June is one of the most beautiful months in the Catholic year. Having journeyed through the splendor of Easter, Ascension, Pentecost, and Trinity Sunday, the Church now turns our attention to mysteries that are at once profound and deeply personal. Corpus Christi and the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart invite us to contemplate not merely the works of Christ, but Christ Himself. The Church places before us the Eucharist and the Sacred Heart as living reminders that Christianity is not simply a philosophy to be understood or a moral code to be obeyed. It is an encounter with the living God who desires communion with His people.

This is one of the most distinctive features of the Christian Faith. Human beings naturally seek God through reason, philosophy, and religion. Throughout history, countless cultures have searched for answers to life’s deepest questions. Christianity begins with a startling reversal of that search. Rather than humanity finding its way to God, God comes in search of humanity. The eternal Word takes flesh, enters history, and dwells among us. In Jesus Christ, God reveals not only His power and wisdom but also His heart.

The devotion to the Sacred Heart emerged from this fundamental truth. Catholics do not venerate a symbol detached from reality or indulge in sentimental imagery. Rather, they contemplate the human Heart of Jesus Christ, inseparably united to His divine Person. The Heart pierced by the soldier’s lance on Calvary is the same Heart that beat beneath Mary’s Immaculate Heart in Nazareth, was moved with compassion for the hungry crowds, and wept at the tomb of Lazarus. In the Sacred Heart, the Church sees a visible sign of God’s inexhaustible love for mankind.

The question, “What is God like?” has occupied philosophers, theologians, and ordinary believers for centuries. Christianity’s answer is remarkably straightforward: look at Jesus Christ. Observe Him welcoming children, forgiving sinners, healing the afflicted, and seeking out the lost. Watch Him wash the feet of His disciples and carry His Cross to Golgotha. The character of God is revealed not through speculation but through the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. Everything the Father wishes us to know about His love is made manifest in the Son.

The proximity of Corpus Christi and the Sacred Heart on the liturgical calendar is especially fitting. The Eucharist is not merely a memorial of Christ’s love but its continuing presence among us. In every tabernacle throughout the world, the Lord remains with His people. The same Jesus who walked the roads of Galilee, taught from fishing boats, and blessed the multitudes continues to give Himself under the humble appearances of bread and wine. The Eucharist stands as the Church’s perpetual testimony that God has not abandoned His creation. He remains astonishingly close.

This truth carries particular significance in our own age. Modern life offers endless distractions, constant noise, and an unrelenting pressure to seek fulfillment in success, entertainment, and self-expression. Yet beneath these pursuits lies a deeper hunger that no earthly achievement can satisfy. The saints recognized this reality. Their holiness was not the result of mastering a spiritual technique or constructing a flawless moral record. They became saints because they allowed themselves to be transformed by the love of Christ.

Devotion to the Sacred Heart therefore offers an important corrective to a common spiritual temptation. Many Christians unconsciously imagine God as perpetually disappointed, watching from a distance and measuring failures. The Sacred Heart presents a different image. It reminds us that Christ actively seeks souls, pursues sinners, and invites every person into friendship with Him. Divine love is not a reward bestowed upon the worthy. It is the very foundation of the Christian life.

As the Church celebrates these great June feasts, Catholics would do well to spend additional time before the Blessed Sacrament. In an age characterized by haste and distraction, silent prayer before the Eucharistic Lord is a powerful act of faith. There, in the stillness of a parish chapel or before the quiet glow of a sanctuary lamp, believers encounter the same love that drew fishermen from their nets, inspired martyrs to endure suffering, and transformed ordinary men and women into saints.

June reminds us that the heart of Christianity is not an idea but a Person. The God who created the stars chose to dwell among us. The Savior who died upon the Cross remains present in the Eucharist. The Heart that burned with love on Calvary still burns with love today. In a world searching for meaning, the Church points once again to that Sacred Heart and proclaims the enduring truth that God is nearer than we dare imagine.

Photo by Arto Marttinen on Unsplash

Because of the increase of evildoing, the love of many will grow cold. (Mt. 24:12)

St. Margaret Mary Alacoque was born in seventeenth century France, at a time when religion in her native country had grown cold. What is interesting about the “coldness” of the hearts of the faithful in France during this time is that it had nothing to do with the French Revolution—the event which would later cause the near-eradication of the Christian religion from a nation that once housed the chair of Peter.

The French Revolution would not take place for nearly one hundred years after St. Margaret Mary’s death; therefore, the spiritual error of her time was not a consequence of this political uprising. In fact, the growing indifference towards religion was not the result of ignorance of Church teaching or disinterest in the things of God at all. It was the result of the opposite: religious practice had become severe and stern. In executing the “rules” of their religion to such an exacting degree, the faithful had lost sight of that to which those rules were meant to point: to the understanding and acceptance of Christ’s life-saving mercy and love.

It was in this setting of cold, harsh severity that Margaret Mary Alacoque was born. God sent this saint to “pour hot coals” (Rom. 12:20) upon the heads of those whose hearts had become frozen in grim callousness, that she might warm them up. But where to begin? After all, France was a big place, and to preach warmth to a Church whose members were building their foundation on icy hearts would be neither welcomed nor appreciated. In fact, Margaret Mary herself would be greatly persecuted by those around her.

So how did she ultimately convert these cold-hearted churchgoers? Did she argue with them? Warn? Rebuke? Preach repentance? 

While all these strategies have been used effectively by many of the prophets throughout salvation history, none were used by Margaret Mary. Margaret Mary simply focused her efforts on the mission with which Jesus entrusted her, which was to establish devotion to His Sacred Heart. She chose to place her attention away from the personal suffering inflicted upon her as a result of this mission and keep her singular focus on the mission alone. It was her steadfast and persevering virtue in the face of suffering that eventually won over the hearts of the faithful in France.

Though the liturgical feast had been established in 1670, thanks to the efforts of St. John Eudes, devotion to the Most Sacred Heart began to spread in earnest when Jesus began appearing to St. Margaret Mary in 1673. We must understand that Jesus did not ask Margaret Mary to promote devotion to His Sacred Heart simply for the purpose of celebrating His love for us and to remind us to actively love Him back—at least this was not His only reason. The primary reason Jesus asked for this liturgical celebration was “in reparation for the ingratitude of mankind toward the sacrifice of his love on the Cross.” In other words, by celebrating the feast of His Sacred Heart, the faithful would “make-up” for the times that they had been ambivalent about Jesus’ sacrifice for mankind. The times that we ourselves could have spent meditating upon His Passion but chose instead to look away.

Of course, Jesus does not expect our human minds to fully absorb the depths of His sacrifice; the divine mysteries are understandably going to be too much for us to comprehend, unless Jesus Himself is the one to reveal them to us. But while Jesus does not ask us to fully understand the depths of His love, He does ask us to celebrate this love by participating in His liturgical feast. Our participation in this celebration is enough to make up for our lack of understanding, and thus, to make up for our insufficient gratitude. What’s more, our faithful participation is enough to make reparation for the ingratitude of all mankind!

