything for them; and after giving everything, we remain and abide to continually be available to them.

The paradox is, as we lose and die to ourselves in loving, we find our truest selves and the fullness of life. Created in the image and likeness of God, who is love, we attain fulfillment in loving. Moreover, in every act of authentic and selfless love, we also see the face of God and become intimately united with him. As St. John puts it: “whoever remains in love, remains in God and God in him”. At hindi ba ito ang kahulugan ng langit — na ang Diyos ay nasa puso ko, at ako ay nasa puso ng Diyos? Therefore, a loving person is a fully human person and is someone who experiences heaven even while on earth. Moreover, a loving person, in his loving, makes the other experience God’s abiding presence as well. For: “If we love one another, God remains in us”.

Whenever we refer to the Sacred Heart, we usually think of a supernatural and divine heart, and rightly so. But we should also remember that it is also a human heart. It is a human heart, that was so much in touch and in love with his Father in heaven, that it was able to love his brothers and sisters on earth in a supernatural and divine manner. The Sacred Heart of Jesus therefore reminds us that our hearts are like his. We have the potential to imitate his ways. We just need to come to him to experience his healing love and learn from him to love as he loves. Amen. (Photo from the FB Page of the National Shrine of the Sacred Heart of Jesus)

Rev. Frs. Eric Castro and Roy Bellen, our ministry team; brother priests and assisting deacons; men and women religious; civil and lay leaders of the parish; parishioners and devotees of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus; dearly beloved in Christ: Happy Fiesta po saating lahat!

Today, we are gathered by our love for Jesus and his love for us. In this Eucharist, which is his continuous self-giving and our attempt to respond in self-offering, we experience the blazing love of his Sacred Heart and re-dedicate ourselves to learning and following its ways. With arms outstretched, Jesus offers his heart to us to convey his constant availability for us, especially when we are wearied and burdened by life. He also points to his heart, as if instructing us that the secret to life and the path to salvation is to love like him. These two steps, of encountering his love and loving as he loves, are intimately related.

St. John proclaims in our second reading that: “everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love”. In a profound manner, St. John underscores the vital necessity of knowing God and being familiar with his love in order to be able to love. In other words, someone’s inability to love is usually caused by a deficiency in or privation of love from those around; and a blindness to and lack of appreciation for God’s constant and pervading care for him or her. Kapagpakiramdam natin na salat tayo sa pagmamahal, sinisikap nating punuan ang pagkukulang. Sa prosesong ito, kung minsan, naituturing nating kakumpitensya ang iba sa pagmamahal o nagagamit natin sila para sa ating sariling kaligayahan. Sa parehong  paraan, nakakapanakit tayo sa iba, at tanging ang sarili lamang natin ang ating minamahal. Experiencing love is the condition for the possibility of loving.

Thus, the first message of the Sacred Heart is: “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest”. He invites us to let go of our idols, false securities, and worldly sources of affirmation to come home, immerse ourselves in, and be engulfed by his warm, unconditional, and unwavering love. Sa gitna ng magulo at malupit na mundo, iniaalay ni Hesusang kanyang puso bilang tahanan. Sa pag-uwi natin sa kanyang puso, dinadala niya tayo sa mahigpit na yakap ng Banal na Santatlo.

While resting in his heart, we may still have doubts whether God truly loves us or whether we deserve his love. Our readings help us in this regard. The first reading recounts God’s election of insignifcant Israel, his saving them from slavery in Egypt, and his remaining faithful to his covenant with them eventhough they were not faithful to him. In its turn, the second reading illustrates the extent of God’s love for us by not only reaching out in the incarnation, and giving everything for the atonement of our sins in the passion, but even abiding until the end of times in and through the Holy Spirit given us. If this is not enough, guided by the psalm, we can look back at our day, week, month, or year to relish God’s uninterrupted benefits, pardon, healing, and redemption, that is, his everlasting kindness and compassion upon us.

This truth may be hidden to the wise and the learned who try to constrain the immensity of God’s love to the limits of what is humanly logical. But for the little ones, the humbled and the humble who depend on and surrender to God’s love, this revelation is quite easy to understand and accept. Knowing God and experiencing his love, through Christ, in the Holy Spirit, we are now enabled to move to the next step of being more loving people. St. John cannot be any clearer: “if God so loved us, we also must love one another”.

The second message of the Sacred Heart is: “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me”. Scriptures attest to how Jesus spent his days and emptied himself ministering to the people. Through his preaching, teaching, healing, and forgiving, he served his brothers and sisters, especially those cast out by the socio-cultural and religious norms of that time. While intending nothing but the good, he had his own share of rejections and persecutions, that would eventually lead to the cross. Given all these, we however do not hear him complaining, giving up, or dragging his feet to ministry.

His yoke was easy and his load light because they were borne out of love for his Father in heaven and for us. He was carried and sustained by the dynamic power of love. The Sacred Heart teaches us that when we lose the perspective of love in our life, we will surely feel tired with and burdened by what we do. But when we do everything with and for love: instead of fatigue, there is energy; instead of sterility, there is creativity; instead of meaninglessness, there is profound meaning; when there is the temptation to give up, perseverance comes. The Sacred Heart shows us that life’s crown of thorns and  crosses can be borne if there is much love. We thus not only reach out to our brothers and sisters, but also to give everything for them; and after giving everything, we remain and abide to continually be available to them.

The paradox is, as we lose and die to ourselves in loving, we find our truest selves and the fullness of life. Created in the image and likeness of God, who is love, we attain fulfillment in loving. Moreover, in every act of authentic and selfless love, we also see the face of God and become intimately united with him. As St. John puts it: “whoever remains in love, remains in God and God in him”. At hindi ba ito ang kahulugan ng langit — na ang Diyos ay nasa puso ko, at ako ay nasa puso ng Diyos? Therefore, a loving person is a fully human person and is someone who experiences heaven even while on earth. Moreover, a loving person, in his loving, makes the other experience God’s abiding presence as well. For: “If we love one another, God remains in us”.

Whenever we refer to the Sacred Heart, we usually think of a supernatural and divine heart, and rightly so. But we should also remember that it is also a human heart. It is a human heart, that was so much in touch and in love with his Father in heaven, that it was able to love his brothers and sisters on earth in a supernatural and divine manner. The Sacred Heart of Jesus therefore reminds us that our hearts are like his. We have the potential to imitate his ways. We just need to come to him to experience his healing love and learn from him to love as he loves. Amen. (Photo from the FB Page of the National Shrine of the Sacred Heart of Jesus)

Rev. Frs. Eric Castro and Roy Bellen, our ministry team; brother priests and assisting deacons; men and women religious; civil and lay leaders of the parish; parishioners and devotees of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus; dearly beloved in Christ: Happy Fiesta po saating lahat!

Today, we are gathered by our love for Jesus and his love for us. In this Eucharist, which is his continuous self-giving and our attempt to respond in self-offering, we experience the blazing love of his Sacred Heart and re-dedicate ourselves to learning and following its ways. With arms outstretched, Jesus offers his heart to us to convey his constant availability for us, especially when we are wearied and burdened by life. He also points to his heart, as if instructing us that the secret to life and the path to salvation is to love like him. These two steps, of encountering his love and loving as he loves, are intimately related.

