"Sacred Heart of Jesus"? "Immaculate Heart of Mary"?

[Shiranui117]

Hello everyone,

I’m an inquirer into the Orthodox Church, and if God so wills it, I will become a catechumen and be received into the Orthodox Church by next summer’s end. In my process of discerning God’s will for me and where He would like me to go, I have been looking around to see if there is anywhere else that God may be calling me to, or if He is indeed calling me to Holy Orthodoxy.

One of the places I have looked to repeatedly is, of course, the Catholic Church. As my profile reads, I was once a Catholic. I was not a cradle Catholic, but I converted to the Catholic Church on Easter Vigil 2010 after only a year of study and prayer. I admit that this period should have been far longer. I was received as a Roman Catholic, but within months of my reception into the Church I was drawn to Byzantine Catholicism, and so most of my spiritual growth and development has been within the Byzantine tradition. My original reason for leaving the Catholic Church for Orthodoxy is because I did not find the Catholic dogmas of Papal infallibility, Papal universal jurisdiction or Papal supremacy panning out in the first thousand years of Christian history, and because I felt increasingly estranged from what the Latin tradition has become.

While driving, I’ve found myself often listening to Catholic radio, and one of the things that felt strange to me was the almost constant talk of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and the two Hearts of Jesus and Mary being united. Why is there such importance placed on the physical, beating hearts of Jesus and Mary? Why does it seem like almost half of Latin Catholic prayers these days make reference to the hearts of one or both of them? What is the meaning behind this devotion, and why is it so prevalent in Latin Catholicism?

In the hypothetical case that I returned to Catholicism, would I be required to accept this devotion, or would I be allowed to remain distant from it and skeptical of it?

I thank you for your responses.
-Shira

 

[detoutcoeur]

Hi Shira,

Try these links to New Advent and EWTN, which offer thorough explanations of the historical and doctrinal aspects of devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary:

*Devotion to the Sacred Heart is but a special form of devotion to Jesus. We shall know just what it is and what distinguishes it when we ascertain its object, its foundations, and its proper act. *

Special object of the devotion to the Sacred Heart
*The nature of this question is complex and frequently becomes more complicated because of the difficulties arising from terminology. Omitting terms that are over-technical, we shall study the ideas in themselves, and, that we may the sooner find our bearings, it will be well to remember the meaning and use of the word heart in current language. *
*(a) The word heart awakens, first of all, the idea of a material heart, of the vital organ that throbs within our bosom, and which we vaguely realize as intimately connected not only with our own physical, but with our emotional and moral life.

Now this heart of flesh is currently accepted as the emblem of the emotion and moral life with which we associate it, and hence the place assigned to the word heart in symbolic language, as also the use of the same word to designate those things symbolized by the heart. Note, for instance, the expressions “to open one’s heart”, “to give one’s heart”, etc. It may happen that the symbol becomes divested of its material meaning that the sign is overlooked in beholding only the thing signified. Thus, in current language, the word soul no longer suggests the thought of breath, and the word heart brings to mind only the idea of courage and love. But this is perhaps a figure of speech or a metaphor, rather than a symbol. A symbol is a real sign, whereas a metaphor is only a verbal sign; a symbol is a thing that signifies another thing, but a metaphor is a word used to indicate something different from its proper meaning. Finally, in current language, we are constantly passing from the part to the whole, and, by a perfectly natural figure of speech, we use the word heart to designate a person. These ideas will aid us in determining the object of the devotion to the Sacred Heart. *
Read more at: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07163a.htm**
**
*
The Hearts of Jesus and Mary are mentioned explicitly only briefly in the text of the New Testament. Nevertheless the many references to the love and compassion of Jesus and Mary, as well as implied references to their Hearts, provide a vivid revelation of the Two Hearts. It is remarkable that the few explicit references all bear upon the work of redemption. Some of the more important references are:

Matthew 11:25 “Learn from Me for I am meek and humble of heart.” This passage refers to Our Lord’s invitation to imitate the dispositions and virtues of His own human Heart, reflecting upon His ineffable humility in becoming man and being born in a stable; His remarkable patience in living a hidden, obscure life for 30 years; His unsurpassed charity in preaching, teaching, working miracles, healing the bodies and souls of believers and unbelievers; His perfect obedience to the Father in enduring without complaint the bitter agony and infamy of death on the Cross.

Luke 2:19 “Mary kept in mind all these things, pondering them in Her Heart.” This passage refers to the visit of the shepherds to the Child Jesus in His crib at Bethlehem. It refers directly to what they reported regarding the heavenly host of angels that came to announce the birth of the Messiah, and how all marveled at what the shepherds had reported.

Luke 2:51b: “His Mother kept all these things carefully in Her Heart.” This passage refers to the events surrounding the loss of Jesus for three days during a visit to Jerusalem, and how Mary and Joseph found Him teaching the doctors of the Mosaic Law in the Temple, to the amazement of all who heard Him.
***** Read more at:** http://www.ewtn.com/library/CHRIST/dev2hear.txt

**

 

[andrewstx]

A lot of Orthodox refer to (in an uncharitable way) the Sacred Heart and the Immaculate Heart as ‘body part worship’. I try to understand the concept of the hearts of Jesus and Mary.