There is a wonderful secret that Jesus shares with St. Margaret Mary about the “reparation” we make when we celebrate the feast of His Sacred Heart. The kind of repairing and restoring we do is not the same, for example, as the kind that children are obliged to make when they have been naughty. Jesus does not make us pay for items we break with our “allowance” money. He does not make us work off what we owe Him for the damage we have done. Our act of reparation is not painful. In fact, it’s the opposite: each time we celebrate our devotion to Jesus’ Sacred Heart, He Himself increases the love in our hearts! 

What happens when the love of God increases in our hearts? The peace and joy of Christ increase right along with it! Of course, there is only so much our heart vessels can hold. With all that increasing, doesn’t something else have to decrease? It sure does. So what is the something that decreases as Jesus fills our hearts with His love? Ourselves. Our pride, our anger, our anxiety, our envy, our resentment, our bitterness, our self-centeredness, our contempt. Anything that causes us misery. Why? Because misery cannot coexist in a heart that is filled with pure, unadulterated love and joy in the Lord.

The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want. (Ps. 23:1)

So let us meditate upon the sacrifice that Jesus offered us by giving up His very life on the Cross. Let us strive to understand this mystery as much as our minds are able. But mostly, let us celebrate the great love that Jesus has for us, and bask in the love that we have for Him, too. In this way, we will have done what we can to make reparation for the indifference and self-centeredness, not just in ourselves, but in all mankind, because it is Jesus Himself who will make up for the gratitude and humility we lack. It is then that we will finally begin to do exactly what is needed to warm the hearts of this cold, dark world.

St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, pray for us.

Editor’s Note: Make an Act of Reparation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus today, on this holy feast day, and receive a partial or plenary indulgence.

Author’s Note: This article was adapted from a chapter in 26 Steps with the Saints: Examining the Lives of the Holy Ones.

Image from Wikimedia Commons

In Sunday’s Readings, Jesus sees a crowd following Him that moves Him to pity.  Why?

Gospel (Read Mt. 9:36-10:8)

As Jesus was making His way through the villages of Galilee, St. Matthew tells us that “at the sight of the crowds, Jesus’ heart was moved with pity for them.”  This is a rare description of emotion stirring in Jesus; therefore, it should catch our attention.  Why did He pity the people He saw in the crowds?  What did He see in them that clutched at His heart? 

He saw that they were “troubled, abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd.”  Was He simply looking at their physical appearances?  Surely many were ill, crippled, or possessed by demons.  Or was He seeing something in them beyond their physical needs?  He saw they were troubled and abandoned.  Their bodies were needy, but so were their souls.  He could see they were lost and badly needed the care and a direction of a shepherd devoted to them. 

Beyond their physical needs, he must have seen fear and desperation in them.  Among animals, “sheep without a shepherd” don’t know where to go to find food and safety, so they either follow each other around and around, or they follow a stranger who has no care for their safety and welfare.  The stranger may arrive to steal the sheep.  Another animal may arrive to kill and eat them.  “Sheep without a shepherd” are always in great danger.

Jesus recognized the crowds needed good shepherds for their souls.  In the history of Israel, the kings were meant to be shepherds of God’s people, modeled after David, the Shepherd-King.  In Jesus’ day, it had been a long time since a descendant of David sat on Israel’s throne.  Caesar, the Roman Emperor, was now king of the Empire that ruled Judea; Herod was his usurper-puppet king in Jerusalem.  The high priests, who might have served as good shepherds, were either hard-hearted or corrupt or both.  No wonder Jesus’ heart broke over the crowds who followed Him.

“The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.” 

Jesus could see the problem.  The sheep needed good shepherds!  What did they need to know that a good shepherd could teach them?  They needed to know, above all else, how much God loved them.  Every person needs to know this truth.  When we know, beyond any doubt, that God loves us, foolish sheep that we are, and that we can count on His constant care for us, we become safe, contented sheep.  We can be kept in peace no matter what dangers we may face.

Jesus, of course, is the Good Shepherd-King promised by God through His prophets to care for His flock.  His time on earth was limited, so He chose twelve disciples to be His own shepherds for His needy sheep.  He gave them both spiritual authority and gifts to preach the Gospel to the “troubled” and “abandoned” in the house of Israel first.  Later, He would send them out to all the world.  They were to announce that “the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 

These twelve, in turn, ordained others after them to continue shepherding God’s faithful flock, the Church—our priests, bishops, and popes.  From that day to this, Jesus has not had to pity His flock.  We are now and always will be in His safe keeping.

Possible Response: Lord Jesus, if I feel troubled or abandoned, it is not because I do not have a Good Shepherd.  It is probably because I am not listening to Him.  Help me follow Your lead today.

First Reading (Read Ex. 19:2-62)

After God miraculously delivered the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, He had a message to give them through Moses, their leader.  It began with a profession of love, a love that He had proven beyond a shadow of a doubt: “You have seen for yourselves…how I bore you up on eagle wings and brought you here to myself.”  We do not see the word “love” in these words, but we do see a poetic expression of it that is tender, protective, desirous of close physical proximity.  In other words, the message was given in the language of a lover. 

Then, God went on to explain why it was reasonable for His beloved people to hearken to His voice and keep His covenant, His nuptial agreement with them.  He would be their God, and they would be His people.  If they walked in the joy of that covenant love, obeying His commands, they would be His “special possession,” dearer to Him than all other people, although all people were His. 

God’s choice of the Israelites had a purpose—they would be a “kingdom of priests,” ministering both to Him and to all the rest of the world on His behalf.  They would be His messengers to the nations, assuring them of His love and teaching them the liberating way of life He had given them in the covenant He made with them on Mt. Sinai.

God’s ancient “election” of the Israelites as His kingdom of priests on earth explains why, in our Gospel reading, Jesus sent His disciples first to the house of Israel.  Because of their long history with and knowledge of God, they should have been receptive to the Good News Jesus came to deliver.  The time had finally arrived when the Jews could begin to fulfill their mission and become “a holy nation,” the flock now tended by their loving Good Shepherd.

Possible Response: Father, you show no partiality among the people you have made.  Some of us are chosen, “elected,” not because we are the elites, but because we have work to do, spreading Your kingdom here on earth.  Help me be faithful to Your mission.

Psalm (Read Ps. 100)

This psalm describes in poetic song the good news the Jews first, and later the Church, needed to announce to the whole world: “We are his people: the sheep of his flock.”  It reminds us that “he made us, his we are,” and it assures us of God’s faithful love, a kindness that endures forever. 