St. John proclaims in our second reading that: “everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love”. In a profound manner, St. John underscores the vital necessity of knowing God and being familiar with his love in order to be able to love. In other words, someone’s inability to love is usually caused by a deficiency in or privation of love from those around; and a blindness to and lack of appreciation for God’s constant and pervading care for him or her. Kapagpakiramdam natin na salat tayo sa pagmamahal, sinisikap nating punuan ang pagkukulang. Sa prosesong ito, kung minsan, naituturing nating kakumpitensya ang iba sa pagmamahal o nagagamit natin sila para sa ating sariling kaligayahan. Sa parehong  paraan, nakakapanakit tayo sa iba, at tanging ang sarili lamang natin ang ating minamahal. Experiencing love is the condition for the possibility of loving.

Thus, the first message of the Sacred Heart is: “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest”. He invites us to let go of our idols, false securities, and worldly sources of affirmation to come home, immerse ourselves in, and be engulfed by his warm, unconditional, and unwavering love. Sa gitna ng magulo at malupit na mundo, iniaalay ni Hesusang kanyang puso bilang tahanan. Sa pag-uwi natin sa kanyang puso, dinadala niya tayo sa mahigpit na yakap ng Banal na Santatlo.

While resting in his heart, we may still have doubts whether God truly loves us or whether we deserve his love. Our readings help us in this regard. The first reading recounts God’s election of insignifcant Israel, his saving them from slavery in Egypt, and his remaining faithful to his covenant with them eventhough they were not faithful to him. In its turn, the second reading illustrates the extent of God’s love for us by not only reaching out in the incarnation, and giving everything for the atonement of our sins in the passion, but even abiding until the end of times in and through the Holy Spirit given us. If this is not enough, guided by the psalm, we can look back at our day, week, month, or year to relish God’s uninterrupted benefits, pardon, healing, and redemption, that is, his everlasting kindness and compassion upon us.

This truth may be hidden to the wise and the learned who try to constrain the immensity of God’s love to the limits of what is humanly logical. But for the little ones, the humbled and the humble who depend on and surrender to God’s love, this revelation is quite easy to understand and accept. Knowing God and experiencing his love, through Christ, in the Holy Spirit, we are now enabled to move to the next step of being more loving people. St. John cannot be any clearer: “if God so loved us, we also must love one another”.

The second message of the Sacred Heart is: “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me”. Scriptures attest to how Jesus spent his days and emptied himself ministering to the people. Through his preaching, teaching, healing, and forgiving, he served his brothers and sisters, especially those cast out by the socio-cultural and religious norms of that time. While intending nothing but the good, he had his own share of rejections and persecutions, that would eventually lead to the cross. Given all these, we however do not hear him complaining, giving up, or dragging his feet to ministry.

His yoke was easy and his load light because they were borne out of love for his Father in heaven and for us. He was carried and sustained by the dynamic power of love. The Sacred Heart teaches us that when we lose the perspective of love in our life, we will surely feel tired with and burdened by what we do. But when we do everything with and for love: instead of fatigue, there is energy; instead of sterility, there is creativity; instead of meaninglessness, there is profound meaning; when there is the temptation to give up, perseverance comes. The Sacred Heart shows us that life’s crown of thorns and  crosses can be borne if there is much love. We thus not only reach out to our brothers and sisters, but also to give everything for them; and after giving everything, we remain and abide to continually be available to them.

The paradox is, as we lose and die to ourselves in loving, we find our truest selves and the fullness of life. Created in the image and likeness of God, who is love, we attain fulfillment in loving. Moreover, in every act of authentic and selfless love, we also see the face of God and become intimately united with him. As St. John puts it: “whoever remains in love, remains in God and God in him”. At hindi ba ito ang kahulugan ng langit — na ang Diyos ay nasa puso ko, at ako ay nasa puso ng Diyos? Therefore, a loving person is a fully human person and is someone who experiences heaven even while on earth. Moreover, a loving person, in his loving, makes the other experience God’s abiding presence as well. For: “If we love one another, God remains in us”.

Whenever we refer to the Sacred Heart, we usually think of a supernatural and divine heart, and rightly so. But we should also remember that it is also a human heart. It is a human heart, that was so much in touch and in love with his Father in heaven, that it was able to love his brothers and sisters on earth in a supernatural and divine manner. The Sacred Heart of Jesus therefore reminds us that our hearts are like his. We have the potential to imitate his ways. We just need to come to him to experience his healing love and learn from him to love as he loves. Amen. (Photo from the FB Page of the National Shrine of the Sacred Heart of Jesus)

Rev. Frs. Eric Castro and Roy Bellen, our ministry team; brother priests and assisting deacons; men and women religious; civil and lay leaders of the parish; parishioners and devotees of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus; dearly beloved in Christ: Happy Fiesta po saating lahat!

Today, we are gathered by our love for Jesus and his love for us. In this Eucharist, which is his continuous self-giving and our attempt to respond in self-offering, we experience the blazing love of his Sacred Heart and re-dedicate ourselves to learning and following its ways. With arms outstretched, Jesus offers his heart to us to convey his constant availability for us, especially when we are wearied and burdened by life. He also points to his heart, as if instructing us that the secret to life and the path to salvation is to love like him. These two steps, of encountering his love and loving as he loves, are intimately related.

St. John proclaims in our second reading that: “everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love”. In a profound manner, St. John underscores the vital necessity of knowing God and being familiar with his love in order to be able to love. In other words, someone’s inability to love is usually caused by a deficiency in or privation of love from those around; and a blindness to and lack of appreciation for God’s constant and pervading care for him or her. Kapagpakiramdam natin na salat tayo sa pagmamahal, sinisikap nating punuan ang pagkukulang. Sa prosesong ito, kung minsan, naituturing nating kakumpitensya ang iba sa pagmamahal o nagagamit natin sila para sa ating sariling kaligayahan. Sa parehong  paraan, nakakapanakit tayo sa iba, at tanging ang sarili lamang natin ang ating minamahal. Experiencing love is the condition for the possibility of loving.

Thus, the first message of the Sacred Heart is: “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest”. He invites us to let go of our idols, false securities, and worldly sources of affirmation to come home, immerse ourselves in, and be engulfed by his warm, unconditional, and unwavering love. Sa gitna ng magulo at malupit na mundo, iniaalay ni Hesusang kanyang puso bilang tahanan. Sa pag-uwi natin sa kanyang puso, dinadala niya tayo sa mahigpit na yakap ng Banal na Santatlo.

While resting in his heart, we may still have doubts whether God truly loves us or whether we deserve his love. Our readings help us in this regard. The first reading recounts God’s election of insignifcant Israel, his saving them from slavery in Egypt, and his remaining faithful to his covenant with them eventhough they were not faithful to him. In its turn, the second reading illustrates the extent of God’s love for us by not only reaching out in the incarnation, and giving everything for the atonement of our sins in the passion, but even abiding until the end of times in and through the Holy Spirit given us. If this is not enough, guided by the psalm, we can look back at our day, week, month, or year to relish God’s uninterrupted benefits, pardon, healing, and redemption, that is, his everlasting kindness and compassion upon us.

This truth may be hidden to the wise and the learned who try to constrain the immensity of God’s love to the limits of what is humanly logical. But for the little ones, the humbled and the humble who depend on and surrender to God’s love, this revelation is quite easy to understand and accept. Knowing God and experiencing his love, through Christ, in the Holy Spirit, we are now enabled to move to the next step of being more loving people. St. John cannot be any clearer: “if God so loved us, we also must love one another”.

