Good Friday Homily - April 3, 2015

Good Friday Homily

Friday, April 3, 2015

The Heart of the Matter

 

            You can break someone’s heart, or have a heart-to-heart talk. You can be a bleeding-heart or have a hard heart. You can wear your heart on your sleeve, or you can eat your heart out. There are literally hundreds of expressions of the heart – all referring to the core of the person, their innermost sanctuary, that place where we are most ourselves.

            Jesus’ Heart was pierced by a lance, open for the world to see. Why is that? For several reasons. First, to show that He suffered from the very depths of His being. He allowed sorrow and anguish to go right to His heart. When His heart was pierced, it poured forth the last drops of blood and water that He had yet to shed – He gave all, every last ounce of His strength, every last drop of His life.

            But also, the blood and water are hugely significant – they symbolize the two Sacraments that are the fundamental pillars of the Church – Baptism and the Eucharist. So Jesus died to give birth to the Church. The Church was created from Jesus’ heart. It’s the love of His heart in the world today.

            When Christ’s heart was opened, the source of grace and mercy was opened to us, grace and mercy that we can access through Baptism and the Eucharist. We can now draw near to the Heart of God. His Heart was pierced by man’s cruelty, but all that flowed forth is love and mercy, grace and new life.

            So do not be afraid to draw near to His Heart. The Heart of Jesus is a refuge for sinners, strength for the weak, the source of transformation. Let the blood and water that flowed from Heart of Jesus to enter your heart – your inner life, the core of who you are, can be changed and healed by this grace and mercy that flowed from His Heart.