McGrath Institute Blog

Hearts are everywhere in our culture. We use the emoji in texts: “I ❤️U,” or on bumper stickers: “I ❤️NY.” Instagram and Twitter let you click a heart to ‘like’ a post. And let’s not forget the ‘hand heart.’ Notre Dame’s Domers, of course, love the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, the central place of worship on campus. So what is this Sacred Heart? And what does it mean? In my work with teenagers and young adults, I sense this devotion is poised for a great renewal.

We’re all craving connection, community, communion, and love in our broken and virus-wrecked world. We seek a heartfelt relationship with something, or rather Someone, bigger than ourselves. This is the power and attraction of the Sacred Heart. The heart of our Catholic faith is not an idea, but a person: Jesus. And he has a living, beating human heart right now. He has a risen Body and his Heart is filled with love for you and me.

I think that, if we’re lucky in this life, we’ll get to come across perhaps three or four really really good ponds. This story begins with one such pond: a koi pond at Balboa Park in San Diego. This particularly good pond was something that I happened upon while ambling around the park one sunny June afternoon in the company of someone I dearly love. We weren’t alone in thinking it the perfect day to take advantage of such a treasure: there were dog-walkers and stroller-pushers, families and friends, couples old and young. Loveliness seemed to flutter all around this large pond, gently begging us to lend our attentiveness.

For first century Jews, it must have been strange when Christ, a wife-less celibate, identified himself as a bridegroom. Dr. Brant Pitre, professor of Scripture at the Augustine Institute, takes up this topic in his talk Christ as Bridegroom, outlining the various ways in which Christ demonstrates and models spousal love to the Church, as evident in Scripture.