The second message of the Sacred Heart is: “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me”. Scriptures attest to how Jesus spent his days and emptied himself ministering to the people. Through his preaching, teaching, healing, and forgiving, he served his brothers and sisters, especially those cast out by the socio-cultural and religious norms of that time. While intending nothing but the good, he had his own share of rejections and persecutions, that would eventually lead to the cross. Given all these, we however do not hear him complaining, giving up, or dragging his feet to ministry.

His yoke was easy and his load light because they were borne out of love for his Father in heaven and for us. He was carried and sustained by the dynamic power of love. The Sacred Heart teaches us that when we lose the perspective of love in our life, we will surely feel tired with and burdened by what we do. But when we do everything with and for love: instead of fatigue, there is energy; instead of sterility, there is creativity; instead of meaninglessness, there is profound meaning; when there is the temptation to give up, perseverance comes. The Sacred Heart shows us that life’s crown of thorns and  crosses can be borne if there is much love. We thus not only reach out to our brothers and sisters, but also to give everything for them; and after giving everything, we remain and abide to continually be available to them.

The paradox is, as we lose and die to ourselves in loving, we find our truest selves and the fullness of life. Created in the image and likeness of God, who is love, we attain fulfillment in loving. Moreover, in every act of authentic and selfless love, we also see the face of God and become intimately united with him. As St. John puts it: “whoever remains in love, remains in God and God in him”. At hindi ba ito ang kahulugan ng langit — na ang Diyos ay nasa puso ko, at ako ay nasa puso ng Diyos? Therefore, a loving person is a fully human person and is someone who experiences heaven even while on earth. Moreover, a loving person, in his loving, makes the other experience God’s abiding presence as well. For: “If we love one another, God remains in us”.

Whenever we refer to the Sacred Heart, we usually think of a supernatural and divine heart, and rightly so. But we should also remember that it is also a human heart. It is a human heart, that was so much in touch and in love with his Father in heaven, that it was able to love his brothers and sisters on earth in a supernatural and divine manner. The Sacred Heart of Jesus therefore reminds us that our hearts are like his. We have the potential to imitate his ways. We just need to come to him to experience his healing love and learn from him to love as he loves. Amen. (Photo from the FB Page of the National Shrine of the Sacred Heart of Jesus)

Rev. Frs. Eric Castro and Roy Bellen, our ministry team; brother priests and assisting deacons; men and women religious; civil and lay leaders of the parish; parishioners and devotees of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus; dearly beloved in Christ: Happy Fiesta po saating lahat!

Today, we are gathered by our love for Jesus and his love for us. In this Eucharist, which is his continuous self-giving and our attempt to respond in self-offering, we experience the blazing love of his Sacred Heart and re-dedicate ourselves to learning and following its ways. With arms outstretched, Jesus offers his heart to us to convey his constant availability for us, especially when we are wearied and burdened by life. He also points to his heart, as if instructing us that the secret to life and the path to salvation is to love like him. These two steps, of encountering his love and loving as he loves, are intimately related.

St. John proclaims in our second reading that: “everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love”. In a profound manner, St. John underscores the vital necessity of knowing God and being familiar with his love in order to be able to love. In other words, someone’s inability to love is usually caused by a deficiency in or privation of love from those around; and a blindness to and lack of appreciation for God’s constant and pervading care for him or her. Kapagpakiramdam natin na salat tayo sa pagmamahal, sinisikap nating punuan ang pagkukulang. Sa prosesong ito, kung minsan, naituturing nating kakumpitensya ang iba sa pagmamahal o nagagamit natin sila para sa ating sariling kaligayahan. Sa parehong  paraan, nakakapanakit tayo sa iba, at tanging ang sarili lamang natin ang ating minamahal. Experiencing love is the condition for the possibility of loving.

Thus, the first message of the Sacred Heart is: “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest”. He invites us to let go of our idols, false securities, and worldly sources of affirmation to come home, immerse ourselves in, and be engulfed by his warm, unconditional, and unwavering love. Sa gitna ng magulo at malupit na mundo, iniaalay ni Hesusang kanyang puso bilang tahanan. Sa pag-uwi natin sa kanyang puso, dinadala niya tayo sa mahigpit na yakap ng Banal na Santatlo.

While resting in his heart, we may still have doubts whether God truly loves us or whether we deserve his love. Our readings help us in this regard. The first reading recounts God’s election of insignifcant Israel, his saving them from slavery in Egypt, and his remaining faithful to his covenant with them eventhough they were not faithful to him. In its turn, the second reading illustrates the extent of God’s love for us by not only reaching out in the incarnation, and giving everything for the atonement of our sins in the passion, but even abiding until the end of times in and through the Holy Spirit given us. If this is not enough, guided by the psalm, we can look back at our day, week, month, or year to relish God’s uninterrupted benefits, pardon, healing, and redemption, that is, his everlasting kindness and compassion upon us.

This truth may be hidden to the wise and the learned who try to constrain the immensity of God’s love to the limits of what is humanly logical. But for the little ones, the humbled and the humble who depend on and surrender to God’s love, this revelation is quite easy to understand and accept. Knowing God and experiencing his love, through Christ, in the Holy Spirit, we are now enabled to move to the next step of being more loving people. St. John cannot be any clearer: “if God so loved us, we also must love one another”.

The second message of the Sacred Heart is: “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me”. Scriptures attest to how Jesus spent his days and emptied himself ministering to the people. Through his preaching, teaching, healing, and forgiving, he served his brothers and sisters, especially those cast out by the socio-cultural and religious norms of that time. While intending nothing but the good, he had his own share of rejections and persecutions, that would eventually lead to the cross. Given all these, we however do not hear him complaining, giving up, or dragging his feet to ministry.

His yoke was easy and his load light because they were borne out of love for his Father in heaven and for us. He was carried and sustained by the dynamic power of love. The Sacred Heart teaches us that when we lose the perspective of love in our life, we will surely feel tired with and burdened by what we do. But when we do everything with and for love: instead of fatigue, there is energy; instead of sterility, there is creativity; instead of meaninglessness, there is profound meaning; when there is the temptation to give up, perseverance comes. The Sacred Heart shows us that life’s crown of thorns and  crosses can be borne if there is much love. We thus not only reach out to our brothers and sisters, but also to give everything for them; and after giving everything, we remain and abide to continually be available to them.

The paradox is, as we lose and die to ourselves in loving, we find our truest selves and the fullness of life. Created in the image and likeness of God, who is love, we attain fulfillment in loving. Moreover, in every act of authentic and selfless love, we also see the face of God and become intimately united with him. As St. John puts it: “whoever remains in love, remains in God and God in him”. At hindi ba ito ang kahulugan ng langit — na ang Diyos ay nasa puso ko, at ako ay nasa puso ng Diyos? Therefore, a loving person is a fully human person and is someone who experiences heaven even while on earth. Moreover, a loving person, in his loving, makes the other experience God’s abiding presence as well. For: “If we love one another, God remains in us”.

Whenever we refer to the Sacred Heart, we usually think of a supernatural and divine heart, and rightly so. But we should also remember that it is also a human heart. It is a human heart, that was so much in touch and in love with his Father in heaven, that it was able to love his brothers and sisters on earth in a supernatural and divine manner. The Sacred Heart of Jesus therefore reminds us that our hearts are like his. We have the potential to imitate his ways. We just need to come to him to experience his healing love and learn from him to love as he loves. Amen. (Photo from the FB Page of the National Shrine of the Sacred Heart of Jesus)

Rev. Frs. Eric Castro and Roy Bellen, our ministry team; brother priests and assisting deacons; men and women religious; civil and lay leaders of the parish; parishioners and devotees of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus; dearly beloved in Christ: Happy Fiesta po saating lahat!

