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Dec 29th, 2019
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[
Here's something I'll offer up as my own personal meditation on this mystery: Please share your thoughts like this with us - any time. I read it slowly and it became my meditation also. I would bet that you occasionally do a bit of writing of your thoughts. I would not mind reading .. if you are not too shy to share. Oh. Oh... it came to me this morning. The book I was thinking of is ... "The Way of Divine Love - Message of the Sacred Heart of Jesus To The World". I read it years ago. It moved me greatly. I may just read it again. But what I remember most was Jesus telling her ... "Come .. and rest within my heart." and he would appear to her ... http://www.tanbooks.com/index.php/page/shop:flypage_gr/product_id/35/ ... when she was exhausted from trials (dark nights) or just before her next trials would come. She was a victim soul. One can clearly see (as one reads) how the events that come to us in our lives are all ordained by Providence. And how these events (which we attribute to all kinds of other causes) are really the tools by which God forms us. If we cooperate. I give that book 11 stars on a scale of 10. -ray
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Ghosty, one of the most beautiful meditations on the Sacred Heart I have ever heard, when understanding the Sacred Heart in this way we are truly medidating on the endless depth of Christ`s love for humanity.
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Thank you both for your kind words!  I don't usually keep a notebook of my meditations, but rather they have typically just been worked into my general understanding and approach. If/when I enter the Dominican Order (God willing) I'll obviously be doing a lot more writing down of such things, and likely working many of them into the preaching Dominicans are called to do. The Dominican calling is to pray and reflect on God, to study about God, and to bring the fruits of all of this back to the Church as a gift of preaching. Call this a little practice for me as I discern and approach this particular vocation.  Peace and God bless!
Last edited by Ghosty; 07/08/07 01:52 AM.
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I can only guess that the book was about St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, a French nun who received the apparitions of Christ that form the basis of the Sacred Heart imagery. I don't know the specific book that you're refering to, but I know she was a French nun who was guided by Christ, and who provided the "promises of the Sacred Heart" which formed basis for the modern devotion.
The "promises" were not the origin of the Sacred Heart Devotion, however. They were simply the private revelations to a nun about that devotion. Yes!!! This is a critical distinction. The privately revealed messages concerning a devotion, and the Church's teachings concerning a devotion are not equivalent. The private messages may be recognized by the Church as authentic that is true, and so the faithful may read or spend time with those devotional writings without fear. But what is most important and what is most sound are the Church's teachings concerning the devotion or the theology that supports the devotion that allows the Church to approve the private devotion in the first place. Mary
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Za myr z'wysot ... Member
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It is also worth pointing out that at the time of St. Margaret Mary's vision, the Latin Church was still struggling to regain its footing after the shock of the Reformation.
One of the problems that had led to the Reformation in the first place was an over-emphasis on Christ's role as judge--causing the people to look to Mary and the saints as their source of mercy and compassion (and you wonder why Protestants have such a problem with devotion to the saints!). There was also the well-know Scholastic exaltation of the reason, coupled with a quasi-Manichaean distrust of all things physical.
Enter the theology of the Sacred Heart, attacking all three of these at the root: Christ is compassionate beyond anything we could have hoped for, His love supersedes even reason, and yet has as its seat a part of Christ's physical body!
Peace,
Deacon Richard
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It is also worth pointing out that at the time of St. Margaret Mary's vision, the Latin Church was still struggling to regain its footing after the shock of the Reformation.
One of the problems that had led to the Reformation in the first place was an over-emphasis on Christ's role as judge--causing the people to look to Mary and the saints as their source of mercy and compassion (and you wonder why Protestants have such a problem with devotion to the saints!). There was also the well-know Scholastic exaltation of the reason, coupled with a quasi-Manichaean distrust of all things physical.
Enter the theology of the Sacred Heart, attacking all three of these at the root: Christ is compassionate beyond anything we could have hoped for, His love supersedes even reason, and yet has as its seat a part of Christ's physical body!
