The Bishop of Shrewsbury, Bishop Mark Davies, has welcomed Pope Francis’ fourth encyclical letter Dilexit Nos on the Human and Divine Love of the Heart of Jesus Christ, as a “great gift” saying that, as the Church seeks to grow in communion, participation and mission, “an authentic path of renewal must pass through the Heart of Jesus.”
Introducing the encyclical, Bishop Davies wrote, “the Holy Father offers us a sustained meditation on the Heart of Jesus Christ in the pages of Scripture; in the teaching of the Magisterium; and through the history of devotion to the Sacred Heart, drawing out its profound personal and social implications. In this way, the Pope speaks in continuity with the Church’s faith and devotion.”
We have surely received a great gift from Pope Francis in the Encyclical Letter Dilexit nos. At a moment in history disturbed by so much turmoil and anxiety, Pope Francis invites us to fix our gaze on the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Reminding us in the words of his saintly predecessor, Pope John Paul II, “Christ is the heart of the world, and the paschal mystery of his death and resurrection is the centre of history, which because of him, is a history of salvation” (Cf. Dilexit nos No. 31). This is the confidence we regain by contemplating and drawing ever closer to the Heart of our Redeemer allowing us to repeat the emphatic words of Saint Paul “He loved us” (Rom. 8: 37).
This invitation by Pope Francis is part of a spiritual thread we can trace through his pontificate from the words of his first homily when he reflected: “We can walk as much as we want, we can build many things, but if we do not confess Jesus Christ, things go wrong” (Homily to the College of Cardinals, 13 March 2013).
At a moment when the Church seeks ways to grow in communion, participation and mission, he indicates in these pages that an authentic path of renewal must pass through the Heart of Jesus. In Dilexit nos, the Holy Father offers us a sustained meditation on the Heart of Jesus Christ in the pages of Scripture; in the teaching of the Magisterium; and through the history of devotion to the Sacred Heart, drawing out its profound personal and social implications. In this way, the Pope speaks in continuity with the Church’s faith and devotion. It is on this firm basis that he calls for a renewal of devotion to the Heart of Jesus in our time. Indeed, the Holy Father insists “Devotion to Christ’s heart is essential for our Christian life to the extent that it expresses our openness in faith and adoration to the mystery of the Lord’s divine and human love” (DN No. 83).
The Pope notes certain representations of the Sacred Heart might strike us “as tasteless and not particularly conducive to affection or prayer. Yet this is of little importance, since they are only invitations to prayer…” (DN No. 57).
In his scriptural meditation, he invites us to always see the unity between “The Christ we see depicted with a pierced and burning heart,” and “the same Christ who, for love of us, was born in Bethlehem, passed through Galilee healing the sick, embracing sinners and showing mercy. The same Christ who loved us to the very end…” (DN No. 51).
Pope Francis accordingly points us all to the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus and quotes England’s newest Saint, John Henry Newman, who “encountered the living heart of Jesus” in the Eucharist and prayed “O most Sacred, most loving Heart of Jesus, Thou art concealed in the Holy Eucharist, and Thou beatest for us still…” (DN no.26).
In this encyclical letter, Pope Francis invites us to this encounter and to make the same discovery in our lives.
The Right Reverend Mark Davies
Bishop of Shrewsbury
You can download the Holy Father’s fourth encyclical, Dilexit nos on the Human and Divine Love of the Heart of Jesus Christ:
cbcew.org.uk/dilexit-nos
You can also find the encyclical in our dedicated section for Dilexit nos – He Loved Us.