Today, we are gathered by our love for Jesus and his love for us. In this Eucharist, which is his continuous self-giving and our attempt to respond in self-offering, we experience the blazing love of his Sacred Heart and re-dedicate ourselves to learning and following its ways. With arms outstretched, Jesus offers his heart to us to convey his constant availability for us, especially when we are wearied and burdened by life. He also points to his heart, as if instructing us that the secret to life and the path to salvation is to love like him. These two steps, of encountering his love and loving as he loves, are intimately related.

St. John proclaims in our second reading that: “everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love”. In a profound manner, St. John underscores the vital necessity of knowing God and being familiar with his love in order to be able to love. In other words, someone’s inability to love is usually caused by a deficiency in or privation of love from those around; and a blindness to and lack of appreciation for God’s constant and pervading care for him or her. Kapagpakiramdam natin na salat tayo sa pagmamahal, sinisikap nating punuan ang pagkukulang. Sa prosesong ito, kung minsan, naituturing nating kakumpitensya ang iba sa pagmamahal o nagagamit natin sila para sa ating sariling kaligayahan. Sa parehong  paraan, nakakapanakit tayo sa iba, at tanging ang sarili lamang natin ang ating minamahal. Experiencing love is the condition for the possibility of loving.

Thus, the first message of the Sacred Heart is: “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest”. He invites us to let go of our idols, false securities, and worldly sources of affirmation to come home, immerse ourselves in, and be engulfed by his warm, unconditional, and unwavering love. Sa gitna ng magulo at malupit na mundo, iniaalay ni Hesusang kanyang puso bilang tahanan. Sa pag-uwi natin sa kanyang puso, dinadala niya tayo sa mahigpit na yakap ng Banal na Santatlo.

While resting in his heart, we may still have doubts whether God truly loves us or whether we deserve his love. Our readings help us in this regard. The first reading recounts God’s election of insignifcant Israel, his saving them from slavery in Egypt, and his remaining faithful to his covenant with them eventhough they were not faithful to him. In its turn, the second reading illustrates the extent of God’s love for us by not only reaching out in the incarnation, and giving everything for the atonement of our sins in the passion, but even abiding until the end of times in and through the Holy Spirit given us. If this is not enough, guided by the psalm, we can look back at our day, week, month, or year to relish God’s uninterrupted benefits, pardon, healing, and redemption, that is, his everlasting kindness and compassion upon us.

This truth may be hidden to the wise and the learned who try to constrain the immensity of God’s love to the limits of what is humanly logical. But for the little ones, the humbled and the humble who depend on and surrender to God’s love, this revelation is quite easy to understand and accept. Knowing God and experiencing his love, through Christ, in the Holy Spirit, we are now enabled to move to the next step of being more loving people. St. John cannot be any clearer: “if God so loved us, we also must love one another”.

The second message of the Sacred Heart is: “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me”. Scriptures attest to how Jesus spent his days and emptied himself ministering to the people. Through his preaching, teaching, healing, and forgiving, he served his brothers and sisters, especially those cast out by the socio-cultural and religious norms of that time. While intending nothing but the good, he had his own share of rejections and persecutions, that would eventually lead to the cross. Given all these, we however do not hear him complaining, giving up, or dragging his feet to ministry.

His yoke was easy and his load light because they were borne out of love for his Father in heaven and for us. He was carried and sustained by the dynamic power of love. The Sacred Heart teaches us that when we lose the perspective of love in our life, we will surely feel tired with and burdened by what we do. But when we do everything with and for love: instead of fatigue, there is energy; instead of sterility, there is creativity; instead of meaninglessness, there is profound meaning; when there is the temptation to give up, perseverance comes. The Sacred Heart shows us that life’s crown of thorns and  crosses can be borne if there is much love. We thus not only reach out to our brothers and sisters, but also to give everything for them; and after giving everything, we remain and abide to continually be available to them.

The paradox is, as we lose and die to ourselves in loving, we find our truest selves and the fullness of life. Created in the image and likeness of God, who is love, we attain fulfillment in loving. Moreover, in every act of authentic and selfless love, we also see the face of God and become intimately united with him. As St. John puts it: “whoever remains in love, remains in God and God in him”. At hindi ba ito ang kahulugan ng langit — na ang Diyos ay nasa puso ko, at ako ay nasa puso ng Diyos? Therefore, a loving person is a fully human person and is someone who experiences heaven even while on earth. Moreover, a loving person, in his loving, makes the other experience God’s abiding presence as well. For: “If we love one another, God remains in us”.

Whenever we refer to the Sacred Heart, we usually think of a supernatural and divine heart, and rightly so. But we should also remember that it is also a human heart. It is a human heart, that was so much in touch and in love with his Father in heaven, that it was able to love his brothers and sisters on earth in a supernatural and divine manner. The Sacred Heart of Jesus therefore reminds us that our hearts are like his. We have the potential to imitate his ways. We just need to come to him to experience his healing love and learn from him to love as he loves. Amen. (Photo from the FB Page of the National Shrine of the Sacred Heart of Jesus)

Rev. Frs. Eric Castro and Roy Bellen, our ministry team; brother priests and assisting deacons; men and women religious; civil and lay leaders of the parish; parishioners and devotees of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus; dearly beloved in Christ: Happy Fiesta po saating lahat!

Today, we are gathered by our love for Jesus and his love for us. In this Eucharist, which is his continuous self-giving and our attempt to respond in self-offering, we experience the blazing love of his Sacred Heart and re-dedicate ourselves to learning and following its ways. With arms outstretched, Jesus offers his heart to us to convey his constant availability for us, especially when we are wearied and burdened by life. He also points to his heart, as if instructing us that the secret to life and the path to salvation is to love like him. These two steps, of encountering his love and loving as he loves, are intimately related.

St. John proclaims in our second reading that: “everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love”. In a profound manner, St. John underscores the vital necessity of knowing God and being familiar with his love in order to be able to love. In other words, someone’s inability to love is usually caused by a deficiency in or privation of love from those around; and a blindness to and lack of appreciation for God’s constant and pervading care for him or her. Kapagpakiramdam natin na salat tayo sa pagmamahal, sinisikap nating punuan ang pagkukulang. Sa prosesong ito, kung minsan, naituturing nating kakumpitensya ang iba sa pagmamahal o nagagamit natin sila para sa ating sariling kaligayahan. Sa parehong  paraan, nakakapanakit tayo sa iba, at tanging ang sarili lamang natin ang ating minamahal. Experiencing love is the condition for the possibility of loving.

Thus, the first message of the Sacred Heart is: “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest”. He invites us to let go of our idols, false securities, and worldly sources of affirmation to come home, immerse ourselves in, and be engulfed by his warm, unconditional, and unwavering love. Sa gitna ng magulo at malupit na mundo, iniaalay ni Hesusang kanyang puso bilang tahanan. Sa pag-uwi natin sa kanyang puso, dinadala niya tayo sa mahigpit na yakap ng Banal na Santatlo.