In my house and icon corner I personally have icons and statues without the hearts. And I think that is permissible in Catholic canon law.

 

[KathleenGee]

In context to the two great devotions to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, the word ‘heart’ refers to the very essence of the person.

 

[choliks]

If Christ’s divinity and humanity are inseparable, then is every atom, molecule, cell, organ in his human body sacred? If so, would it be wrong to show devotion to the organ that pumped the very precious blood that was shed for everyone? Would it be wrong to show devotion to the body part that symbolizes the source of His divine love and mercy?

I remember the story of the woman suffering from hemorrhage, who wanted to touch just the tassel of the Lord’s cloak so she can be healed. That was just a part of the garment. What more if it was part of His body.

 

[Shiranui117]

Hi Shira,

Try these links to New Advent and EWTN, which offer thorough explanations of the historical and doctrinal aspects of devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary:

*Devotion to the Sacred Heart is but a special form of devotion to Jesus. We shall know just what it is and what distinguishes it when we ascertain its object, its foundations, and its proper act.

Special object of the devotion to the Sacred Heart*
*The nature of this question is complex and frequently becomes more complicated because of the difficulties arising from terminology. Omitting terms that are over-technical, we shall study the ideas in themselves, and, that we may the sooner find our bearings, it will be well to remember the meaning and use of the word heart in current language.
(a) The word heart awakens, first of all, the idea of a material heart, of the vital organ that throbs within our bosom, and which we vaguely realize as intimately connected not only with our own physical, but with our emotional and moral life.

Now this heart of flesh is currently accepted as the emblem of the emotion and moral life with which we associate it, and hence the place assigned to the word heart in symbolic language, as also the use of the same word to designate those things symbolized by the heart. Note, for instance, the expressions “to open one’s heart”, “to give one’s heart”, etc. It may happen that the symbol becomes divested of its material meaning that the sign is overlooked in beholding only the thing signified. Thus, in current language, the word soul no longer suggests the thought of breath, and the word heart brings to mind only the idea of courage and love. But this is perhaps a figure of speech or a metaphor, rather than a symbol. A symbol is a real sign, whereas a metaphor is only a verbal sign; a symbol is a thing that signifies another thing, but a metaphor is a word used to indicate something different from its proper meaning. Finally, in current language, we are constantly passing from the part to the whole, and, by a perfectly natural figure of speech, we use the word heart to designate a person. These ideas will aid us in determining the object of the devotion to the Sacred Heart. *
Read more at:newadvent.org/cathen/07163a.htm

Read more at:ewtn.com/library/CHRIST/dev2hear.txt

Thank you, these were very helpful. After reading the NewAdvent article about the Sacred Heart and following the hyperlink to the page on the Immaculate Heart, this bit came up:

“Hence, accurately speaking, love is more the result than the object of the devotion, the object being rather to love God, and Jesus better by uniting ourselves to Mary for this purpose and by imitating her virtues. It would also seem that, although in the devotion to the Heart of Mary the heart has an essential part as symbol and sensible object, it does not stand out as prominently as in the devotion to the Heart of Jesus; we think rather of the thing symbolized, of love, virtues, and sentiments, of Mary’s interior life.”

Now, since I just got out of my logic class a few hours ago, I was chewing on this bit and trying to follow the logic of this to see what I get. So far, this is what I’ve come up with:

1: Devotion to and veneration of the Immaculate Heart of Mary is essentially synonymous with being devoted to and venerating Mary’s virtues and love for God.
2: St. Dorotheos of Gaza said, “The more one is united to his neighbor, the more he is united to God.”
3: Mary is a fellow human like us.
4: Since Mary is a fellow human like us (not to mention a Saint who is with her Son in Heaven), she is therefore our neighbor according to the Gospels.
5: Therefore, if we are united to Mary, we are united to God. (2, 4 Modus Ponens)
6: If we are united to Mary, we are united to her Immaculate Heart.
7: Extrapolating from Premise 1, being united to her Immaculate Heart means being united to her love for God, and in a particular way to her love for her Son, as well as to her purity, to her humility and to her acceptance of God’s will.
8: ???
9: Profit?

Is my reasoning valid and sound so far?

Where my brain malfunctions is trying to think about what uniting ourselves to another person’s virtues and love means. Would it mean that we are devoting ourselves to emulating those virtues and that love, seeking to cultivate them within ourselves, while also allying ourselves with that person’s cause (or causes)? So in the case of uniting ourselves to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, we would be vowing to love Jesus as Mary loves Him, and vowing to be humble and pure as she is, among other things? Does that sound correct according to the Catholic teaching on the matter?

 

[Shiranui117]

A lot of Orthodox refer to (in an uncharitable way) the Sacred Heart and the Immaculate Heart as ‘body part worship’. I try to understand the concept of the hearts of Jesus and Mary.

In my house and icon corner I personally have icons and statues without the hearts. And I think that is permissible in Catholic canon law.

Yeah, I have definitely heard that accusation on more than one occasion. I actually spent a bit of time thinking about how devotion of the heart of Jesus could even be used to defend proper Christology.

In context to the two great devotions to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, the word ‘heart’ refers to the very essence of the person.

Now that’s speaking my language! Thanks, I appreciated this a lot.

 

[KathleenGee]

Thanks!

Pope Leo XIII consecrated the world to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary in 1899.