 During a trip to Sicily a few years ago we had the pleasure of touring some old churches in a small town called Ferla. The pastor of four of these churches was quite gracious in his welcome, and our time with him included a visit to a museum he had created which housed vestments, vessels, prayer books and other artifacts, several of which dated back hundreds of years. One of the artifacts was a press for making Eucharistic hosts, a device that resembled a waffle iron. Apparently these presses where heated over a fire, the Eucharistic bread mixture was poured onto it and the top plate was closed, instantly baking the dough into thin hosts which were imprinted with a crucifix. The hosts were ‘sealed’ with the sign of the One which they would actually become when a priest consecrated them at Mass. Recently I remembered this host-baking press while reading a verse from the Song of Songs in the Old Testament: “Set me as a seal on your heart.” (Song 8:6)* It seemed to me that this is something the Lord wants each of His children to hear Him say. Surely to have Jesus imprinted onto our hearts is what every Christian should desire. And that this is so, ought to fill us with gratitude and awe: the Lord of Heaven and Earth wants our hearts to be marked with His seal.  In June we reflected upon the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and the month of July continues with a related theme in that this month is dedicated to the Precious Blood of Jesus. Therefore, we can continue our reflection on His Sacred Heart as we pray about the Blood He poured out on the cross. Through this time, however, I suspect that thinking about an invitation from Him to set His seal on our heart has not been something we have considered. Jesus sealed Himself by His wounds, and through His death and resurrection offers us full and eternal life with God. Remember that when we were baptized we were sealed with chrism, an anointing which symbolizes that we are the adopted children of God; that is, through Baptism, our relationship with God changed and we became His in a deeper way. We were sealed with chrism again at our Confirmation; when the Bishop anointed us he said, “Be sealed with the Holy Spirit.”  Being sealed with the Lord on our heart requires a similar process. Our heart is like the bread dough, which means it must continually be worked and prepared. In other words, through the action of prayer and grace we must grow in our ability to discern and then respond to the call of the Lord, seeking to make His will our own. This requires time spent with Him not only in private prayer, but also in keeping our thoughts attuned to Him throughout the day. Like the bread dough, our heart will require kneading and baking; the Lord will smooth out the lumps, but it is in the fire that we are refined. However, this fire is the fire of His love and mercy in which we grow in holiness. Perhaps this is why in artistic renditions of the Sacred Heart of Jesus there are flames depicted atop His heart.** Thus, the imprint we seek on our heart is of the Cross, the flames, and the wounds through which His Precious Blood flowed, and the Blood itself, covering us with His protection as well as His mercy and love.  Indeed we are sealed with chrism at Baptism and Confirmation, but to grow in a relationship of love with Jesus, we must respond to His desire to set His seal upon our heart. God never forces anything upon us, even His love, so to accept Jesus’ request means first and foremost that we desire to be totally His and allow Him to be at the center of our life. Bearing His seal helps with being ever mindful of His presence and love, living in this knowledge consciously and intentionally. It means that we desire to be purified by His love, aware of our need for His mercy; and it means the desire to do His will, then to actually seek it, to have the grace to actually live it, and to recognize our need for His mercy in the times we fall short. It means that we desire to be made holy because it is the only fitting way to live with His seal upon our hearts. To cultivate this disposition, to live His teaching as the kind of disciples we want to be, involves prayer and study of Scriptures; especially helpful is the Beatitudes and what flows from them in the rest of the Sermon on the Mount which contains everything we need to know about how to pray, how to forgive, and how to live the way of love through actions of humility, selflessness, service, kindness, and generosity. (Matthew 5-7) It means that we live as if the seal Jesus has set upon our hearts is visible to everyone, because in living this way, it actually is.  Jesus wants to be the center of our lives. He desires our growth in holiness because He loves us in a way that is beyond imagining and therefore wants what is best for us. No matter how paltry we think our efforts are, no matter how small we think our gift is, our love is all we can give Him, and it is the only thing He really wants. Jesus died and rose to be totally ours; let us give Him the gift of our heart, letting Him set His seal upon it, and be totally His.  May we let the Lord set His seal on our heart! May we grow in love for Jesus responding to Him in gratitude and praise! And may our lives be signs of the power and mercy of God! Let us meet in the Heart of Jesus! Peace!
©Michele L. Catanese * The Song of Songs, sometimes referred to as the Song of Solomon, is not found in every version of the Bible. It belongs to a set of writings referred to as the Apocrypha. Many Christian Bibles omit these books; however they are found in Catholic versions with the additional books contained within the Wisdom Books and Historical Books, as well as a few parable-like stories that appear within the Book of Daniel in the Prophetic Books. In Protestant Bibles the books of the Apocrypha are grouped together and are placed after the end of the New Testament as a kind of addendum. The books of the Apocrypha are Tobit, Judith, Esther, Sirach, Baruch, 1 and 2 Maccabees, Ezra and parts of the Book of Daniel (the Prayer of Azariah and Song of the Three Holy Children, the Story of Bel and the Dragon, the Prayer of Manasseh). You can find an explanation at https://www.bartehrman.com/apocrypha/ ** This is how St. Margaret Mary Alacoque described His heart in her visions. You can find good drawings and explanations of the Sacred Heart (and the Immaculate Heart of Mary) here: https://catholic-link.org/sacred-heart-immaculate-infographic/ Images: 1. My photo; iron press for baking Communion hosts. Ferla, Sicily, Italy. You can find a good description of these implements here: https://collections.museumsvictoria.com.au/items/247675 2. Icon; La Sangre de Cristo by Fr. William Hart McNichols. You can find it at https://fineartamerica.com/featured/la-sangre-de-cristo-242-william-hart-mcnichols.html 3. My photo; stained glass of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. 4. Painting; Church at Auvers-sur-Oise by Vincent van Gogh. 5. My photo; sunset over the Mediterranean Sea, off the coast of Vico Equense, Italy. 6. Stained glass; Amor Dei: Set Me as a Seal on Your Heart; window created by Mike Davies as part of the Danish Seamans' Memorial Window (2002) at Newcastle Cathedral of St. Nicholas, Newcastle Upon Tyne, England; photo by Lawrence, O.P. https://www.flickr.com/photos/paullew/page98 Note: In compliance with GDPR rules, I wish to make it clear that I do not gather any information on any of my readers at any time. Comments are closed.
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Heart Speaks to Heart
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