While resting in his heart, we may still have doubts whether God truly loves us or whether we deserve his love. Our readings help us in this regard. The first reading recounts God’s election of insignifcant Israel, his saving them from slavery in Egypt, and his remaining faithful to his covenant with them eventhough they were not faithful to him. In its turn, the second reading illustrates the extent of God’s love for us by not only reaching out in the incarnation, and giving everything for the atonement of our sins in the passion, but even abiding until the end of times in and through the Holy Spirit given us. If this is not enough, guided by the psalm, we can look back at our day, week, month, or year to relish God’s uninterrupted benefits, pardon, healing, and redemption, that is, his everlasting kindness and compassion upon us.

This truth may be hidden to the wise and the learned who try to constrain the immensity of God’s love to the limits of what is humanly logical. But for the little ones, the humbled and the humble who depend on and surrender to God’s love, this revelation is quite easy to understand and accept. Knowing God and experiencing his love, through Christ, in the Holy Spirit, we are now enabled to move to the next step of being more loving people. St. John cannot be any clearer: “if God so loved us, we also must love one another”.

The second message of the Sacred Heart is: “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me”. Scriptures attest to how Jesus spent his days and emptied himself ministering to the people. Through his preaching, teaching, healing, and forgiving, he served his brothers and sisters, especially those cast out by the socio-cultural and religious norms of that time. While intending nothing but the good, he had his own share of rejections and persecutions, that would eventually lead to the cross. Given all these, we however do not hear him complaining, giving up, or dragging his feet to ministry.

His yoke was easy and his load light because they were borne out of love for his Father in heaven and for us. He was carried and sustained by the dynamic power of love. The Sacred Heart teaches us that when we lose the perspective of love in our life, we will surely feel tired with and burdened by what we do. But when we do everything with and for love: instead of fatigue, there is energy; instead of sterility, there is creativity; instead of meaninglessness, there is profound meaning; when there is the temptation to give up, perseverance comes. The Sacred Heart shows us that life’s crown of thorns and  crosses can be borne if there is much love. We thus not only reach out to our brothers and sisters, but also to give everything for them; and after giving everything, we remain and abide to continually be available to them.

The paradox is, as we lose and die to ourselves in loving, we find our truest selves and the fullness of life. Created in the image and likeness of God, who is love, we attain fulfillment in loving. Moreover, in every act of authentic and selfless love, we also see the face of God and become intimately united with him. As St. John puts it: “whoever remains in love, remains in God and God in him”. At hindi ba ito ang kahulugan ng langit — na ang Diyos ay nasa puso ko, at ako ay nasa puso ng Diyos? Therefore, a loving person is a fully human person and is someone who experiences heaven even while on earth. Moreover, a loving person, in his loving, makes the other experience God’s abiding presence as well. For: “If we love one another, God remains in us”.

Whenever we refer to the Sacred Heart, we usually think of a supernatural and divine heart, and rightly so. But we should also remember that it is also a human heart. It is a human heart, that was so much in touch and in love with his Father in heaven, that it was able to love his brothers and sisters on earth in a supernatural and divine manner. The Sacred Heart of Jesus therefore reminds us that our hearts are like his. We have the potential to imitate his ways. We just need to come to him to experience his healing love and learn from him to love as he loves. Amen. (Photo from the FB Page of the National Shrine of the Sacred Heart of Jesus)

Rev. Frs. Eric Castro and Roy Bellen, our ministry team; brother priests and assisting deacons; men and women religious; civil and lay leaders of the parish; parishioners and devotees of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus; dearly beloved in Christ: Happy Fiesta po saating lahat!

Today, we are gathered by our love for Jesus and his love for us. In this Eucharist, which is his continuous self-giving and our attempt to respond in self-offering, we experience the blazing love of his Sacred Heart and re-dedicate ourselves to learning and following its ways. With arms outstretched, Jesus offers his heart to us to convey his constant availability for us, especially when we are wearied and burdened by life. He also points to his heart, as if instructing us that the secret to life and the path to salvation is to love like him. These two steps, of encountering his love and loving as he loves, are intimately related.

St. John proclaims in our second reading that: “everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love”. In a profound manner, St. John underscores the vital necessity of knowing God and being familiar with his love in order to be able to love. In other words, someone’s inability to love is usually caused by a deficiency in or privation of love from those around; and a blindness to and lack of appreciation for God’s constant and pervading care for him or her. Kapagpakiramdam natin na salat tayo sa pagmamahal, sinisikap nating punuan ang pagkukulang. Sa prosesong ito, kung minsan, naituturing nating kakumpitensya ang iba sa pagmamahal o nagagamit natin sila para sa ating sariling kaligayahan. Sa parehong  paraan, nakakapanakit tayo sa iba, at tanging ang sarili lamang natin ang ating minamahal. Experiencing love is the condition for the possibility of loving.

Thus, the first message of the Sacred Heart is: “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest”. He invites us to let go of our idols, false securities, and worldly sources of affirmation to come home, immerse ourselves in, and be engulfed by his warm, unconditional, and unwavering love. Sa gitna ng magulo at malupit na mundo, iniaalay ni Hesusang kanyang puso bilang tahanan. Sa pag-uwi natin sa kanyang puso, dinadala niya tayo sa mahigpit na yakap ng Banal na Santatlo.

While resting in his heart, we may still have doubts whether God truly loves us or whether we deserve his love. Our readings help us in this regard. The first reading recounts God’s election of insignifcant Israel, his saving them from slavery in Egypt, and his remaining faithful to his covenant with them eventhough they were not faithful to him. In its turn, the second reading illustrates the extent of God’s love for us by not only reaching out in the incarnation, and giving everything for the atonement of our sins in the passion, but even abiding until the end of times in and through the Holy Spirit given us. If this is not enough, guided by the psalm, we can look back at our day, week, month, or year to relish God’s uninterrupted benefits, pardon, healing, and redemption, that is, his everlasting kindness and compassion upon us.

This truth may be hidden to the wise and the learned who try to constrain the immensity of God’s love to the limits of what is humanly logical. But for the little ones, the humbled and the humble who depend on and surrender to God’s love, this revelation is quite easy to understand and accept. Knowing God and experiencing his love, through Christ, in the Holy Spirit, we are now enabled to move to the next step of being more loving people. St. John cannot be any clearer: “if God so loved us, we also must love one another”.

The second message of the Sacred Heart is: “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me”. Scriptures attest to how Jesus spent his days and emptied himself ministering to the people. Through his preaching, teaching, healing, and forgiving, he served his brothers and sisters, especially those cast out by the socio-cultural and religious norms of that time. While intending nothing but the good, he had his own share of rejections and persecutions, that would eventually lead to the cross. Given all these, we however do not hear him complaining, giving up, or dragging his feet to ministry.

His yoke was easy and his load light because they were borne out of love for his Father in heaven and for us. He was carried and sustained by the dynamic power of love. The Sacred Heart teaches us that when we lose the perspective of love in our life, we will surely feel tired with and burdened by what we do. But when we do everything with and for love: instead of fatigue, there is energy; instead of sterility, there is creativity; instead of meaninglessness, there is profound meaning; when there is the temptation to give up, perseverance comes. The Sacred Heart shows us that life’s crown of thorns and  crosses can be borne if there is much love. We thus not only reach out to our brothers and sisters, but also to give everything for them; and after giving everything, we remain and abide to continually be available to them.

