The Sacred Heart: A Call To Deepen Our Love For God

 

To My Readers: This week my monthly guest poster, Mr. Dominic Caggeso, gives us some beautiful and thoughtful insight regarding the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. I can't think of a better way to end this month of June, traditionally dedicated to the Most Sacred Heart, and now a month recently defiled and desecrated by perverts. Feel free to comment as always. If anyone has a specific question or comment for me, I will respond as usual, but it may take me a bit longer to do so this week.

God bless you all, my dear readers---Introibo.  

The Sacred Heart: A Call To Deepen Our Love For God

By Dominic Caggeso

“A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth that which is evil. For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.” - St. Luke 6: 45

The world is an ugly place, inwardly impoverished and full of corruption and death. Natural virtues, gifts of God that propel a soul to search for Him, are so often numbed and deadened by a worldling’s acceptance of evil.  But at the same time, through the beauty and goodness of the created world, God continues to remind men of these virtues. The innocence of a child, the fragrance of spring lilacs, or the song of morning birds all serve as reminders. The collision of these two realities creates an awareness in many people, even if subconscious, that their personal lives are not what they ought to be. The human soul is created for God and His absence is a tragedy that each soul bewails. Faced with this wretchedness, they are compelled to act. Sadly, to bridge the gap between what they ought to be and who they have become through sin, they often turn to the foolish tools of pretension and deception. They sweep the dirt under the rug. I would even go so far as to say that the world is so filled with facades and costumes, that to many, honesty has lost its meaning.

As my family began our journey out of the Novus Ordo many years ago, one of the things I was so refreshed to experience was a general absence of pretentiousness among Traditional Catholics. I found myself having many discussions with new friends and acquaintances in which I walked away sensing honesty and integrity. There was much less idle chatter to fill the air and waste everyone’s time. To a much greater extent, my experience with Traditional Catholics was that they spoke truthfully.  With charity, they said what they thought, not presenting a complex system of smoke and mirrors.

Upon reflection of these experiences, I have formed some conclusions. For the most part, Traditional Catholics, Sedevacantists in particular, have made real-life decisions and sacrifices to align their lives with the Truth. When confronted with contradictions and cognitive dissonance produced by the world, the Novus Ordo and then “Recognize and Resist”, Sedes have responded by adhering to the principle of integrity. They chose not to deceive themselves, and not to consent to lies around them. Just like how waving a magnet over a pile of scattered paperclips makes them all stand on end, pointing in the same direction, so too does the mental decision to reject falsehood align our hearts, minds, and speech with the ideals of simplicity and straightforwardness.

Deconstructing facades and speaking from the heart is a good thing, for it at least allows for the possibility of honest communication. When people stop lying to themselves, they can speak more honestly to God. They can then speak more honestly to others as well. This honesty is like pulling the curtains back on a messy room that has been hidden in darkness. In the dark, the mess is relatively unnoticed, but when the curtains are pulled, the sunlight demonstrates just what a disaster the room has become. The light makes it possible to clean the room. In similar fashion, in one’s heart, when one refuses to consent to falsehood, it is like pulling back the curtain. It becomes possible to see and fix the problems in the heart. 

The ultimate goal, therefore, is to change the heart. Changes to the core will undulate outward to change thoughts, words, and actions. There is a Latin axiom: “Nemo dat quod non habet”, which means “You cannot give what you do not have”. In other words, you can’t act and speak with true virtue if you don’t possess it in your heart in the first place. It is just as Our Lord said “for out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh”. 

As I have stated already, in my experience, Traditional Catholics as a whole speak honestly and without pretentiousness. Indeed, this is remarkable in today’s world. Honest speech reflects what exists in the heart. But honesty and integrity are only prerequisites for something greater. A cup without holes maintains its integrity and is therefore useful, but in and of itself, it cannot quench your thirst.  A heart filled with zeal and virtue will spill out through the words and actions of an honest person.

Burning Heart, Burning Lips

The figures and forms of the Old Testament were like a cup waiting to be filled. It was required for Old Testament Israel to outwardly speak and practice the word of God so as to prepare for the New Testament “Israel” that would be inwardly filled with the Holy Ghost. These outer and inner relationships with God are beautifully highlighted when comparing the story of the purification of Isaias’ lips to the story of St. Margaret Mary and the Sacred Heart.

In my book, Divine Poetry, I try to demonstrate that the entire history of the Catholic Church has been entirely foreshadowed by the Old Testament, even in the same chronological order! Part of this seamless fabric of prefigurement are the stories of Isaias the prophet and St. Margaret Mary. Isaias’ lips were purified by fire for his divinely appointed mission just as St. Margaret Mary had her heart purified by fire for her divinely appointed mission. Both these two stories of purification by divine fire appear at the same point on their chronologically paralleled timelines, which is astonishing! Before we delve into a deeper significance brought about by comparing the two stories, please allow me to establish their place in history. 