Peace,
Deacon Richard Couple of things. Among the reformers and protestors, devotion to the sacred heart of Jesus can be traced to Luther. Among Catholics, evidence of devotion to the sacred heart of Jesus, can be traced to Gertrud of Helfta (1156-1201). The devotion of St. Margaret Mary is essentially a Salesian devotion that is just one in a long line of "heart" spiritualities in the west that came directly from Scripture and the patristic heritage. St. Francis de Sales was devoted to the pierced Body of Christ, and the devotion of the pierced Body, is the genesis of the devotion to the heart of Christ. The devotion to the Body of the Christ, the humanity of Christ, has it's fullest patristic flowering in the Syrian tradition. The Scripture from Luke on the road to Emmaus 'Did not our hearts burn...?' is one of the strongest Christological manifestations of the sentiments expressed in Psalm 42, deep calls unto deep, in the rush of waters, with 'in the rush of waters' being again a prefigurement of the pierced Body of Christ. Living Water bless us. Mary
Last edited by Elijahmaria; 07/09/07 11:39 AM.
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The devotion to the Body of the Christ, the humanity of Christ, has it's fullest patristic flowering in the Syrian tradition. I would appreciate your thoughts and elaboration on this.
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As a former kelenik to Protopresbyter Mikhail Pomozhansky of Blessed memory, I cringed to read some of the words spoken against probably the greatest Orthodox theologian of the 20th century. Otec Mikhail NEVER opinionized or interjected personal theorems into his writings, and his writings reflect the best of 2000 years of patristic thinking condensed into language even the uneducated can understand. His "Orthodox Dogmatic Theology" is the standard textbook for Dogmatics at Holy Trinity Seminary in Jordanvile, and is probably the finest example of true Orthodox dogmatics available in English.
Alexandr
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The Roman Catholic devotion of the Sacred Heart is in no way, shape or form related to the Orthodox prayer of the heart, Moitva tsertse, but is rather a recent innovation.
Alexandr
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Welcome back Alexandr. I am glad they let you post. You have sorely been missed along with your Orthodox replies.
In IC XC,
Father Anthony+
Administrator
Everyone baptized into Christ should pass progressively through all the stages of Christ's own life, for in baptism he receives the power so to progress, and through the commandments he can discover and learn how to accomplish such progression. - Saint Gregory of Sinai
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His "Orthodox Dogmatic Theology" is the standard textbook for Dogmatics at Holy Trinity Seminary in Jordanvile, and is probably the finest example of true Orthodox dogmatics available in English.
Alexandr This textbook is also required reading at all the other Orthodox seminaries also. In IC XC, Father Anthony+
Everyone baptized into Christ should pass progressively through all the stages of Christ's own life, for in baptism he receives the power so to progress, and through the commandments he can discover and learn how to accomplish such progression. - Saint Gregory of Sinai
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Welcome back, Alexandr! The Roman Catholic devotion of the Sacred Heart is in no way, shape or form related to the Orthodox prayer of the heart, Moitva tsertse, but is rather a recent innovation.
Alexandr And the proof for that statement is...where? Gordo
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Gordo and Mary (because she will chirp in on this)
The burden of proof rests with you. Nothing that has been posted so far has proven anything that would suggest otherwise.
In IC XC,
Father Anthony+ (who along with many of the Orthodox posters are tired of seeing their faith misrepresented and maligned in this thread)
Everyone baptized into Christ should pass progressively through all the stages of Christ's own life, for in baptism he receives the power so to progress, and through the commandments he can discover and learn how to accomplish such progression. - Saint Gregory of Sinai
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Father Anthony,
Actually, upon further reading and reflection, I believe you are right, Father. And so is Alexandr. To the best of my knowledge, there is no direct, historical connection that I am aware of between the Latin Catholic SHD and the Orthodox spirituality of the heart.
With that said, one could possibly see some parallels and there may be some common sources used, but there is to the best of my knowledge no direct link.
God bless,
Gordo
PS: Since your post regarding the misrepresentation and malignment of the Orthodox faith (things I would take seriously if only since it comes from you, not to mention the nature of the charge) was said in reply to me, am I to then assume that you are referring to something specific that I have written here? If so, in charity, please let me know where. Thank you.
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Gordo,
Nothing in specifics, but the amount of baloney that is being tossed around that is claimed to represent the official teachings of the Orthodox Church as of late is ridiculous. If certain posters want to make things polemical, they are sure using this thread as the carrot to declare open warfare.
In IC XC,
Father Anthony+
Administrator
Upon further reading of this thread again, it is definitely off topic, and I can not see it being brought back into line. I am therefore closing it.
Everyone baptized into Christ should pass progressively through all the stages of Christ's own life, for in baptism he receives the power so to progress, and through the commandments he can discover and learn how to accomplish such progression. - Saint Gregory of Sinai
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