Two beautiful heart warming feasts follow each other in the month of June bringing before us the flavour of love & purity. They are the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus followed next day by the feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The pictures we have at home on the altar depict the heart of Jesus & of Mary with a flame symbolising burning love

Let us turn our gaze on the Immaculate Heart of Mary burning with love, a sword piercing her heart. The sword pierced Her Heart many times, yet She kept Her heart pure & Immaculate. She had to work on it.

Mother Mary was known to be praying when Angel Gabriel appeared to her at the annunciation. She knew the scriptures hence her prompt answer “be it done unto Me….”She only knew that Jesus was the son of God. She lived Her life in that belief. She carried Herself in the constant awareness that the one in Her womb was the son of God. Her habit that we too can cultivate when we receive Jesus in Holy Communion!! That we are carrying the son of God. Mother Mary’s simplicity & humility gave Her poise & elegance. She was calm in every situation. She was stable in stable conditions, at the birth of Jesus; She had to work on it. What mother could watch & Listen to the sound of the hammer hitting the nails into the hands & feet of her beloved son? Three hours later the same was repeated to bring her son down from the cross. Any mother would be hysterical & would faint, but Mary stood at the Cross all that time. We need to ask ourselves “How much effort do I make to keep my heart pure?” Every time we go for confession we are given a pure heart. Our heart needs to be pure to ponder on God’s word & Life’s situation as Mary did. How much time do we set aside to read God’s word, ponder on it & talk to the Lord?

Let us dwell on the Sacred Heart of Jesus burning with love for us. In July 1674 in the third apparition to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, Jesus showed his wounds to her from which came out flames far brighter than the sun. He showed her His heart. The flames from there were far more than she had ever seen. She describes it as “His Heart was like a furnace” Jesus described the source of these flames as His love for mankind. While revealing this Jesus Said “In return I have received nothing”. He spoke of 3 things – ingratitude, Contempt, coldness. “That is all I have received in return. If only they would give Me the same love in return. You at least give me love to make up”. He said to St. Margaret Alacoque. For a heart burning & blazing with love for us the only thing going to Jesus in return are – ingratitude, contempt & Coldness. It is good to ask ourselves “Do I fall in this category – living a life of ingratitude, coldness & contempt for Jesus? Can I hear Jesus say to me “At least you be grateful, not cold & in contempt”? Can I ask myself, “at least me”?

Let us take cognisance of the time spent each day on idle, wasteful thoughts & actions & fruitless pass time. Instead let us make time each day to read God’s word, to be with Jesus & respond to His love with our love. What Jesus wants is just for us to let Him love us. We can do this when we give Him our time each day & access to the deepest part of ourselves. The time spent with Jesus will always bear fruit – 30 , 60, 100 fold. May Mother Mary fill you with a deep hunger for the word of God. May you respond to the burning love of Jesus with your love and your best time of the day.

Happy feasts of the love of Jesus & Mary