Divine Mercy: The Heart of the Gospel

The Sacred Heart and The Divine Mercy 71 The best answer would seem to be that both movements are actually enthroning the same Sacred Heart o f Jesus, but that Heart seen under different aspects. These aspects are true, and complementary, and there­ fore there is need, and room in the life o f the Church fo r both enthrone­ ment movements to flourish. If we are enthroning a more traditional image of the Sacred Heart, then we are honoring Christ’s physical Heart as the best symbol o f the mystery o f His divine person, the “hidden center” and source o f His love for our families, and for all men and women. Moreover, the traditional images o f the Sacred Heart emphasize the tender, suffering, wounded nature o f the love o f Jesus for us; this is another reason why His Heart is shown as surmounted by a cross, pierced and crowned with thorns. The focus is on His wounded Heart o f love: His burning thirst and ardent desire for our love, His call for reparation for our failure to return His love, and the image even suggests that we can console His wounded Heart by making a return o f love. In short, in the traditional images of the Sacred Heart, Jesus is calling us back to Himself: calling us to love Him back, calling us to make that response of love in which our sancti­ fication and beatitude ultimately consist, in return for all His tender, affectionate, and wounded love for us. Many of the popular Italian “holy cards” o f the Sacred Heart reflect these same emphases, even in the prayers which can be found on the back of them; for example: O Sacred Heart o f Jesus, filled with Infinite Love, broken by our ingratitude and pierced by our sins, yet loving us still; accept the consecration we make to Thee o f all that we are and all that we have.37 In the Image of The Divine Mercy, on the other hand, the emphasis is not so much on the movement from us to Christ, but more from Him to us. Everything about this image speaks of the risen Christ graciously taking the initiative, and seeking us out in the darkness with the rays of His merciful love. In this image Christ is shown walking toward the viewer, coming to find us; the rays of merciful love flowing from His Heart spread out to embrace the viewer, and His hand is raised with a blessing o f peace even before we ask for it. As Jesus once said to Sr. Faustina: “Be not afraid o f your Savior, O sinful soul. I make the first move to come to you, for I know by yourself you are unable to