Lioi: The heart of the matter

On Oct. 24, 2024, Pope Francis published his fourth encyclical entitled in Latin "Dilexit Nos," which translated into English is, "He loved us." (This quote come from the eighth chapter of St. Paul's Letter to the Romans).

In his new encyclical, Pope Francis calls all Catholics to rediscover the sacred heart of Jesus in order to radiate God's love in our society. The pope says, "All of us need to rediscover the importance of the heart in order to resist a world unconcerned about the deeper meaning of our lives."

The encyclical is a reflection on the need for Christians to make our hearts available to contemplate and receive God's love. The word of God "speaks to us of the heart as a core that lies hidden beneath all outward appearances, even beneath the superficial thoughts that can lead us astray," he explains. He cites the example of the emotion of the disciples encountering the risen Christ on the road to Emmaus: "Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road?" (Luke 24:32)

"The heart has been ignored in anthropology, and the great philosophical tradition finds it a foreign notion, preferring other concepts such as reason, will, or freedom," says the pontiff, who comes from a Latin America that has always kept a critical eye on the excess of rationalism present in western thought.

"It is only by starting from the heart that our communities will succeed in uniting and reconciling differing minds and wills, so that the Spirit can guide us in unity as brothers and sisters. Reconciliation and peace are also born of the heart," he explains. The heart represents the deep core of our humanity.

Pope Francis calls on Catholics to rediscover the love and compassion found in the heart of Jesus Christ.

Here are seven takeaways from "Dilexit Nos" on the human and divine love of the heart of Jesus Christ.

1. Nothing can separate us from the love of Christ: The title of the encyclical comes from the end of Chapter 8 of St. Paul's Letter to the Romans: "What will separate us from the love of Christ? Will anguish, distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or the sword? ... No, in all these things we conquer overwhelmingly through him who loved us."

2. The power of the heart in a fragmented world: The pope critiques what he calls the "liquid" nature of contemporary life marked by superficiality and consumerism. He says, "we find ourselves immersed in societies of serial consumers who live from day to day, dominated by the hectic pace and bombarded by technology, lacking in the patience needed to engage in the processes that an interior life by its very nature requires."

3. The cross as the ultimate expression of Christ's love: The encyclical states that "the pierced heart of Christ embodies all God's declarations of love present in the Scriptures."

4. Love as a missionary impulse: Pope Francis also writes about "the communitarian, social, and missionary dimension of all authentic devotion to the Heart of Christ," adding that Christ's heart not only leads us to the Father but also "sends us forth to our brothers and sisters."

5. Acts of reparation to the sacred heart of Jesus: Pope Francis discusses the Catholic tradition of making acts of reparation to the sacred heart of Jesus, writing that "reparation entails the desire to render compensation for the injuries inflicted on the Lord who is love."

7. The wounded heart of Christ as a wellspring of peace and unity: As modern society faces what Francis calls a "wave of secularization" and division, he sees "the heart" as a source of unity.

Pope Francis concludes, "I turn my gaze to the Heart of Christ, and I invite all of us to renew our devotion to it. I hope this will also appeal to today's sensitivities and thus help us to confront the dualisms, old and new, to which this devotion offers an effective response."

The Very Rev. Frank E. Lioi is pastor of St. Mary's Church, SS. Mary & Martha Parish (St. Francis and St. Hyacinth churches in Auburn) and Our Lady of the Snow Parish (St. Joseph Church in Weedsport and St. Patrick Church in Cato), and dean of the East Region (Cayuga and Tompkins counties) of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester. He can be reached at .

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