The paradox is, as we lose and die to ourselves in loving, we find our truest selves and the fullness of life. Created in the image and likeness of God, who is love, we attain fulfillment in loving. Moreover, in every act of authentic and selfless love, we also see the face of God and become intimately united with him. As St. John puts it: “whoever remains in love, remains in God and God in him”. At hindi ba ito ang kahulugan ng langit — na ang Diyos ay nasa puso ko, at ako ay nasa puso ng Diyos? Therefore, a loving person is a fully human person and is someone who experiences heaven even while on earth. Moreover, a loving person, in his loving, makes the other experience God’s abiding presence as well. For: “If we love one another, God remains in us”.

Whenever we refer to the Sacred Heart, we usually think of a supernatural and divine heart, and rightly so. But we should also remember that it is also a human heart. It is a human heart, that was so much in touch and in love with his Father in heaven, that it was able to love his brothers and sisters on earth in a supernatural and divine manner. The Sacred Heart of Jesus therefore reminds us that our hearts are like his. We have the potential to imitate his ways. We just need to come to him to experience his healing love and learn from him to love as he loves. Amen. (Photo from the FB Page of the National Shrine of the Sacred Heart of Jesus)

Rev. Frs. Eric Castro and Roy Bellen, our ministry team; brother priests and assisting deacons; men and women religious; civil and lay leaders of the parish; parishioners and devotees of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus; dearly beloved in Christ: Happy Fiesta po saating lahat!

Today, we are gathered by our love for Jesus and his love for us. In this Eucharist, which is his continuous self-giving and our attempt to respond in self-offering, we experience the blazing love of his Sacred Heart and re-dedicate ourselves to learning and following its ways. With arms outstretched, Jesus offers his heart to us to convey his constant availability for us, especially when we are wearied and burdened by life. He also points to his heart, as if instructing us that the secret to life and the path to salvation is to love like him. These two steps, of encountering his love and loving as he loves, are intimately related.

St. John proclaims in our second reading that: “everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love”. In a profound manner, St. John underscores the vital necessity of knowing God and being familiar with his love in order to be able to love. In other words, someone’s inability to love is usually caused by a deficiency in or privation of love from those around; and a blindness to and lack of appreciation for God’s constant and pervading care for him or her. Kapagpakiramdam natin na salat tayo sa pagmamahal, sinisikap nating punuan ang pagkukulang. Sa prosesong ito, kung minsan, naituturing nating kakumpitensya ang iba sa pagmamahal o nagagamit natin sila para sa ating sariling kaligayahan. Sa parehong  paraan, nakakapanakit tayo sa iba, at tanging ang sarili lamang natin ang ating minamahal. Experiencing love is the condition for the possibility of loving.

Thus, the first message of the Sacred Heart is: “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest”. He invites us to let go of our idols, false securities, and worldly sources of affirmation to come home, immerse ourselves in, and be engulfed by his warm, unconditional, and unwavering love. Sa gitna ng magulo at malupit na mundo, iniaalay ni Hesusang kanyang puso bilang tahanan. Sa pag-uwi natin sa kanyang puso, dinadala niya tayo sa mahigpit na yakap ng Banal na Santatlo.

While resting in his heart, we may still have doubts whether God truly loves us or whether we deserve his love. Our readings help us in this regard. The first reading recounts God’s election of insignifcant Israel, his saving them from slavery in Egypt, and his remaining faithful to his covenant with them eventhough they were not faithful to him. In its turn, the second reading illustrates the extent of God’s love for us by not only reaching out in the incarnation, and giving everything for the atonement of our sins in the passion, but even abiding until the end of times in and through the Holy Spirit given us. If this is not enough, guided by the psalm, we can look back at our day, week, month, or year to relish God’s uninterrupted benefits, pardon, healing, and redemption, that is, his everlasting kindness and compassion upon us.

This truth may be hidden to the wise and the learned who try to constrain the immensity of God’s love to the limits of what is humanly logical. But for the little ones, the humbled and the humble who depend on and surrender to God’s love, this revelation is quite easy to understand and accept. Knowing God and experiencing his love, through Christ, in the Holy Spirit, we are now enabled to move to the next step of being more loving people. St. John cannot be any clearer: “if God so loved us, we also must love one another”.

The second message of the Sacred Heart is: “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me”. Scriptures attest to how Jesus spent his days and emptied himself ministering to the people. Through his preaching, teaching, healing, and forgiving, he served his brothers and sisters, especially those cast out by the socio-cultural and religious norms of that time. While intending nothing but the good, he had his own share of rejections and persecutions, that would eventually lead to the cross. Given all these, we however do not hear him complaining, giving up, or dragging his feet to ministry.

His yoke was easy and his load light because they were borne out of love for his Father in heaven and for us. He was carried and sustained by the dynamic power of love. The Sacred Heart teaches us that when we lose the perspective of love in our life, we will surely feel tired with and burdened by what we do. But when we do everything with and for love: instead of fatigue, there is energy; instead of sterility, there is creativity; instead of meaninglessness, there is profound meaning; when there is the temptation to give up, perseverance comes. The Sacred Heart shows us that life’s crown of thorns and  crosses can be borne if there is much love. We thus not only reach out to our brothers and sisters, but also to give everything for them; and after giving everything, we remain and abide to continually be available to them.

The paradox is, as we lose and die to ourselves in loving, we find our truest selves and the fullness of life. Created in the image and likeness of God, who is love, we attain fulfillment in loving. Moreover, in every act of authentic and selfless love, we also see the face of God and become intimately united with him. As St. John puts it: “whoever remains in love, remains in God and God in him”. At hindi ba ito ang kahulugan ng langit — na ang Diyos ay nasa puso ko, at ako ay nasa puso ng Diyos? Therefore, a loving person is a fully human person and is someone who experiences heaven even while on earth. Moreover, a loving person, in his loving, makes the other experience God’s abiding presence as well. For: “If we love one another, God remains in us”.

Whenever we refer to the Sacred Heart, we usually think of a supernatural and divine heart, and rightly so. But we should also remember that it is also a human heart. It is a human heart, that was so much in touch and in love with his Father in heaven, that it was able to love his brothers and sisters on earth in a supernatural and divine manner. The Sacred Heart of Jesus therefore reminds us that our hearts are like his. We have the potential to imitate his ways. We just need to come to him to experience his healing love and learn from him to love as he loves. Amen. (Photo from the FB Page of the National Shrine of the Sacred Heart of Jesus)

Rev. Frs. Eric Castro and Roy Bellen, our ministry team; brother priests and assisting deacons; men and women religious; civil and lay leaders of the parish; parishioners and devotees of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus; dearly beloved in Christ: Happy Fiesta po saating lahat!

Today, we are gathered by our love for Jesus and his love for us. In this Eucharist, which is his continuous self-giving and our attempt to respond in self-offering, we experience the blazing love of his Sacred Heart and re-dedicate ourselves to learning and following its ways. With arms outstretched, Jesus offers his heart to us to convey his constant availability for us, especially when we are wearied and burdened by life. He also points to his heart, as if instructing us that the secret to life and the path to salvation is to love like him. These two steps, of encountering his love and loving as he loves, are intimately related.

