Pope Francis has published an encyclical on the Sacred Heart of Jesus. From this devotion he has taken a message of novelty, which is perhaps the legacy of his entire pontificate.

by Don Gabriele Cantaluppi

Sone is surprised by the substantially and universally positive opinions expressed on social media regarding the encyclical Dilexit nos on the Sacred Heart of Jesus, published by Pope Francis on October 24, 2024.

The Pope has known this devotion since childhood in his family and later deepened it as a member of the Society of Jesus. Now he addresses it in this solemn letter, composed of five chapters in 220 paragraphs, published on the occasion of the celebration of the 350th anniversary of the first revelation of the Sacred Heart of Jesus to Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque in 1673. The events to solemnize this historic anniversary, which began on December 27, 2023, will end on June 27, 2025.

«Keystone of Francis's “cathedral”, «Stone that holds the whole building together», «The theological-spiritual foundation of the other two encyclicals Laudato si ' e Fratelli tutti", "A revelation of its theological foundations", "Emphasizing what Christianity is at its core", these are some of the appreciations that come from the episcopate of the German Church, which is not always in tune with Pope Francis.

In the passages of the concluding synthesis of this fourth encyclical, the Pope states that what he wrote in the previous ones is not extrinsic to the encounter with the love of Jesus Christ, "because, by drinking from this love, we become capable of weaving fraternal bonds, of recognizing the dignity of every human being and of taking care of our common home together" (n. 217). By giving us these precious reflections, Pope Francis probably wanted to leave his spiritual testament to the Church; here we could find the synthesis of his magisterium and a complete indication of what he means by "synodal Church".

In times of great threats and global injustices, but also of growing consumerism and materialism, the letter wants to invite us to rediscover the most important thing, the heart. Or to put it another way: love. The Heart of Jesus, source of love, leads us to the center of what Christianity is: "There we can find the whole Gospel, there is a summary of the truth we believe, there is what we adore and seek in faith, what we need most" (n. 89).

The Pope repeatedly emphasizes that true devotion to the Heart of Jesus has not only a mystical dimension, but also a missionary and social one. For him, the heart is "the seat of love with all its spiritual, psychic and even physical components" (n. 21). Man is fully realized when love reigns in his heart, because this is what he was created for. But this involves a commitment; quoting the philosopher Martin Heidegger, the Pope writes that to welcome the divine, one must build a "guest house" for it (cf. n. 17).

He then also focuses attention on the representation of the Sacred Heart in the devotional image, which "is not an imaginary symbol, it is a real symbol, which represents the center, the source from which salvation for all humanity has flowed" (n. 52). It is a symbol of his infinite love, divine but also human. The veneration of the Sacred Heart seeks to make it clear that God's love for men, which was manifested in Christ, is an incarnate love. Just as Jesus realized his love for the Father throughout his life and in his death, men too are called to integrate themselves fully into this love of God, to recount it and transmit it, because only Christ has the capacity "to give a heart to this earth and to reinvent love where we think that the capacity to love is dead forever" (n. 218).

Even the pastors of the Church are not exempt from the danger of minimizing love, especially if they have excessive "pastoral anxieties": "Communities and pastors concentrated only on external activities, structural reforms devoid of the Gospel, obsessive organizations, worldly projects, secularized reflections, [lead to] a Christianity that has forgotten the tenderness of faith, the joy of dedication to service, the fervor of the mission from person to person, being conquered by the beauty of Christ, the emotional gratitude for the friendship that he offers" (n. 88).

The encyclical is published at a time when the Church is wondering how to develop a more active community, in which every individual is taken into consideration. Pope Francis reminds us that "when we grasp a reality with the heart, we can know it better and more fully"; the statement recalls that of The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, who coined the phrase: "It is only with the heart that one sees clearly."

The Pope asks: "What kind of worship would it be for Christ if we were content with an individual relationship without interest in helping others to suffer less and live better?"
(n. 205). The living water that flows from the side of Jesus, from which we are all invited to drink, has the purpose of strengthening people's capacity to love and serve and of pushing them to collaborate in concrete unity for a just, supportive and fraternal world.

The Encyclical ends with a vision of light, the one that awaits us in our definitive encounter with Christ: "I pray to the Lord Jesus that from his sacred Heart rivers of living water may flow for all of us to heal the wounds we inflict on ourselves, to strengthen our capacity to love and serve, to inspire us to learn to walk together toward a just, supportive and fraternal world. This will happen until we happily celebrate together the banquet of the heavenly Kingdom. There the risen Christ will be, who will harmonize all our differences with the light that flows ceaselessly from his open Heart. May he be blessed always!" (n. 220).