Priests of the Sacred Heart aim to spread message of Jesus' love

(OSV News) -- Each June, the church invites the faithful to turn their own hearts toward the Sacred Heart of Jesus -- a symbol of his boundless mercy and deep compassion for all humanity.

It is a devotion that has never been more necessary, said Father Henry Nguyen, vocation director of the Priests of the Sacred Heart, a religious order founded to spread the message of Jesus' unwavering love throughout the world.

"We live in a time where everything is very fragile," Father Nguyen said. "Although technology allows everything to be at your fingertips, it's perhaps difficult for one to be authentic due to the possibility of instant judgment from another."

This constant exposure often leads to information being taken out of context, and the tools that supposedly connect people can contribute to feelings of disconnection, he said. In such a world, it is crucial to understand how to "know love in order to express love" -- which is exactly what the Sacred Heart teaches.

Devotion to the Sacred Heart began in the early centuries of Christianity, but it wasn't until 1670 that St. Jean Eudes, a priest in France, celebrated the first liturgical feast of the Sacred Heart (now celebrated on the Friday after the feast of Corpus Christi).

Several years later, St. Margaret Mary Alacoque experienced a series of mystical visions in which Jesus revealed his Sacred Heart to her, emphasizing his desire to draw people to him through his boundless love.

In one of these visions, St. Margaret Mary recalled: "My Divine Master revealed to me that it was his ardent desire to be known, loved and honored by men, and his eager desire to draw them back from the road to perdition, along which Satan is driving them in countless numbers, that induced him to manifest his Heart to men with all the treasures of love, mercy, grace, sanctification and salvation that It contains."

She continued, "This Heart of God must be honored under the form of his heart of flesh, whose image he wanted exposed, and also worn on me and on my heart."

A desire to live out the love of the Sacred Heart was central to the vision of Venerable Father Leo John Dehon, who founded the Congregation of the Priests of the Sacred Heart in France on June 28, 1878. He was inspired by Jesus' revelations to St. Margaret Mary and centered the order's apostolate on promoting devotion to the Sacred Heart through love and reparation.

"We often speak of the image of Father Dehon carrying a newspaper in one hand and the Bible in the other, reflecting the need that the community must be rooted in Scripture while also recognizing what is going on in the world," Father Nguyen explained. "As an order, we pay particular attention to the marginalized, outcasts and the poor in a way that resembles Jesus' ministry throughout the Gospel. Christ wasn't looking for those who had everything -- quite the opposite, he was called to serve those who had nothing."

Today, the Priests of the Sacred Heart -- also referred to as the "Dehonians," in reference to their founder, or "SCJs," their religious initials -- bring God's love into action in more than 45 countries, serving the poor and marginalized through humanitarian outreach, spiritual and medical care, education and housing efforts. In the United States, the order is based near Milwaukee in Hales Corner, Wisconsin, where it also cultivates the call to priesthood through the Sacred Heart.

The Dehonians' mission outreach efforts have evolved since the order was founded, but Father Nguyen noted that the core of the order's message has remained simple and unwavering: "Sharing the love of Christ through the Sacred Heart, echoing Galatians 2:20: 'For him, I live, Christ lives in me.'"

Father Nguyen reflected on the profound image of Jesus' pierced heart as a source of spiritual nourishment.

"We need to be reminded of the pierced heart of Jesus as a way for us to really experience God's love," he said.

The blood and water that gushed from Christ's side represent a love that is active and overflowing. However, "gushing love" isn't abstract, he said, but rather actively seeks to serve those in need.