In prayer we come to Him with everything that touches our life,
with the sufferings and hopes of humanity.
(Constitutions, 20)
As apostolic contemplatives, Religious of the Sacred Heart root our lives in prayer. With a mission to discover and reveal the love of God, our spirituality and our mission are based in love. Our contemplative outlook is part of who we are, whether in prayer, in ministry or in our daily lives.
"The contemplative outlook on the world has been a call to be authentic apostles of Christ's love, to help bring to birth a more welcoming world, to make known a God who is great, bountiful and tender. It is a call to educate in such a way that God's plan, God's glory, may become a reality, so that all may grow as brothers and sisters in the inward freedom of the children of God, and have fullness of life." (Superior General Concepcion Camacho, RSCJ)
The pierced Heart of Jesus opens our being to the depths of God and to the anguish of humankind.
(Constitutions, 8)
On these pages, we will share prayers, poems, reflections and artwork that reflect the spirituality of the Society of the Sacred Heart. We hope you will return here periodically for resources appropriate to the liturgical season and our Sacred Heart traditions.
A reflection included on pages 85 in Seeking the One Whom We Love: How RSCJs Pray
by Virginia O’Meara, RSCJ
I have come
From ancient caves
And caverns
Where I discovered fire.
I came out to light
And air and speech
And thought
To share my gift
By writing sparks
In words which then
Would burn
In a creative blaze
Like the bush
Which Moses saw
And said how it
Would be a sacred sign.
A reflection included on pages 50-51 in Seeking the One Whom We Love: How RSCJs Pray
by Carol Haggarty, RSCJ
For me there are many ways to pray: centering prayer, Ignation prayer, lectio divina to name a few. I am also drawn to prayer in times of sorrow, loss, need. I pray when I need to express gratitude or joy, or gain insight into a problem or situation. So recognizing the need for prayer, I come to reflect on the question: how do I pray?
How can we possibly love that much?
God gifts us with the wide expanse of love made incarnate in Jesus, especially depicted in this sacred image. Jesus’ outstretched arms seem to say to us: “Here is all you need to know, fingertip to fingertip. All of creation receives the embrace of my love. I do not ration my gift of the Spirit. My Spirit I give to you.”
A reflection included on page 33 of Seeking the One Whom We Love: How RSCJ Pray
by Dolores Copeland, RSCJ
I cannot imagine not having Christian Meditation as a part of my daily, ordinary, day by day life. Christian Meditation is simplicity itself, but simple does not mean easy.
My life has given me gifts. If I were asked to state, at this time in my life, my three greatest gifts, I would answer: 1) the gift of my life, 2) the gift of my vocation as an RSCJ, and 3) the gift of knowing Christian Meditation.
As a Catholic, I was often puzzled by the continued return to heart imagery among our saints and in our art. The "Sacred Heart" of Jesus and the "Immaculate Heart of Mary," where both are pointing to their blazing heart, are images known to Catholics worldwide. I often wonder what people actually do with these images. Are they mere sentiment? Are they objects of worship or objects of transformation? Such images keep recurring because they must have something important, good, and perhaps even necessary to teach the soul. What might that be?
On May 6th, in 1882 Janet Erskine Stuart had a life-changing experience of God amidst a garden of blue hyacinths. In a flash of insight she knew and embraced the vocation to which God was inviting her. Every year thereafter, on May 6th, she quietly celebrated that event in the garden and renewed her sense of vocation and purpose.
For World Day of Prayer for Vocations on Sunday, May 7, we share this prayer with you.
Prayer for Vocations
A reflection included on pages 28-31 in Seeking the One Whom We Love: How RSCJs Pray
by Suzanne Cooke, RSCJ
Years ago I learned that Saint Madeleine Sophie spoke of prayer in terms of a conversation. She spoke and God listened, and then God spoke and she listened. I believe prayer is essentially a relationship, and like all relationships, prayer begins in the silence of one’s heart.
How can Christ’s heart possibly be large enough to hold us all?
Consider the beauty of this wooden carving. I see it as an image of Christ’s wide open heart. I am struck by the scale of the heart relative to the size of the image itself; the prominent size and the width suggest an openness which cries out in invitation. A wide gate welcomes many visitors, and so it is with the heart of Christ.
Scripture: Romans 12:2 “Do not model yourselves on the behavior of the world around you but let your behavior change modeled by your new mind.”
From JPIC Communication #3: Transforming Relationships