Jesus Christ the King of our Hearts

Some time ago, while on a visit in one of our monasteries, I was invited to give a sermon on the Sacred Heart of Jesus in our church there. The opportunity arose at the inauguration of a statue destined to commemorate the consecrating of local Catholic families to the Sacred Heart. I willingly answered this kind invitation, and wishing to instruct the faithful in the true significance of the homage they were paying, I set about to study the inner meaning of this beautiful devotion, a devotion which has latterly spread itself in so nlarvelous a manner over all the world. Indeed, the first thought which devotion to the Sacred Heart suggests to our minds is that of infinite love on the part of our divine Redeemer. It was this love which urged Him to give Himself entirely to us in His passion and death, as well as in the institution of the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar. It appeared to me equally manifest that this devotion, while it reminds us of the love of Jesus toward us, is ordained to inspire our hearts with the Harne of reciprocal love, and this is especially shown in the imitation of those virtues which chiefly adorn that loving Heart, the virtues of humility and charity. However, it seemed to me that still more could be said about this devotion, if only it were studied in relationship to the Sacred Person of our divine Redeemer. In fact, considering the nature of the homage paid to the Heart of Jesus in the twofold light of faith and theology, I found in it a newer and higher signification, perhaps not so obvious as the first, but certainly not less true and appropriate. This signification is the regal dignity and sovereignty of the Heart of Jesus over our hearts, a truth fitly expressed in the well known invocation: "Heart of Jesus, the King and Center of all hearts." Now the relationship between us and the Sacred Heart of Jesus is based on the fact that our divine Redeemer has been set over us as King and Sovereign by His eternal Father. But unlike temporal sovereigns, who wield their power by force, Jesus Christ holds His blissful court in our hearts, bending them gently, yet overpoweringly whithersoever He will. That His ends may be accomplished, it is enough that we should refrain from hindering the operation of His divine grace and let ourselves be guided by Him, conforming our lives to His life and our desires to His desires. Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, considered in this light, includes all He did and suffered to gain His sway over our hearts. It sums up all we should do, as subjects, to share in the fruits of the Redemption. The love which Jesus bears us, symbolized by the living flame leaping forth from His Heart, earned Him the glorious title of King of our hearts. Like-wise, by submitting ourselves entirely to Him as His servants and subjects, we become His purchased people. This idea, certainly not new, but perhaps somewhat neglected, was what I sought to set forth to my audience, not only in the discourse I had been asked to give, but in a series of sermons which followed it.