St. John proclaims in our second reading that: “everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love”. In a profound manner, St. John underscores the vital necessity of knowing God and being familiar with his love in order to be able to love. In other words, someone’s inability to love is usually caused by a deficiency in or privation of love from those around; and a blindness to and lack of appreciation for God’s constant and pervading care for him or her. Kapagpakiramdam natin na salat tayo sa pagmamahal, sinisikap nating punuan ang pagkukulang. Sa prosesong ito, kung minsan, naituturing nating kakumpitensya ang iba sa pagmamahal o nagagamit natin sila para sa ating sariling kaligayahan. Sa parehong  paraan, nakakapanakit tayo sa iba, at tanging ang sarili lamang natin ang ating minamahal. Experiencing love is the condition for the possibility of loving.

Thus, the first message of the Sacred Heart is: “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest”. He invites us to let go of our idols, false securities, and worldly sources of affirmation to come home, immerse ourselves in, and be engulfed by his warm, unconditional, and unwavering love. Sa gitna ng magulo at malupit na mundo, iniaalay ni Hesusang kanyang puso bilang tahanan. Sa pag-uwi natin sa kanyang puso, dinadala niya tayo sa mahigpit na yakap ng Banal na Santatlo.

While resting in his heart, we may still have doubts whether God truly loves us or whether we deserve his love. Our readings help us in this regard. The first reading recounts God’s election of insignifcant Israel, his saving them from slavery in Egypt, and his remaining faithful to his covenant with them eventhough they were not faithful to him. In its turn, the second reading illustrates the extent of God’s love for us by not only reaching out in the incarnation, and giving everything for the atonement of our sins in the passion, but even abiding until the end of times in and through the Holy Spirit given us. If this is not enough, guided by the psalm, we can look back at our day, week, month, or year to relish God’s uninterrupted benefits, pardon, healing, and redemption, that is, his everlasting kindness and compassion upon us.

This truth may be hidden to the wise and the learned who try to constrain the immensity of God’s love to the limits of what is humanly logical. But for the little ones, the humbled and the humble who depend on and surrender to God’s love, this revelation is quite easy to understand and accept. Knowing God and experiencing his love, through Christ, in the Holy Spirit, we are now enabled to move to the next step of being more loving people. St. John cannot be any clearer: “if God so loved us, we also must love one another”.

The second message of the Sacred Heart is: “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me”. Scriptures attest to how Jesus spent his days and emptied himself ministering to the people. Through his preaching, teaching, healing, and forgiving, he served his brothers and sisters, especially those cast out by the socio-cultural and religious norms of that time. While intending nothing but the good, he had his own share of rejections and persecutions, that would eventually lead to the cross. Given all these, we however do not hear him complaining, giving up, or dragging his feet to ministry.

His yoke was easy and his load light because they were borne out of love for his Father in heaven and for us. He was carried and sustained by the dynamic power of love. The Sacred Heart teaches us that when we lose the perspective of love in our life, we will surely feel tired with and burdened by what we do. But when we do everything with and for love: instead of fatigue, there is energy; instead of sterility, there is creativity; instead of meaninglessness, there is profound meaning; when there is the temptation to give up, perseverance comes. The Sacred Heart shows us that life’s crown of thorns and  crosses can be borne if there is much love. We thus not only reach out to our brothers and sisters, but also to give everything for them; and after giving everything, we remain and abide to continually be available to them.

The paradox is, as we lose and die to ourselves in loving, we find our truest selves and the fullness of life. Created in the image and likeness of God, who is love, we attain fulfillment in loving. Moreover, in every act of authentic and selfless love, we also see the face of God and become intimately united with him. As St. John puts it: “whoever remains in love, remains in God and God in him”. At hindi ba ito ang kahulugan ng langit — na ang Diyos ay nasa puso ko, at ako ay nasa puso ng Diyos? Therefore, a loving person is a fully human person and is someone who experiences heaven even while on earth. Moreover, a loving person, in his loving, makes the other experience God’s abiding presence as well. For: “If we love one another, God remains in us”.

Whenever we refer to the Sacred Heart, we usually think of a supernatural and divine heart, and rightly so. But we should also remember that it is also a human heart. It is a human heart, that was so much in touch and in love with his Father in heaven, that it was able to love his brothers and sisters on earth in a supernatural and divine manner. The Sacred Heart of Jesus therefore reminds us that our hearts are like his. We have the potential to imitate his ways. We just need to come to him to experience his healing love and learn from him to love as he loves. Amen. (Photo from the FB Page of the National Shrine of the Sacred Heart of Jesus)

Rev. Frs. Eric Castro and Roy Bellen, our ministry team; brother priests and assisting deacons; men and women religious; civil and lay leaders of the parish; parishioners and devotees of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus; dearly beloved in Christ: Happy Fiesta po saating lahat!

Today, we are gathered by our love for Jesus and his love for us. In this Eucharist, which is his continuous self-giving and our attempt to respond in self-offering, we experience the blazing love of his Sacred Heart and re-dedicate ourselves to learning and following its ways. With arms outstretched, Jesus offers his heart to us to convey his constant availability for us, especially when we are wearied and burdened by life. He also points to his heart, as if instructing us that the secret to life and the path to salvation is to love like him. These two steps, of encountering his love and loving as he loves, are intimately related.

St. John proclaims in our second reading that: “everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love”. In a profound manner, St. John underscores the vital necessity of knowing God and being familiar with his love in order to be able to love. In other words, someone’s inability to love is usually caused by a deficiency in or privation of love from those around; and a blindness to and lack of appreciation for God’s constant and pervading care for him or her. Kapagpakiramdam natin na salat tayo sa pagmamahal, sinisikap nating punuan ang pagkukulang. Sa prosesong ito, kung minsan, naituturing nating kakumpitensya ang iba sa pagmamahal o nagagamit natin sila para sa ating sariling kaligayahan. Sa parehong  paraan, nakakapanakit tayo sa iba, at tanging ang sarili lamang natin ang ating minamahal. Experiencing love is the condition for the possibility of loving.

Thus, the first message of the Sacred Heart is: “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest”. He invites us to let go of our idols, false securities, and worldly sources of affirmation to come home, immerse ourselves in, and be engulfed by his warm, unconditional, and unwavering love. Sa gitna ng magulo at malupit na mundo, iniaalay ni Hesusang kanyang puso bilang tahanan. Sa pag-uwi natin sa kanyang puso, dinadala niya tayo sa mahigpit na yakap ng Banal na Santatlo.

While resting in his heart, we may still have doubts whether God truly loves us or whether we deserve his love. Our readings help us in this regard. The first reading recounts God’s election of insignifcant Israel, his saving them from slavery in Egypt, and his remaining faithful to his covenant with them eventhough they were not faithful to him. In its turn, the second reading illustrates the extent of God’s love for us by not only reaching out in the incarnation, and giving everything for the atonement of our sins in the passion, but even abiding until the end of times in and through the Holy Spirit given us. If this is not enough, guided by the psalm, we can look back at our day, week, month, or year to relish God’s uninterrupted benefits, pardon, healing, and redemption, that is, his everlasting kindness and compassion upon us.

This truth may be hidden to the wise and the learned who try to constrain the immensity of God’s love to the limits of what is humanly logical. But for the little ones, the humbled and the humble who depend on and surrender to God’s love, this revelation is quite easy to understand and accept. Knowing God and experiencing his love, through Christ, in the Holy Spirit, we are now enabled to move to the next step of being more loving people. St. John cannot be any clearer: “if God so loved us, we also must love one another”.

