Mass Reflection: The Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus
Leah Johnson ’27
We come today to celebrate The Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. When you think of a heart, what comes to mind? We usually think of love, health, and new life. Essentially, a heart’s main function is to support life throughout our bodies to keep us alive, which is God’s gift to us. In the same way, Jesus gave us His heart as a sacrifice and a way to form a meaningful and fulfilling relationship with us, which is why we also refer to Jesus as “The One who takes care of us with His heart.”
To understand the importance of this phrase, the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus provides us with a distinct image of how Christ uses His heart as a symbol to represent His willingness to sacrifice Himself for the salvation of humankind. Specifically, the heart is often depicted as enflamed, encircled by a crown of thorns, and pierced with a cross. But it got me thinking, where did this image come from? According to the Vatican, in the 17th century, St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, who was a French nun, had visions of Jesus. In the first vision, Jesus said to her, “My divine heart is so passionately in love with humanity that it can no longer contain within itself the flames of its ardent love. It must pour them out.”
To know that Christ’s love is so vast and infinite that not even flames could contain it, goes to show just how boundless and powerful His love is, and it makes St. Margaret’s next two visions that much more impactful. In one she describes Jesus’ heart enveloped in flames brighter than the sun and more transparent than crystal, surrounded by a crown of thorns. In the other, she saw Christ shining in glory. The description of Christ’s heart strikes me because even when His heart is surrounded by flames and thorns, it was not agony or pain that poured out from Him, rather it was love, compassion, and mercy. The significance of that is even though Christ was going through so much suffering, love was able to bloom from Him not only because He is filled with goodness and purity, but also because His heart is anchored in His affection for us. So, now we must reflect and ask ourselves what are our hearts filled with?
I like to look at it this way, when we are treated with kindness and respect from our peers and loved ones, our hearts are filled with love and joy. On the contrary, when we are met with suffering, disappointment, and grief, sometimes our hearts become filled with so much pain that we pour it onto others. However, Jesus faced the torment of death and rose again to new life with so much love and mercy for us. From this, we can conclude that the real difference between a loving heart and a suffering one is that one offers a place to call home. Just like Jesus, even in the midst of our hardships, we can choose to produce goodness and anchor ourselves in His Sacred Heart.
So, when we root ourselves in Him, we choose to be in communion with Him. Given that, everything in life comes down to a choice and as we go into a new school year, we must choose what we will pour into our school, our community, and into our faith. To give us an idea of how we can pour out the gifts Jesus has given us, I would like to share this Scripture verse that you all will hear in the second reading today. In 1 John 4:11-12, it reads “Beloved, if God so loved us, we must love one another. No one has ever seen God. Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us, and His love is brought to perfection in us.” We see this mentioned consistently in the Bible to love one another, and it is one of the greatest commandments. But more importantly, the greatest sacrifice was made out of love for humanity, and it is what saved us when humanity fell to sin. With that being said, if you feel like you are going into a dark place, remember, God remains in you and so does His love for you. Look to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, feel Jesus’ love pouring out from Himself, and you can find the courage to lead with integrity and lead with love. After all, what makes being part of the Dominican Community so special is that in everything we do we can lead with truth, put our best foot forward, and most of all lead with our hearts. Amen.
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In June 2026, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops consecrated the United States of America to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Archbishop Checchio then consecrated the Archdiocese of New Orleans to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, inviting Catholic schools across the archdiocese to dedicate their opening Masses to the Sacred Heart of Jesus using the same Act of Consecration.
We are honored to begin the 2026–2027 school year by placing our Dominican community under the loving heart of Jesus.