When Jesus sent His disciples out, this was exactly the message they were to deliver.  We should wholeheartedly heed its call to us today: “Sing joyfully to the Lord…come before him with joyful song.”

Possible Response:  The psalm is a response to our other readings.  Read it again prayerfully to make it your own.

Second Reading (Read Rom. 5:6-11)

St. Paul expands on the theme of God’s great love for His people in a direct and vivid example.  He says all of us know that if we were asked to give our lives for a good person, we might be able “with difficulty” to do it.  God has proved His love for us, sinners though we are, by sending Jesus to die for us.  He did not wait for us to be good enough, because He knew we never could be.  Jesus paid our debt by His death and Resurrection; He has reconciled us with our Father. 

St. Paul stresses that we have every reason, now that God has proved His love so completely, to continue to live our lives as people confident of that love and eager to return it to Him by how we live every day of our lives.

Possible Response: Father, never let me grow indifferent to what it cost you to prove your love for me.  Help me be willing to pay the cost of loving you today.

Photo by Dibya Jyoti Ghosh on Unsplash

Q&A with Mystic Alicja Lenczewska, Part 3

June is a month especially dedicated to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. It is the time when we give particular honor to the humility, love, and mercy of Our Blessed Lord, who died in atonement for our sins.

Among the many Polish hymns sung on this occasion, one that Alicja surely knew by heart after singing it hundreds of times begins with these words: Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make our hearts like unto Thine! It could hardly have been otherwise, since she lived for many years in the Sacred Heart Parish in Szczecin. It was there, among other places, that her mystical conversations took place, and Jesus Himself told her that “this is the sanctuary of His Heart.”

Thus, our spiritual journey today leads us to humility as a gateway to Heaven. How is it attained, and is it even possible? How should we respond when confronted with blatant injustice?

In her journals, the word humility, in all its forms, appears many times and in a variety of contexts; however, for lack of space, I have selected only a few excerpts, arranging them deliberately in reverse chronological order, beginning with what our mystic heard four years before her death.

Let us now turn to what she recorded on this subject.

JESUS DESIRES LOVE, NOT PERFECTION

(Saturday, December 12, 2008)

— Lord, despite the many years I have walked this path with You, I find that I am still the same person, burdened by all my old faults and failings…

† I do not desire your perfection; I desire your love. To love Me and to immerse yourself in My Love will soften all things. It will bring you peace and bear fruit in goodness and kindness toward others and all creation.

Learn to look at yourself with holy detachment—even at your physical body, whose strength naturally fades with age. Your outward activity in the world is becoming more limited, and this is a grace. It is slowly preparing you for your departure from this life. This world is no longer the primary place of your labour. Your activity must now take place within your heart, within your soul.

Use the silence of your lips as a veil, allowing the language of the heart to grow. In that silence, offer Me everything your senses perceive: the people you encounter, the events of the day, and the whole world. Look upon them with love, compassion, and mercy, just as I do—always ready to help, never quick to judge.

— But Lord, I am often haunted by the memory of my past sins and the ways I have hurt others…

† That is a temptation! I have freed you from every evil to which you once fell prey, and I have healed those you wounded. You must not return to what has already been washed away in Confession.

It is enough to remain aware of your human frailty. Let this awareness root you in humility and fill you with gratitude toward Me and toward your neighbours, who bear with your falls. Do not focus on yourself. Live in love and gratitude as you look forward to our meeting.

Luke 10:41–42: “…you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing.”

HUMILITY: THE KEY TO HEAVEN

(Friday, January 11, 1991)

† The journey of aging teaches you humility and total abandonment to God. You also learn humility through an honest recognition of your own sinfulness. In the end, humility is what determines your eternity—it shapes the very nature of the Heaven you will experience.

ACHIEVING HOLINESS IS A PROCESS

(Thursday, July 12, 1990)

† To receive My gifts here on earth, you must renounce everything bound up with the sin of rebellion against your Creator—everything that resists surrender.

Do not think that anyone has ever achieved holiness on their own. It is true that many have sought sanctity by practicing moral acts and cultivating virtues. Whenever they did so out of love for Me and showed mercy to their brothers and sisters, they attained it. Through such acts, the doors of their souls remained open, allowing Me to build holiness within them.

However, if someone desires holiness merely to feel superior to others, I lead that person to holiness through humbling purification. I lead them through the pain and hardship needed to form humility, simplicity, and a merciful gaze toward their neighbour. If they have enough self-denial to embrace this, they will attain the calling for which they were destined. Only then am I able to fill their soul with pure Love.

I am the One who builds holiness day by day. I arrange the daily circumstances that shape the soul, making it increasingly open to receiving My gifts and equally open to sharing those gifts with others. An unceasing stream of Love then flows through that soul—a stream by which the soul ascends to Heaven, and through which Heaven descends to earth to embrace others.

CORNERSTONES OF HOLINESS

(Sunday, November 26, 1989)

† Contrition and humility are the very foundation of your holiness. When you encounter evil—whether in injustice or suffering—let your first impulse be a humble examination of conscience. Look closely at your heart, your thoughts, your words, and your actions. Stand before My justice and My mercy, recognizing your own littleness and the brokenness that dwells within you. Seek within yourself the roots of what you experience in life, and desire to make reparation to My divine justice.

Ask for the light to know the truth and for mercy upon your spiritual poverty. Do not let anger rise within you; do not insist on your own way; and do not look for malice in others or injustice in God or in man. Avoid complaining or feeling sorry for yourself when you think you have been wronged. In truth, you have encountered My grace and My mercy, for I am calling you back to My path from the dead ends into which you have wandered.

Thank God for this grace of being called back—for the gift of contrition and the opportunity for penance that I give you. Set your soul in order and ask Me to remove everything from it that is not pure love of God and neighbour. Fight against your own ego, your sin, and the stains upon your soul rather than against the people I have used to call you back.

They are not your enemies. Your true enemy lies at the threshold of your soul, and it is I—Immaculate Love—who fight him through all that you experience in life. I am calling you because I desire your purification. I desire your holiness.

BLESSED FALLS

(Monday, November 17, 1986)

† Do not be anxious, and do not fear your own weakness. Your heart is being transformed, and for this work to continue, you must face the truth about yourself. This self-knowledge will protect you from pride.

Reflecting on the notion of humility, I turn to St. Teresa of Avila. “I was wondering once, why Our Lord so dearly loved this virtue of humility; and all of a sudden—without, I believe, my having previously thought of it—the following reason came into my mind: that it is because God is Sovereign Truth and TO BE HUMBLE IS TO WALK IN TRUTH.”

Editor’s Note: This article is part of a CE original series on a twentieth-century Polish mystic, entitled Q&A with Mystic Alicja Lenczewska. Follow along here, and catch up on previous articles on Alicja’s writings here.

