The Feast of the Sacred Heart

[icarlytradcath]

Feast of the Sacred Heart

By Udalricus Campiliensis († c. 1358)

(AI Translation)

In the Gospel according to John, chapter nineteen, we read that one of the soldiers opened the side of Christ with a lance, and immediately blood and water flowed out. For man was excluded from heaven, trapped in limbo, and locked away by the sin of our first fathers; and therefore, the blood of Christ was poured out so that it might lead man back to heaven, extract him from limbo, and comfort him in exile. Thus, the water from the side of Christ extinguishes the fire of hell for us, washes away all our sins, and satisfies divine justice on our behalf. Therefore, the blood and water flowed forth in one stream from the side of Christ, through which, by Christ the mediator — both God and man — the foundations of the faith and the holy Church were established. For even the blood that remained in His heart after dying, O man, He also offered up for you, even though He was already dead, so that He could show you the extent of his redemption.

Old Testament (Left)

In Genesis chapter two, it is written that Eve was formed from the side of the sleeping Adam. Just as Eve was formed from the side of the sleeping Adam, so the holy Church was formed from the blood of the side of the dying Christ. He fell into a deep sleep as if He were slumbering when, already consumed and dead through various tribulations and the passions of the cross, He thus consummated the most salutary work of redemption. And then His Eve, the holy mother of all those to be saved—that is, the Church—was formed, when water for purification and blood for reconciliation flowed forth from the side of Christ. Therefore, let us be signed with the blood of Christ, let us be cleansed by the water of His side, and let us join ourselves to His side, that we may live with Him forever.

Old Testament (Right)

In Genesis chapter twenty-nine, it is read that Jacob sets aside Leah and embraces his beloved Rachel. Jacob, as the supplanter, signifies Christ, who supplanted death and the devil when, by dying, He triumphed most gloriously over all things. This Jacob, that is, Christ, sets aside Leah, who is laborious and represents the legalistic Jews, because of their iniquities. For He had previously rejected those of their ancestors who also, although laborious in legal observances, were nonetheless wicked and found wanting. But Rachel, meaning "one who sees" and "innumerable," is the one Christ embraces as His beloved, because the Gentile Church lives not for the sake of the five books of the Law but for the sake of love and friendship with Christ.

Nature (Left)

Aristotle says that the blood of a goat, when warm and freshly spilled, shatters even a diamond. So too our Savior Christ: the blood of His passion, warm with the fervor of prodigious love and abounding in the purest salvation of all, poured out from His heart and His whole body, not only crushes and breaks the hearts of the hard-hearted, but in truth, by His living grace, it softens all the deeply rooted malignity within us and guards the Church, which rejoices in the good life.

Nature (Right)

Jacobus and Pliny say that the blood of a dog may be applied in many ways to heal other sick animals, such as sheep. Thus, the blood of our "sheepdog" — our guardian Christ — warm, immense, and of infinite power, grants us infinitely greater things: namely, the cleansing of that original sin. And it heals us so completely, that if we assiduously preserve His passion and great sacrifice and love for us in our vision, we shall serve Him faithfully all through the year and He won't deny us the graces we need, provided we don't place obstacles.