The second message of the Sacred Heart is: “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me”. Scriptures attest to how Jesus spent his days and emptied himself ministering to the people. Through his preaching, teaching, healing, and forgiving, he served his brothers and sisters, especially those cast out by the socio-cultural and religious norms of that time. While intending nothing but the good, he had his own share of rejections and persecutions, that would eventually lead to the cross. Given all these, we however do not hear him complaining, giving up, or dragging his feet to ministry.

His yoke was easy and his load light because they were borne out of love for his Father in heaven and for us. He was carried and sustained by the dynamic power of love. The Sacred Heart teaches us that when we lose the perspective of love in our life, we will surely feel tired with and burdened by what we do. But when we do everything with and for love: instead of fatigue, there is energy; instead of sterility, there is creativity; instead of meaninglessness, there is profound meaning; when there is the temptation to give up, perseverance comes. The Sacred Heart shows us that life’s crown of thorns and  crosses can be borne if there is much love. We thus not only reach out to our brothers and sisters, but also to give everything for them; and after giving everything, we remain and abide to continually be available to them.

The paradox is, as we lose and die to ourselves in loving, we find our truest selves and the fullness of life. Created in the image and likeness of God, who is love, we attain fulfillment in loving. Moreover, in every act of authentic and selfless love, we also see the face of God and become intimately united with him. As St. John puts it: “whoever remains in love, remains in God and God in him”. At hindi ba ito ang kahulugan ng langit — na ang Diyos ay nasa puso ko, at ako ay nasa puso ng Diyos? Therefore, a loving person is a fully human person and is someone who experiences heaven even while on earth. Moreover, a loving person, in his loving, makes the other experience God’s abiding presence as well. For: “If we love one another, God remains in us”.

Whenever we refer to the Sacred Heart, we usually think of a supernatural and divine heart, and rightly so. But we should also remember that it is also a human heart. It is a human heart, that was so much in touch and in love with his Father in heaven, that it was able to love his brothers and sisters on earth in a supernatural and divine manner. The Sacred Heart of Jesus therefore reminds us that our hearts are like his. We have the potential to imitate his ways. We just need to come to him to experience his healing love and learn from him to love as he loves. Amen. (Photo from the FB Page of the National Shrine of the Sacred Heart of Jesus)

Rev. Frs. Eric Castro and Roy Bellen, our ministry team; brother priests and assisting deacons; men and women religious; civil and lay leaders of the parish; parishioners and devotees of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus; dearly beloved in Christ: Happy Fiesta po saating lahat!

Today, we are gathered by our love for Jesus and his love for us. In this Eucharist, which is his continuous self-giving and our attempt to respond in self-offering, we experience the blazing love of his Sacred Heart and re-dedicate ourselves to learning and following its ways. With arms outstretched, Jesus offers his heart to us to convey his constant availability for us, especially when we are wearied and burdened by life. He also points to his heart, as if instructing us that the secret to life and the path to salvation is to love like him. These two steps, of encountering his love and loving as he loves, are intimately related.

St. John proclaims in our second reading that: “everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love”. In a profound manner, St. John underscores the vital necessity of knowing God and being familiar with his love in order to be able to love. In other words, someone’s inability to love is usually caused by a deficiency in or privation of love from those around; and a blindness to and lack of appreciation for God’s constant and pervading care for him or her. Kapagpakiramdam natin na salat tayo sa pagmamahal, sinisikap nating punuan ang pagkukulang. Sa prosesong ito, kung minsan, naituturing nating kakumpitensya ang iba sa pagmamahal o nagagamit natin sila para sa ating sariling kaligayahan. Sa parehong  paraan, nakakapanakit tayo sa iba, at tanging ang sarili lamang natin ang ating minamahal. Experiencing love is the condition for the possibility of loving.

Thus, the first message of the Sacred Heart is: “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest”. He invites us to let go of our idols, false securities, and worldly sources of affirmation to come home, immerse ourselves in, and be engulfed by his warm, unconditional, and unwavering love. Sa gitna ng magulo at malupit na mundo, iniaalay ni Hesusang kanyang puso bilang tahanan. Sa pag-uwi natin sa kanyang puso, dinadala niya tayo sa mahigpit na yakap ng Banal na Santatlo.

While resting in his heart, we may still have doubts whether God truly loves us or whether we deserve his love. Our readings help us in this regard. The first reading recounts God’s election of insignifcant Israel, his saving them from slavery in Egypt, and his remaining faithful to his covenant with them eventhough they were not faithful to him. In its turn, the second reading illustrates the extent of God’s love for us by not only reaching out in the incarnation, and giving everything for the atonement of our sins in the passion, but even abiding until the end of times in and through the Holy Spirit given us. If this is not enough, guided by the psalm, we can look back at our day, week, month, or year to relish God’s uninterrupted benefits, pardon, healing, and redemption, that is, his everlasting kindness and compassion upon us.

This truth may be hidden to the wise and the learned who try to constrain the immensity of God’s love to the limits of what is humanly logical. But for the little ones, the humbled and the humble who depend on and surrender to God’s love, this revelation is quite easy to understand and accept. Knowing God and experiencing his love, through Christ, in the Holy Spirit, we are now enabled to move to the next step of being more loving people. St. John cannot be any clearer: “if God so loved us, we also must love one another”.

The second message of the Sacred Heart is: “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me”. Scriptures attest to how Jesus spent his days and emptied himself ministering to the people. Through his preaching, teaching, healing, and forgiving, he served his brothers and sisters, especially those cast out by the socio-cultural and religious norms of that time. While intending nothing but the good, he had his own share of rejections and persecutions, that would eventually lead to the cross. Given all these, we however do not hear him complaining, giving up, or dragging his feet to ministry.

His yoke was easy and his load light because they were borne out of love for his Father in heaven and for us. He was carried and sustained by the dynamic power of love. The Sacred Heart teaches us that when we lose the perspective of love in our life, we will surely feel tired with and burdened by what we do. But when we do everything with and for love: instead of fatigue, there is energy; instead of sterility, there is creativity; instead of meaninglessness, there is profound meaning; when there is the temptation to give up, perseverance comes. The Sacred Heart shows us that life’s crown of thorns and  crosses can be borne if there is much love. We thus not only reach out to our brothers and sisters, but also to give everything for them; and after giving everything, we remain and abide to continually be available to them.

The paradox is, as we lose and die to ourselves in loving, we find our truest selves and the fullness of life. Created in the image and likeness of God, who is love, we attain fulfillment in loving. Moreover, in every act of authentic and selfless love, we also see the face of God and become intimately united with him. As St. John puts it: “whoever remains in love, remains in God and God in him”. At hindi ba ito ang kahulugan ng langit — na ang Diyos ay nasa puso ko, at ako ay nasa puso ng Diyos? Therefore, a loving person is a fully human person and is someone who experiences heaven even while on earth. Moreover, a loving person, in his loving, makes the other experience God’s abiding presence as well. For: “If we love one another, God remains in us”.

Whenever we refer to the Sacred Heart, we usually think of a supernatural and divine heart, and rightly so. But we should also remember that it is also a human heart. It is a human heart, that was so much in touch and in love with his Father in heaven, that it was able to love his brothers and sisters on earth in a supernatural and divine manner. The Sacred Heart of Jesus therefore reminds us that our hearts are like his. We have the potential to imitate his ways. We just need to come to him to experience his healing love and learn from him to love as he loves. Amen. (Photo from the FB Page of the National Shrine of the Sacred Heart of Jesus)