Author’s Note: Excerpts taken from Alicja Lenczewska, A Word of Instruction (Slowo Pouczenia), Testymony, (Świadectwo) published by Wydawnictwo Agape (Poznań, 2016).

Photo by Sterling Lanier on Unsplash

Two of my favorite Catholic days take place in early summer: the feast of the Visitation on May 31st and the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart on a Friday in June (the date varies based on Easter). At first glance, these two devotions are separate. One, a mystery of the rosary, is for Our Lady; the other centers on Christ. Looking closer, however, the two are not so distinct.

A few years ago, Fr. Andrew Hofer, O.P. gave an Advent mission at my parish on the topic of the Hail Mary. In one evening’s presentation, Father shared an insight on Christ’s development in Our Lady’s womb at the time of the Visitation. From the Annunciation on March 25th to the feast of the Visitation on May 31st, nine weeks and four days have passed since Jesus’ conception. Scientifically, we know that the valves of an unborn baby’s heart take shape at week 8 in utero; by 10 weeks, the fetal heart has developed completely. This means that Christ brought His heart, totally formed and overflowing with love for you and me, into the hill country of Judea with Our Lady (see Luke 1:39)!

In light of this, the realities of the Visitation and of the Sacred Heart of Jesus are beautifully interrelated. Although His life was still in an early pre-natal stage, Jesus’ Sacred Heart was fully present to partake in the deep love and joy of this reunion. A heart-to-heart encounter took place not only between Mary and Elizabeth but also between the unborn Christ and His cousin John—causing the prophet to leap for joy.

What was in Jesus’ heart ever since those earliest days of His existence? How do the movements of His heart in His holy humanity reveal His Divinity? A recent Catholic philosopher lets us in on these secrets.

Knowing the Heart of Jesus with Dietrich von Hildebrand

Two popes referred to him as influential enough to be a Doctor of the Church in the twentieth-century. He converted to the faith at age 25, fled Germany because his courageous criticism made him number one on Hitler’s target list, and taught at Fordham University in New York for two decades. His name was Dietrich von Hildebrand.

Dietrich von Hildebrand lived from 1889-1977. His expansive philosophy covered ethics, moral life, aesthetics, love, and much more—even shaping the Church’s stance on marriage, sexuality, and contraception. He was a prominent figure in the school of thought called realist phenomenology, which looks closely at human experience—in a way that is receptive and faithful to reality—in order to know the things of the world as they are in themselves. Additionally, he was a personalist, adhering to the philosophical/theological movement that sought to uphold and respond fully to the human person’s unique value.

Dietrich and his wife Alice truly formed a philosophical power couple: she too was an academic and defended marriage, womanhood, and the value of the human person in her own writings.

In my first college philosophy course, I discovered one of Hildebrand’s most significant works, The Heart: An Analysis of Human and Divine Affectivity. In The Heart, Hildebrand reclaims the importance of the emotions for an authentic understanding of the human person. The heart “is more the real self of the person than his intellect or will,” he writes; thus, our emotions can respond to reality and to values in a meaningful and rational way (Hildebrand, The Heart, 67). Hildebrand spends much of this book explaining his philosophy of human affectivity.

But that is not all that the book contains. Perhaps the best-kept secret of Hildebrand’s writings is hidden in its second part, which is a profound spiritual treatise.

Heart Speaks to Heart

Part II of The Heart is entitled “The Heart of Jesus.” In it, Dietrich von Hildebrand shows that the voice of the heart of Christ, which had begun unfolding from His earliest days in Our Lady’s womb, is written all over the Gospels. “Every word, every parable, his every deed reveals his Sacred Humanity, and through it his divinity” (Hildebrand, 75).

To disclose the many facets of Christ’s holy heart through His teachings, actions, and attitudes, Hildebrand unpacks the Litany of the Sacred Heart of Jesus line by line, making connections to the Gospel. To highlight a few:

• “Heart of Jesus, full of kindness and love” expresses the boundless love woven through the Parable of the Good Samaritan.
• “Heart of Jesus, glowing furnace of charity” points to the tender generosity that prompted Christ’s first miracle at Cana.
• “Heart of Jesus, desire of the eternal hills” ties to the Parable of the Prodigal Son, which is “pervaded by a new, transfigured affectivity,” immersed in the logic of infinite mercy (85).
• “Heart of Jesus, source of life and holiness”—we can meditate on Christ’s interactions with Mary Magdalene and the adulterous woman and how the mysterious power of His mercy and love restore the life and sanctity of a sinful soul.
• “Heart of Jesus, house of God and gate of Heaven” comes forth in Christ’s patient reply to James and John, as He shares with them the humility that reveals heaven.

Oh, How He Loves

“There is, indeed, a deep and essential relation between the heart and the capacity to suffer, and the entire passion is an unveiling of the secrets of the Sacred Heart” (Hildebrand, 105).

In the second chapter of Part II, Hildebrand focuses on how the mystery of Jesus’ Sacred Heart deepens as His passion approaches. Christ’s divinity resonates more and more amid the infinite sufferings that His holy humanity undergoes, including:

• The great sorrow of predicting His passion.
• Jesus’ tears of grief at “the full experience of the human aspect of death and all its horror” before the tomb of His dear friend Lazarus (101).
• The vulnerability of being wounded by Judas’s treachery and Peter’s personal betrayal.
• Jesus’ words from the cross—of surrender, sorrow, forgiveness, and obedience to His father even unto death—which all “embody an utterance of his Heart” (106).
• The unlimited suffering He experienced while in agony at Gethsemane for man’s sins.
• “The holy joy dwelling in his heart” when He resurrected (110).

Dear reader, I encourage you to pick up this little work of philosophy and spirituality filled with insight into the richness of human experience and the things of heaven. Dietrich von Hildebrand leads us to more fully contemplate the reality of Christ’s great love for us. This same divine love is at the center of the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart, the feast of the Visitation, and much more about Christ than we can imagine. Most importantly, it is the greatest value that calls our hearts to make a reverent response and causes our souls to leap for joy.

Author’s Note: Discover Dietrich von Hildebrand through the Hildebrand Project by signing up for their free 7-lesson email course on his life, legacy, and philosophy. For other excellent spiritual classics by Hildebrand besides The Heart, check out The Art of Living and Transformation in Christ.

Image from Wikimedia Commons

The Fragile Conditions of a Habitable Universe

The possibility of a habitable universe seems to depend on extraordinary sensitivity upon a set of fundamental constants. Modern physics describes the universe using the gravitational constant, the speed of light, Planck’s constant, the cosmological constant, and the fine-structure constant, which regulates the strength of electromagnetism. Small variations would not merely produce a different cosmos; they could eliminate stable stars, complex chemistry, and conscious life.

