Sacred Heart, Meek and Humble

Last updated on: July 3, 2011 at 9:00 am by Father Pablo Migone

Sacred Heart, Meek and Humble 2011-07-03T09:00:00-05:00 Father Pablo Migone

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This past Friday we celebrated the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the patronal feast of our parish.

Some of you have been part of this parish for just a few months. Others perhaps for years, some for decades, others for entire lifetimes. No matter how long you’ve called Sacred Heart your home parish, we all answer in unison when asked where we go to Church, “I go to Sacred Heart.” We mention Sacred Heart in casual conversation: fireworks were next to Sacred Heart, I went to Sacred Heart School, down the street from Sacred Heart…

Have you ever paused to ponder just what exactly is this Sacred Heart of Jesus? What does the name of our parish point to? What is the Sacred Heart of Jesus like and what does it teach us?

Since antiquity the heart has been spoken of as the emotional center of human beings, even though science tells us it all happens in the brain. We describe people as having a hardened heart, a joyful heart, an aching heart, a grateful heart. People sometimes are heartbroken or lose heart. Describing a person’s heart is pointing out the core qualities, or flaws, of a person.

Jesus describes his heart in today’s Gospel passage revealing to us his core qualities. “I am meek and humble of heart.” Zechariah had foretold the Savior would have these qualities when he prophesied, as we heard, that the Savior of Israel would be meek and would be riding on a lowly colt.

The Sacred Heart of Jesus is meek and humble.

Meek. This means Jesus is patient and gentle. Kind and merciful.

The Sacred Heart of Jesus is Humble. Jesus is modest, lowly, unpretentious, unassuming. Though He was God, He lowered himself to become one like us.

The same God who created the heavens and the Earth humbled Himself and become like one of his creatures. Not only that, but He placed himself on the hands of his creatures and withstood great humiliation and death. The creature put to death its creator. Yet from this vulnerability and humility of Jesus, we have received our salvation. Humility is the most important virtue of Jesus.

Jesus continues to show us his meekness and humility again and again here at the Eucharist where He transforms simple bread and wine into Himself and once again places Himself on our hands. In the same way he was stripped of his clothes by Pilate and made vulnerable to the world, he lies here at the altar, stripped of all glory and vulnerable. Jesus, present in the Eucharist, is unpretentious and unassuming, lowly, and modest, meek and humble.

Jesus tells us to learn from him, to learn meekness and humility. I decided to ask some questions to see how we live out these virtues. From feedback I’ve gotten over the past two years, this style of questions seem to strike a chord with many.

-Do you get bothered when you get looked over at work? Do you get upset when you don’t get that special recognition or promotion? Do you get jealous when another family member gets more attention or praise than you do? Remember sibling rivalry doesn’t end when you turn 18. Remember that God knows and sees all thing, we work to honor and love God, not others. We don’t do things for recognition, praise or applause, we do things for the love of God.

-Do you ever feel better than another because your spiritual life is deeper and more mature? Be aware that God has each of us exactly where we need to be.

-Do you always need to have the last word in an argument or conversation? Sometimes it is better to let go than to have the last word.

-Have you ever been described as a know it all? Sometimes, even if you know about a subject, there is no need to let everyone know you know, every single time.

-Do you feel you always have to be in control? Control of your family, children (young and old), coworkers, spouse? It takes humility to recognize that ultimately God is in control and we have very limited control over things.

-Do you get your sense of worth or personal value solely from what others think of you? Do you constantly seek their approval? A truly humble person recognizes that any value or worth he or she has does not come from the approval or praise of others, but from above, from Almighty God. To be humble is to recognize what God sees in you, and He sees something good.

Humility does not mean putting yourself down, it means recognizing that all you have and are comes from God and that in God you can do all things.

May this Eucharist help us conform our hearts more to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Pray that old beautiful, simple prayer associated with the Sacred Heart devotion, “Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make my heart like unto Thine.”

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