One Minute Reflection – 14 June – ‘… This is the hidden treasure, the pearl of great price …’

One Minute Reflection – 14 June – “The Month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus” and the Octave Day of the Sacred Heart – Ephesians 3:8-12, 14-19, John 19:31-37 – – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“… One of the soldiers opened His side with a lance and immediately there came forth blood and water. ” – John 19:34

REFLECTION – “Let us draw near to the Heart of our most sweet Lord Jesus and we shall be glad and rejoice in it. How good and how sweet it is to dwell in this Heart! This is the hidden treasure, the pearl of great price which we discover, O Jesus, when we dig in the field of Thy Body (cf Mt 13:44). Who, then, would cast aside this Pearl? Far from it! For It, I will give away all my goods and offer in exchange, all my concerns and affections. I will lay down all my cares in the Heart of Jesus, it is He Who will suffice for me and Who will, without fail, supply all I need to live on!

It is within this temple, this Holy of holies, this Ark of the Covenant, that I shall come to offer worship and praise to the Lord’s Name. “I have found a heart with which to pray to my God” said David (1 Ch 17:25). And I too have found the Heart of my Lord and King, my Brother and Friend. Shall I not pray to Him, then? Indeed I shall pray, for, I dare to say it – His Heart is all mine…

O Jesus, deign to receive and answer my prayer. Draw me wholly into Thine Heart. Although the deformity of my sins prevents me from entering in, yet, Thou can receive and purify me from my impurities since, through an incomprehensible Love, this Heart has expanded and opened wide. O most pure Jesus, wash me from my iniquities so that, purified by Thee, I may dwell in Thy Heart all the days of my life, to see and do Thy will. If Thine Side has been pierced, then it is so that our entrance there should be opened. If Thine Heart has been wounded, then it is so that, sheltered from outward distress, we can make our home within it. And, too, it is so that in this visible wound, we might see the invisible wound of Love.” – [Attrib] St Bonaventure (1221-1274) Franciscan, Doctor of the Church (editations on the Lord’s Passion 3).

PRAYER – We beseech Thee, O Lord, hear our prayers which we offer on the festival of blessed Basil, Thy Confessor and Bishop and through his intercessory merits, who had the grace to serve Thee worthily, absolve us from all our sins. Through Jesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).

MAY the Heart of JESUS in the most Blessed Sacrament be praised, adored and loved with grateful affection, at every moment, in all the Tabernacles of the world, even to the end of time. – Indulgence 100 Days, Once a Day. Raccolta 161 Pius IX, 29 February 1868.