Modern physics has shown that the universe exists within an extremely narrow range of parameters compatible with complex structures. This phenomenon, known as fine-tuning, has become a major subject in cosmology and the philosophy of physics. Multiple independent parameters appear coordinated with astonishing precision, and tiny changes produce enormous consequences. The universe resembles a delicate architecture in which every constant participates in a global equilibrium.

Gravity and Cosmic Structure

Gravity provides one of the clearest examples. If gravity were slightly weaker, matter would struggle to condense into galaxies and stars, leaving the cosmos as a diffuse expansion of hydrogen and helium incapable of generating complexity. If gravity were somewhat stronger, stars would become smaller and hotter, consuming their fuel too rapidly for planets and biological evolution to emerge. Extremely small changes would be enough to destroy the conditions necessary for life.

Nuclear Forces and Element Formation

Something similar occurs with the strong nuclear interaction. The production of carbon and oxygen, which are essential elements for life, depends on extraordinarily precise nuclear resonances. A small alteration would prevent stars from producing the elements necessary for organic chemistry, leaving the universe incompatible with life.

Electromagnetism and Atomic Stability

The fine-structure constant offers another striking example of cosmic sensitivity. It determines the strength of electromagnetic interactions and regulates the stability of atoms and chemical bonds. Its approximate value is 1/137, a simple number with immense consequences. If it were slightly larger, electrons would bind too strongly to atomic nuclei, making complex chemistry impossible. If it were slightly smaller, electrons would fail to remain stably bound, preventing the normal formation of atoms and molecules.

Particle Masses and Atomic Stability

The masses of elementary particles are also decisive. Minimal changes in the mass of the electron or in the balance between protons and neutrons would alter atomic stability. Complex chemistry depends on a delicate equilibrium between electromagnetic and nuclear forces; without it, biological structures could not exist.

The Cosmological Constant and the Expansion of the Universe

One of the most dramatic examples is the cosmological constant, associated with the accelerated expansion of the universe. If it were slightly larger, cosmic expansion would have proceeded so rapidly that galaxies could never have formed. If it were smaller in the opposite direction, the universe would have collapsed before stable structures could emerge. Calculations suggest that even tiny deviations would be sufficient to prevent any habitable universe from existing.

The Problem of Fine-Tuning

The general conclusion is astonishing: life appears to depend upon an extraordinarily precise coordination among multiple fundamental constants. This has led many physicists and philosophers to speak of the “fine-tuning” of the universe. The issue is not only scientific but philosophical, because it raises an unavoidable question: Why do the constants possess precisely those values that allow the existence of conscious observers?

The Weak Anthropic Principle

One response is the weak anthropic principle. It should not surprise us that we observe a universe compatible with life, because only such a universe could contain observers capable of asking the question. This introduces an observational selection effect: our existence necessarily conditions what we are able to observe. However, the weak anthropic principle does not explain why the constants possess those particular values; it merely explains why we do not observe universes incompatible with life.

The Strong Anthropic Principle

More obvious is the strong anthropic principle. This formulation suggests that the universe appears arranged in such a way that conscious observers are possible and perhaps even expected. Here the cosmos no longer seems merely compatible with life, but surprisingly oriented toward it. Consciousness ceases to appear as an insignificant accident and instead acquires a deeper significance within reality itself.

Aquinas and the Order of Nature

At this point, the philosophy of St. Thomas Aquinas acquires unexpected relevance. In the Fifth Way (five ways to logically demonstrate the existence of God), Aquinas argues that natural beings, though lacking intelligence themselves, consistently act toward ends. Just as an arrow requires an archer to direct it, the ordered behaviour of nature points toward an ordering intelligence. Interpreted through a contemporary lens, fine-tuning may be understood as a modern expression of this same philosophical intuition: the universe appears not as indifferent chaos but as a profoundly rational and structured system.

Intelligent Design as a Philosophical Interpretation

From this perspective, the extraordinary precision of the fundamental constants may be interpreted as a sign of higher rationality. Multiple parameters seem adjusted within extremely narrow margins to permit complex structures, chemistry, and conscious life. Although this does not constitute a scientific proof of God in the experimental sense, it may still be considered a powerful philosophical inference. The hypothesis of intelligent design emerges from this impression of profound order and extraordinary coordination.

Science and Metaphysics

Speaking of intelligent design here does not mean replacing science with religion or denying physical explanations. Physics describes mechanisms and mathematical relationships; philosophy asks about the ultimate foundation of that order. In this context, the idea of a superior creative mind appears as a possible metaphysical interpretation of the fact that the universe is intelligible, stable, and extraordinarily fine-tuned for life.

A Biblical Resonance

The biblical tradition expressed this intuition symbolically when it declared: “You have arranged all things by measure, number, and weight” (Wis. 11:20). The phrase is not intended as a scientific equation, but as a theological affirmation that the universe possesses an internal rationality. Modern science, by discovering mathematical laws and constants adjusted with extreme precision, seems to reinforce that ancient intuition, unexpectedly.

Alternative Explanations: The Multiverse

Naturally, alternative interpretations exist. Some physicists appeal to the multiverse hypothesis: perhaps countless universes with different parameters exist, and we simply inhabit one compatible with life. Others argue that a future physical theory may eventually demonstrate that the constants could not have been otherwise. Yet even these explanations do not fully eliminate the deeper mystery: that there exists an intelligible universe capable of generating consciousness and rational understanding.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the fundamental constants of the universe appear to form part of an extraordinarily delicate equilibrium upon which every possibility of life depends. Minimal variations would have produced a sterile cosmos without long-lived stars, without complex chemistry, and without conscious observers. The weak anthropic principle reminds us that our observation is conditioned by our existence, while the strong anthropic principle suggests a deeper orientation of the cosmos toward life and consciousness.

In continuity with the classical philosophy of St. Thomas Aquinas, the extraordinary order of the universe may be interpreted as a sign of a higher rationality and intelligent design. Thus, fine-tuning raises not only a scientific question, but also a decisive philosophical one: If the universe appears calibrated with almost inconceivable precision to allow the existence of conscious life, perhaps it is not irrational to think that behind such order there exists a creative mind capable of arranging all things by measure, number, and weight.

Photo by NASA Hubble Space Telescope on Unsplash

The Church’s 2,000-year history includes countless saints who received unique charisms from the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 12:4) suited to the needs of their respective times and places. Yet we sometimes forget that this tradition is not a completed history book, but a living tradition in which new heroes continue to show the light of sanctity in our modern age.

100 years ago today, one of these contemporary heroes—who is now on the path to canonization—was born unto eternal life: Venerable Antoni Gaudi, the “Architect of God,” responsible for the tallest church in the world: la Basilica de la Sagrada Família (the Basilica of the Holy Family) in Barcelona.

Gaudi was born in 1852 in the Catalan region, not far from Barcelona. As a child, young Antoni suffered ill health, which led to him spending less time in a classroom, and more time observing nature, taking in our Creator’s natural beauty in profound ways that he would later express in his artistic career.

