The Sacred Heart of Jesus

John O'Brien is a Jesuit scholastic from Canada whom I met recently at a gathering of Jesuits who are involved in the work of the Apostleship of Prayer.  He is part of the Jesuit Mission Band that will be giving our popular "Hearts on Fire" retreats for young adults in six cities of the southern U.S. this summer.  Earlier this month he wrote a beautiful reflection on the image of the Sacred Heart for a blog that he and several other young Canadian Jesuits have begun.  It's called "Ibo et Non Redibo," which is Latin for "I shall go and I shall not return" and comes from a letter that the French Jesuit missionary and martyr St. Isaac Jogues wrote.   On this great feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus I am happy to share his reflections entitled "Heart of the World."

Pope Benedict has invited the faithful to renew their devotion to the Sacred Heart and with good reason: as a symbol – and object of meditation – it contains many dimensions of the mystery of God. Let’s reflect on a few of those.

First, the heart is visible. Jesus does not conceal his love, but makes it readily available to all. It
is offered to us. He is vulnerable in that respect. It calls us to let down our barriers.


There are thorns that encircle it. This is not a valentine, but a passionate love that has and will suffer for the beloved. Just as our own vulnerable love can sometimes suffer, so does Christ’s for us.


There’s a cross on top of the heart. John and Mary stood at the foot of the cross when others had run away. This is an invitation to us to stand with them for Jesus. However this plays out in our lives, this is love in action.


The wound. It reminds us of the blood and water that flowed when the heart was pierced by the soldier’s lance. Both elements signify the life (Eucharist and baptism) that results from his sacrifice. It is also the birth of the Church.


The fire blazing. The most dramatic element, it tells us about the fierce love that God has for his people. It offers light and warmth to all who approach, and its blaze melts the hardened parts of our hearts. This fire is also contagious, and will inflame us in going out to set the world on fire.

Jesuit Meeting in St. Louis

I just returned from a gathering in St. Louis of over 20 Jesuits who are interested in the work of the Apostleship of Prayer.  This is the fourth such meeting since 2007.  There were Jesuits, young and old, from around the country and this year's meeting included two Jesuit scholastics from Canada who are members of this summer's Jesuit Mission Band which will be giving "Hearts on Fire" retreats for young adults in six cities throughout the South.  Their schedule and more information can be found here. 

We began Monday evening with Evening Prayer and then shared about the role that devotion to the Sacred Heart has played in our lives.  Tuesday was a full day.  After Morning Prayer, I gave a presentation entitled "The Apostleship of Prayer: an Ignatian and Eucharistic Spirituality."  Then Fr. Claudio Barriga, the International Delegate for the Apostleship of Prayer in the Jesuit Curia in Rome, talked about the Apostleship of Prayer and the Eucharistic Youth Movement from an international perspective.  He also shared parts of a document designed to promote the "recreation" of the Apostleship of Prayer.  By presenting the traditional mission and practices of the Apostleship of Prayer in a new light, the document is another step in the process of its worldwide renewal so that it may play a role in the new evangelization. 

In the afternoon Fr. Phil Hurley, the Youth and Young Adult Director of the Apostleship in the U.S., and a panel of Jesuits who have worked on past "Hearts on Fire" retreats gave a presentation and talked about their experience of the first two years of these retreats.  Lastly, before celebrating Mass together, we discussed how the Apostleship of Prayer can play a greater role in the work of various Jesuit institutions-- universities, high schools and other schools, parishes, and retreat houses. 

After Morning Prayer on Wednesday, I gave another presentation.  This one was entitled "A Contemporary Approach to Sacred Heart Spirituality."  It was followed by a discussion about collaborating with various organizations and initiatives like the Vietnamese Eucharistic Youth Movement and Christian Life Communities (CLC).  We also heard from Joseph Hill, a Jesuit scholastic who has been teaching at Jesuit High in New Orleans, about the revival of the Sodality there and the Camino Retreats with which he has been involved.  These retreats, like the "Hearts on Fire" events, target young adults, 19 to 39, and lead them, over a series of four 3 day silent retreats, through the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius.

In the afternoon I, Fr. Hurley, Fr. Chris Collins (the President of the Apostleship's Board of Directors), and Dr. Doug Leonard (the Apostleship's Director of Operations and Development) talked about the obstacles we face, the opportunities we have, and our needs, both in terms of personnel and finances.  We ended our meetings with a Holy Hour that included a personal consecration prayer to the Sacred Heart and then Mass. 

In planning this meeting I wasn't sure how much time to schedule for questions and discussion.  Based on the lively discussions that followed the presentations, it's clear that we could have used more time! 

The Jesuit Mission Band

Years ago Jesuits went around in "Mission Bands," preaching the Word of God, leading people in the "Spiritual Exercises" of St. Ignatius, celebrating the Sacraments, encouraging people in their devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and introducing them to the Apostleship of Prayer. The practice faded until this summer when Fr. Phil Hurley, the director of youth and young adult ministry for the Apostleship of Prayer in the U.S., pulled together a team of younger Jesuits who created a program for young adults. They journeyed to five cities in the Midwest (Milwaukee, Chicago, Iowa City, Des Moines, and Columbus) for an event called "Hearts on Fire." Some of it was captured on video and can be seen here. One of the Jesuit seminarians, Michael Wegenka, wrote about his experience on his blog, "A Scaffold of Score Brittle Bones." In our group evaluation last week, there was a strong desire to keep the Jesuit Mission Band going and so we've begun to make plans for a few events during the school year and some more next summer. Keep an eye on the Apostleship of Prayer web site to see if the Jesuit Mission Band will be coming to your city!