June is the month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and a wonderful opportunity to encounter this source of limitless mercy and grace.
But if you’re unfamiliar with this devotion, or don’t know why Catholics honor the Sacred Heart, Annabelle Moseley, author of the upcoming book Our House of the Sacred Heart, stopped by Morning Air® to share how she has encountered the Sacred Heart in her own life.
Annabelle recalled her first encounter with the Sacred Heart of Jesus, saying, “I was six years old and got my first children’s picture Bible. I was one of those kids who when my light should have been out at night I was up reading. And there was this image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus on the first page. I was so drawn to its beauty and the love that seemed to come from it.”
As she grew up, and grew in her faith, Annabelle recognized the true beauty of the Sacred Heart image, and how it can help us encounter Jesus in a powerful and intimate way.
“One thing that I find so beautiful about the devotion to the Sacred Heart is, do you know that expression ‘wearing one’s heart on one’s sleeve?'” she asked. “In the image of the Sacred Heart, that’s what Jesus is doing. He’s pointing to His revealed heart. It’s unguarded. And He’s leaving Himself vulnerable, just out of His desire to give us His love.”
In the image of the Sacred Heart, not only is Christ’s heart unguarded but it is also wounded. He knows what it means to suffer, to have a heart that hurts, but still burns with love for us. Annabelle shared that she experienced this aspect of the Sacred Heart during a tragedy in her life.
“My father passed away when I was just a little girl,” she said. “So the Sacred Heart of Jesus really helped me through that. Now, I was 11 years old when I lost my dad, and when he died it was a Friday at 3:00. And all of a sudden I realized, in the midst of this tragedy, that it was the day and the time of the week that Jesus died. It was the Divine Mercy Hour.”
“As if that wasn’t enough of a comfort, we got home from the hospital after he passed away and all of the clocks in our house had stopped at 3:00. So we chose to look at that as a signal grace from God, just saying, ‘I’m with you. Run to my Divine Mercy.'”
Are there ways that you are guarding your heart from the Lord, and are afraid to encounter the grace and mercy of His Sacred Heart? During this month of June, pray for the grace to know the heart of the Lord that He may make our hearts more like His.
Morning Air can be heard weekdays from 5:00 – 8:00 a.m. Central on Relevant Radio® and the Relevant Radio App.