In 1870, young Gaudi relocated to pursue architecture studies in Barcelona. While taking intermittent courses at the University of Barcelona, Gaudi worked as a surveyor for more advanced architects to earn money and pay for school. After taking due time to master his craft, Gaudi finished his first major projects in his early thirties, starting with the Casa Vincens, completed in 1885.

Following that, Gaudi’s career truly took off, and he became one of the most sought-after and well-paid architects in Spain. During this time, most of Gaudi’s projects were secular ones, and he was known to have an active social schedule, frequenting fancy Barcelona restaurants with his fine clothes and cigars. But as the Catalan architect completed his expensive custom commissions, the Divine Architect moved toward completing His own creative plan for Gaudi’s life and career.

After (and perhaps because of) a failed marriage proposal in his forties, Gaudi grew more devoted to the Catholic faith of his youth. He embodied a more religious lifestyle, spending more time in prayer, and modeling a simple Christian piety that eventually led to him living in a very modest studio. Gaudi also pivoted to spend more time on church commissions, such as the Colonia Güell (consecrated in 1915), as well as the landmark project that would define his career: la Basilica de la Sagrada Família.

Gaudi spent decades on this project, starting it before his mature period of piety. Yet as he became increasingly devout in his faith, Gaudi decided in 1914 to make the basilica his sole artistic endeavor. When pressed about how long the project would take, the spiritually mature Gaudi, working for the Lord above all else, would joke, “My client is not in a hurry.”

After devoting 12 years exclusively to Sagrada Família, Gaudi tragically died on June 10, 1926, after being hit by a tram on his way to church. Only the first of Sagrada Família’s 18 towers was completed at the time. While Gaudi’s work on Sagrada Família came to an unexpected end, we know that the Holy Spirit’s work through His saints often continues well after their time on earth. That is certainly true of Gaudi’s legacy, and for his wondrous basilica of Barcelona, whose final tower is being blessed by Pope Leo within a special ceremony today.

Under Pope Francis’s pontificate, just over a year ago, Antoni Gaudi was declared a “Venerable” (one stage before being declared a “Blessed”) on the path to canonization. As a miracle is awaited to further advance the process, some of Gaudi’s followers have posited that the grandeur of Sagrada Família itself should count as a miracle to canonize the “Architect of God.” And while this poetic idea is worth a smile and a laugh, it also presents us an interesting question: why does the Church declare certain people saints?

In our internet age, we easily focus on a Church figure’s external acts, such as St. Teresa of Calcutta founding the Missionaries of Charity, or Pope St. John Paul II’s brilliant books and encyclicals. Similarly, one may easily associate Gaudi’s cause for canonization with Sagrada Família.

Yet while honoring the beautiful works of these holy leaders, we must remember that sanctity’s essence lies not in what the person does, but who the person is. The Church does not canonize artists for their creativity; nor does She canonize theologians for their intellect; nor does She canonize founders of religious orders for their leadership skills. Sanctity—whether it be recognized by canonization or not—consists in an interior conformity to Christ in charity, which is manifested through acts that may be very public, or very hidden. 

If Gaudi is canonized (as I hope him to be), this will be the reason why. And just as Gaudi built up designs for one of the world’s most marvelous churches, I pray that the postulators for his cause can help uncover some beautiful, hidden facts about the holy son of the Church who was Antoni Gaudi, that we may see, admire, and imitate the love of God that animated his wondrous work on Sagrada Família, which will inspire countless Christians for generations to come.

Venerable Antoni Gaudi, Architect of God, pray for us!

Photo by Csaba Veres on Unsplash

The world is experiencing a dramatic shift in how economies work and people live because of the emergence of Artificial Intelligence. Such an enormous shift has not occurred since the Industrial Revolution, which changed nearly everything about how people lived.  None of us individually can change the course of human history or the effect of certain technologies. Our practical realm of influence is limited. Yet God has given each of us an indispensable work to do, and that work comes out of who we are in Him.  

A recent intercession in Evening Prayer read:

Lord, it is your will that men use their minds to unlock nature’s secrets and master the world, …May the arts and sciences advance your glory and the happiness of all peoples.

This intention deserves a big AMEN as Pope Leo XIV draws the world’s attention to the crucial importance of caring for the dignity of all people as AI’s raw power emerges. As the prayer says, we are called to use our minds, not outsource our thinking to machines.

Last November Pope Leo spoke to the U.S. National Youth Conference, saying:

Use (AI) in such a way that if it disappeared tomorrow, you would still know how to think, how to create, how to act on your own…

With these words he is warning us not to allow AI to rob us of something integral to our humanity for the sake of convenience or anything else.

Our Holy Father’s Letter to Us

In his new encyclical letter, Magnifica Humanitas: On Safeguarding the Human Person in the Time of Artificial Intelligence, Pope Leo admonishes that this neutral technological tool has the potential to be used for great good or great ill. It is our responsibility to use it to “advance God’s glory and the happiness of all peoples,” as the Evening Prayer intention concludes.

Having just begun to delve into Magnifica Humanitas, it is apparent that even the introduction is filled with wisdom and clarity on the confusing subject of AI and how mankind should approach it. Referring to humanity’s intentions for using Artificial Intelligence, Pope Leo offers two contrasting biblical images to reflect on:

The Tower of Babel (Gen. 11:1-9):

…the people decided to build a city and a tower “with its top in the heavens”…they sought to guarantee stability and power for themselves, and above all to “make a name” for themselves. It was an impressive feat: a single language, a single technology, a single direction. However, the project…was conceived without reference to God, supported by a uniformity that eliminated diversity and that chose homogenization over communion…The result is not unity, but dispersion. Babel thus reveals the limits of any effort that, however grandiose, arises from self-affirmation, sacrifices human dignity for efficiency and aspires to reach heaven without God’s blessing.

The image of the Tower of Babel is contrasted to the Rebuilding of the Walls of Jerusalem (Neh. 2-6):

…Nehemiah…received news of the disastrous state of his ancestral city. Before taking action, he fasted, prayed and interceded for the people. He then asked the king for permission to return to Jerusalem and, upon arriving, examined the destroyed areas in silence. He did not impose solutions from above. He convened the families, assigned each of them a section of the wall to rebuild, listened to their concerns, coordinated their efforts and addressed any opposition. The narrative shows how the city is reborn, not through the initiative of one man, but through the shared responsibility of all: men, women, priests, artisans, heads of households and young people all play a part. It is an undertaking with God at the center, which rebuilds relationships before rebuilding with stones. Thus, ancient Jerusalem rediscovers a common language—not one of uniformity, but one of communion, namely the harmony that arises when all persons assume their own role and recognize that their strength comes from the Lord.