1. Both St. Margaret Mary and Isaias lived in the period of the “divided Kingdom”. In the Old Testament, this was after the revolt of Jeroboam in which the northern tribes of Israel went into apostasy. In Church history, this period of divided Christendom occurred after the revolt of Martin Luther in which northern Europe went into apostasy. 

2. Both St. Margaret Mary and Isaias went before the king. Isaias predicted the end of the Davidic dynasty at the hands of the Babylonians. St. Margaret Mary went before King Louis XIV to pass on the message about the consecration of France to the Sacred Heart. After 100 years, the French monarchy ended during the French Revolution. 

In chapter six of the book of Isaias, the prophet was given the singular grace of seeing God on His throne. This vision of the inner chamber of Heaven is unprecedented in the Old Testament. The prophet Isaias comes as close to God as the Old Testament relationship with Him would permit. After Isaias declares his unworthiness before God, a seraphim angel descends and purifies Isaias by burning his lips with a hot coal from the heavenly altar. He then is sent by God to preach to a people who will not listen.

“And the lintels of the doors were moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: Woe is me, because I have held my peace; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people that hath unclean lips, and I have seen with my eyes the King the Lord of hosts. And one of the seraphims flew to me, and in his hand was a live coal, which he had taken with the tongs off the altar. And he touched my mouth, and said: Behold this hath touched thy lips, and thy iniquities shall be taken away, and thy sin shall be cleansed. And I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: Whom shall I send? and who shall go for us? And I said: Lo, here am I, send me. And he said: Go, and thou shalt say to this people: Hearing, hear, and understand not: and see the vision, and know it not. Blind the heart of this people, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes: lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and be converted and I heal them.”

- Isaias 6: 4-10

In Church history, St. Margaret Mary was likewise chosen by Heaven for hitherto unheard-of privileges and intimacies with Our Lord. Just as Isaias is given a singular grace to see the inner chamber of God’s throne room, so too did St. Margaret Mary receive a singular grace to be taken into the inner chambers of Our Lord’s Sacred Heart! Our Lord appeared to St. Margaret Mary various times from 1673 to 1675, making known His Sacred Heart to her, aflame with love of men. Just as Isaias had his lips purified with a hot coal from the altar in Heaven, St. Margaret Mary had her own heart purified with divine fire. 

At one point, Our Lord asked if He could have her heart, to which she willingly accepted. Her diary recounts that Our Lord took her heart from within her breast and placed it in the burning furnace of His Sacred Heart. She wrote that her heart appeared to be a small atom compared to the immense and flaming heart of Our Lord. After her heart was set ablaze, Our Lord placed it back in her breast. She later described the physical sensation of burning that she felt, a pain which she joyfully offered back to God, a remembrance and token of the intimacy she had with Our Lord. 

Afterward, Our Lord went on to lament to her, speaking words that have resounded from many pulpits over the last few centuries. In this month of June, perhaps you have heard these words, “Behold this Heart which has so loved men that it has spared nothing, even to consuming itself to witness its love. And in return, I receive from most of them only ingratitude from their irreverences and their sacrileges and by the coldness and contempt that they have for Me in this sacrament of love." In this lament by Our Lord, He makes known His desire to suffer for men, if only they would return His love. Our Lord offered His last drop of blood on the cross, dying for us. He was a suffering servant, as was prophesied in Isaias 53.

Contrast the two stories of Isaias and St. Margaret Mary, and it is yet again revealed how the incarnation, passion, death, and resurrection of Christ have fundamentally changed God’s relationship with His chosen people. Both were purified by divine fire but with a major difference. The Old Testament was an endeavor in externally obeying the laws of God. Thus, Isaias had his lips purified that he may go forth to speak. Obedience to the law was the litmus test for loving God in the Old Testament. In the New Testament, we still must obey the law of God, but we are given a much greater calling. The mere adherence to the law of God in our external actions is good, but we are capable of, and indeed invited to so much more. Like the empty cup that is capable of being filled, a desire to obey God’s laws is a starting place for deeper intimacy with Him. The story of St. Margaret Mary reminds us that Our Lord wants to go beyond the lips. He wants our hearts, the very core of our beings, and He wants them to be ablaze with charity and zeal.

Conclusion

It is an ardent love for God that forges saints, not just the profession of the Catholic Faith. As Traditional Catholics, we have preserved the Catholic Faith during the Great Apostasy and truly this is a remarkable accomplishment (through the grace of God). In doing so, we have retained the possibility of going to Heaven, just as the cup retains the possibility of being filled. Now let us make sure our charity does not grow cold, as Our Lord has warned us. May we fill up our hearts with an ardent love for God and zeal for the salvation of souls.

When Our Lord returns, may He find His Bride radiant and lively, and not merely fulfilling the outward obligations of Her duties. In the presence of the immense inequity of the world, may true Catholics respond by redoubling their zeal and charity, fueled by frequent reception of the Sacraments. The month of the Sacred Heart reminds us to continually move beyond outward purification, which is indeed necessary, and be like St. Margaret Mary who handed over her heart, only to receive it back purified by fire.