Our Holy Father then invites us to bring the Holy Spirit into this transitional era of history to:

…avoid the “Babel syndrome,” namely the idolatry of profit that sacrifices the weak, a uniformity that neutralizes differences, and the pretense that a single language—even a digital one—can translate everything, including the mystery of the person, into data and performance.

The introduction of the encyclical then turns to the foundational ideas which must be upheld for AI to, “build for the common good.” Included is an idea related to the importance of each of us responding as Nehemiah did, not outsourcing our thinking or our responsibility and not building our own little towers of Babel:

…building a world in which everyone can flourish requires shared responsibility and courage….All are given their own section of the wall.

Concluding his introduction, Pope Leo encourages us to “remain human”:

In the era of artificial intelligence, when human dignity is threatened by new forms of dehumanization, ours is the pressing duty to remain profoundly human.

Behaving like Nehemiah: Responding to Dehumanizing Effects of AI

Only in following the prayerful model of Nehemiah can we play our part and answer our Holy Father’s call to remain human and help “rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.” We are called to begin our work in prayerful union with God, in cooperation with others who are also seeking the common good, and seeking to rebuild their section of the wall.

When we trust God and live a life of union with Him and communion with His people, we cease building our own individual towers and begin restoring the walls of inner-peace, inner Jerusalem. Through deeper prayer and relationship with God we will rebuild those walls day by day and brick by brick while each of us becomes the unique, not homogenous, persons God created us to be. Following the model laid out by Nehemiah of fasting, prayer, obedience to God and rightful authority, listening to and cooperating with others, we will advance in God’s grace wherever He is leading us.

As we rebuild the walls of Jerusalem in our own hearts and souls, we necessarily avoid building ourselves into towers of Babel without reference to God. This internal orientation will lead us to use any tool and all technology in ways that give God glory and serve humanity well. We will naturally desire to treat others as God treats us, as His beloveds to love, not as commodities to be manipulated and used.

Let us do our part. Let us not outsource our thinking and thereby degenerate our humanity. Let us begin our works with prayer and in communion with God’s people. Let us use AI and all technologies and tools at the service of God’s glory and of mankind’s good. And let us rebuild the walls of the City of God’s Peace brick by brick and day by day, no matter how the landscape of our time in history may shift and change.

Photo by Infralist.com on Unsplash

Every image of the Sacred Heart is familiar: the flames, the thorns, the pierced and burning heart of Christ. We see it on prayer cards, in statues and paintings, and recognize immediately what it means. To hear the words “Behold this heart, that so loved men” seems logical and proper. What more fitting image of Christ’s love than His pierced heart, on fire with divine love for creation? There is no better singular representation of the reality of both the Cross and Easter.

Like the crucifix, our desire to bring the Sacred Heart into our homes and lives, to devote ourselves to it, necessitates compromise; we would no more erect a scale model of a crucifix than we would have an anatomically accurate heart on our mantle. Like the crucifix, a conditional symbolism is accepted which is neither imprudent nor improper. It is merely the reality that man can imitate the mystical to a limited degree, and that a humble attempt at devotion is better than none.

We know what the crucifix around our neck and above our doorway represents. Even though they are clean and polished, they are not sterile. The absence of God’s blood does not diminish either the symbol or the reality of what it depicts.

Yet as I studied the Sacred Heart and its images and various avenues of devotion to it, I could not help but feel that, while I was repeating the words, “Behold this heart, that so loved men,” they were little more than sterile syllables. I sensed that there was more than the physical necessity and emotional weight the heart represented.

When I was encouraged to explore devotion to the Sacred Heart, I knew nothing about it apart from the images I had often seen. I read books about it and studied saints with particular devotion to it. Yet I still did not understand it. It remained a kind of academic entity, something I had knowledge of but limited experience with.

If the crucifix recalled the horror of Christ’s death and the glory of His resurrection, what did the Sacred Heart point toward? What was I missing that God wanted me to see?

I knew I would not find the answers in books or any insight I might find on my own. As I have done so many times before, I brought these questions before the Lord in Adoration.

In the quiet chapel, God offered an image to contemplate. It was not an answer to write down but a truth to enter into.

I saw the earth from a distance, the size of an orange. Behind it, enormous, the Sacred Heart. There was no space it did not occupy, no room for anything else. It touched all, was all.

“Behold this heart…”

In beholding it, a flash of Scripture:

For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities, all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. (Col. 1:16-17)

Here was God’s great heart, not a consoling image, not a symbol of His sympathy or shared humanity, but something cosmic. The devotion had never asked me to behold a feeling. It had asked me to behold the love by which everything that exists continues to exist, the burning center that holds the atoms and the galaxies, the living and the dead, in being.

I was not contemplating Jesus’ fist-sized human heart but the heart that holds all things together.

The function of the images, the purpose of the devotion, is not a theological treatise but another avenue to know and experience God. The prayer cards are not wrong. The statues are not insufficient. They are small windows, and windows are not meant to contain the view. They only frame it, giving us somewhere to place our eyes until we can bear to look more fully.

A year has passed, and the image still arrives unbidden. It returns when I do not expect or look for it, enormous and occupying all things, and I pause. I pause because the words are no longer sterile. It is not a quaint devotion, but an invitation to remember and behold something we cannot completely comprehend.

Photo by NASA Hubble Space Telescope on Unsplash

My wife once heard some excellent advice: look for men who want to be husbands, not for men who just want wives.

Having a wife is tremendous. She provides encouragement and emotional support. She turns a house into a home. She is a companion to share your interests and struggles with, and she’s a key part to starting your own family. It’s no surprise then that the great majority of single men hope to get married. This is especially true now given the increased reporting of loneliness and social isolation among men.

But a man who desires to be married shouldn’t “just” want a wife. He must want to be a husband as well.

The key word there is “want.” It is not enough for a man to realize that it is just for him to be a husband in order to obtain a wife. He must want to be a husband. He must look at the Cross, see how Our Lord gave Himself for His bride the Church, and think “I want to imitate Him.” Meanwhile, the man who wants a wife has his attention focused entirely on the benefits that a wife will provide him, instead of what he wants to give to her.

When looking at what the Church says on marriage, there is a repeated emphasis on the Cross. St. Pope John Paul II wrote that “marriage sets the couple on a path where they will encounter the cross.” Pope Leo XIII specifies that a husband and wife must “give one another an unfailing and unselfish help.”

This sacrifice isn’t to be limited. When looking to the Cross, we don’t see a partial or limited sacrifice, we see an overwhelming and unlimited one. We also see a sacrifice that was full of love to a bride that is sometimes less than stellar in return. St. John Chrysostom points this out in his writings on marriage, teaching that a husband should continue to devote himself to his wife even if she doesn’t do the same. He reminds us that Christ’s bride has not earned the love He offers, and yet He gives it anyway, always ready to forgive, always providing, always devoted. A husband ought to do the same, because he truly loves his wife.

This talk of sacrifice must also be grounded in the reality that people are unique. If a man feels called to marriage, it’s still not enough to want to be a husband, he must want to be a husband to his wife in particular. Contrary to what a lot of dating culture (especially some dating apps) might imply, he shouldn’t be on the lookout for a woman who checks off all the requirements on his list, who’s “good enough” to marry. He needs to look for the woman he loves so intensely that he will happily sacrifice for her.

When a man becomes a husband, he becomes someone’s husband. He’s not a husband in general, but solely and completely to his wife. His life is committed to her, and she becomes irreplaceable to him.

This is an important point that both people need to consider when discerning marriage. Men, is this the woman you would gladly sacrifice your remaining days for, no matter how demanding that might be? In the event that the circumstances demanded it, would you give up a hobby and free time for her, not just because she needs you to, but because you really want to?

Women, is this man someone who you could see doing that for you? Is he someone who is more than happy to be your husband, no matter the sacrifices that might entail? Is his desire to be a husband focused on you in particular, not just in the abstract? Is he someone who will spend more time working if the family needs it, or less time working (and more time with family) if it’s for the good of the family?

Of course this discernment should be flipped the other way around as well, and both should additionally consider if this is someone who should be the parent of their own children.

Women seeking marriage must be sure to look for a man who really wants to be a husband. There has never been a shortage of horror stories of abusive, infantile, or just extremely lazy men who married primarily out of loneliness, convenience, or lust. In the encyclical Casti Connubii, Pope Pius XI emphasized the importance of choosing a partner in marriage, for it “depends a great deal whether the forthcoming marriage will be happy or not, since one may be to the other either a great help in leading a Christian life, or, a great danger and hindrance.” He adds that their discernment must be based in “a true and noble love and by a sincere affection for the future partner.”

Earlier in the same encyclical, he also emphasizes preparation, since “the basis of a happy wedlock, and the ruin of an unhappy one, is prepared and set in the souls of boys and girls during the period of childhood and adolescence.” He says those who indulge in impure desires before marriage without working to overcome them “will find themselves left alone with their own unconquered passions.”

This means that men who want to be husbands will be pursuing improvement and attempting to root out their ties to sin (especially lust!). They will be, to the extent that they are able, working on developing skills so that they can provide, caring for their own health, devoting time to prayer, and setting aside appropriate time for hobbies. They may not have mastered all of these, or even one of these, but they will be struggling towards holiness as best they can.

Women, do not merely look for a man who wants a wife. Look for a man who wants to be your husband.

Photo by Dmitry Rodionov on Unsplash

The Calgary Herald created a stir some time ago when it printed a cartoon characterization of Bishop Henry. It was the newspaper’s response to the bishop’s condemnation of abortion. I found myself in the center of the storm facing a team of the newspaper’s writers and editors. I set them back a little when I mentioned that their ill-advised treatment of the good bishop had become an international embarrassment.

It was an interesting and memorable confrontation. Bishop Henry was simply doing what he was supposed to be doing, defending all human life, including the unborn as well as those who were born. The Herald was doing what it was not supposed to be doing, unjustly lampooning an innocent man. The irony was that the unauthorized was castigating the authorized. There was tension in the air, but our meeting ended on a cordial note. The team, at least most of them, had recognized that some of my comments had merit. The newspaper’s action in vilifying Bishop Henry, nonetheless, struck me as a case in which the outlaw tells the sheriff what he should do.

I made my transition from the Press to the Chancery where I offered Bishop Henry my sympathies. He responded with thanks, but told me that he has “thick skin” and the ruckus did not get to him. There was a silver lining, however, to the abuse that was heaped upon him. It led to his acceptance of many speaking engagements he would not have received otherwise. I offered him, as a consolation and a gesture of friendship, a book of poetry I penned entitled, Patches of God-light. It is a collection of poems about sharing the light and the many ways in which we can enlighten the lives of others. Bishop Henry’s “sin” was trying to share the light among people who preferred to remain in the dark.

Light exposes the cockroaches in the kitchen. This can prove unsettling. But dousing the light does not remove the pests. Remaining in the dark is not a solution. We should be grateful for the light because it allows us to perceive the situation realistically and move in the direction of a positive resolution. Enlightenment is the first step in cleaning the kitchen.

Plato, in his Dialogue, Gorgias, presents an imaginary, but instructive, example of injustice. He has a cook prosecute a doctor before a jury of children. The cook speaks to the children and accuses the doctor of “giving you the bitterest potions and compels you to hunger and thirst.” He reminds the jury of “the variety of meats and sweets on which I have feasted you.” Naturally, the children will side with the cook. In his defense, the doctor would say, “All these evil things, my boys, I did for your health.” His defense, however, would not release him from his predicament. The jury of children, an image of the unenlightened masses, would laugh and side with the cook.

Bishop Henry is the doctor. The Calgary Herald is the cook. Readers of the newspaper represent the unenlightened children. Injustice reigns when the incidental takes precedence over the essential. In the example Plato offers, taste is given priority over health. To approve abortion, by comparison, is to place convenience over the life of the unborn. When the light leads to ridicule and laughter, injustice reigns.

In 1832, while John Henry Newman was in Sicily, he had fallen victim to a severe fever which lasted for three weeks. Utterly convinced he was going to die, he made final arrangements with his Italian servant. In a memorandum he wrote many years later, Newman recalled the unlikely and unexpected words he kept saying to himself during the time of his critical illness: “I shall not die. I shall not die, for I have not sinned against the light…God has still a work for me to do.” He lived another 58 years doing God’s work by sharing His light. In 2019, was declared a saint.

In John 1:4-9, Jesus proclaims, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John the Evangelist states in 3:19, that “light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.” Light, of course, is illuminating. It allows us to see what is, thereby allowing us to participate more fully in the glory of God’s creation. The battle continues to rage, however, between the children of light and the children of darkness.

On September 23, 2022, 20 armed federal agents raided the home of Mark Houck. Houck was arrested in front of his family and interrogated for six hours. What was his crime to precipitate such extraordinary action on the part of these gun-wielding agents? He was a pro-life activist who prayed in front of a Planned Parenthood facility. The incident cried out for justice. Four years later, Mark Houck was acquitted of charges and awarded a $1 million settlement. Justice was slow to arrive, but it did arrive, though it did not compensate for what happened to Houck, his wife, and their children. As a pro-life advocate, Houck and his family were merely trying to share the light with the world.

Justice requires enlightenment. But all too often it reveals something that people do not want to know. When the Culture of Light meets the Culture of Darkness, justice becomes the issue. Those brave hearts who want to share the light must be as courageous as they are generous.

Photo by Jametlene Reskp on Unsplash