HEARTS AND MINDS

INTRODUCTION

On this feast of the Sacred Heart, the title of my homily is, “Hearts and Minds.”

STATUE OF THE SACRED HEART

When Catholics hear the words, “Sacred Heart” - the odds are they picture a statue of the Sacred Heart in a church - a statue of Jesus with his heart outside his body - in the center of his chest - a heart on fire with flames and light as well as a crown of thorns around it.

Amazing. What would a person who never had heard of Christ and Christianity think/ feel if they walked into a church and saw such a statue or picture for the first time?

It’s an image and a devotion that goes way back to the 11th and 12th centuries. At first it was a private devotion. It was a mystical image - but in time it became more and more popular. In the 1600’s, with the so called revelations of a nun named Marguerite Marie Alacoque [1647-1690], this image became more widespread - till a pope, Leo XIII, promulgated it to all the church in 1899.

Pope Benedict XVI recently asked the Jesuits and others to promote devotion to Jesus - imagining him as the Sacred Heart.

WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT? THEORIES AND CONJECTURES

I’ve often wondered what it’s all about?

As a result I have theories and conjectures.

Some people wear their heart on their sleeve; others have a great poker face.

We use the image of heart all the time.

James Earl Jones once said, “One of the hardest things in life is having words in your heart that you can't utter.”

I discovered somewhere along the line that people love personality tests. One basic test is to discover whether a person is more heart or more mind? Many people have taken the so called Myers-Briggs test or the Jungian Test - which gives you a number - testing you to see if you come more from your mind or your heart. I score higher from the heart. I was never good in logic or algebra or math or the Rubik Cube or following directions in putting together a gadget from the instruction sheet. I never look under the hood of a car.

Here’s a simple test: draw yourself. But draw your heart and your head based on how much one is stronger than the other in your personality. Then ask someone who knows you to draw you in the way they see you - and if they wish - they do the same - and then each of your look at the 4 drawings you come up with.

It’s a matter of degrees.

Classically men are supposed to be mind or head and women are supposed to be all heart. It’s a stereotype. I’ve been beaten by my sister-in-law in chess. I prefer Rummy or Go Fish to Bridge!

RELIGION

When it comes to picturing God, would you picture God all mind or head or all heart?

I have a theory about religion. When religion becomes heavy with Reason and Rationalism - someone is going to come out with religious revelations that are Romantic and Emotional.

Check out the Founding Fathers of the United States. Several of them were Deists. They picture God as head or mind. Check out the image on the back of the dollar bill. There is the pyramid with the all seeing eye of God in the head or top of the Triangle. The Deists picture God as architect - planning and creating this world and then put it on it’s own.

When we study the universe, if we are very mathematical and logical, it might make sense. You can’t land someone on the moon without knowing the Math of our Solar System. And our world is very logical. People are able to Go Figure the logic of fires and storms in the hurricane and tornado and forest fire season.

IMAGE OF DIVINE MERCY

I have a theory that when the image of the Sacred Heart faded from our spirituality along came another nun with a similar image - that of Divine Mercy - and it filled the gap and in time another pope promoted her revelations.

HEAD AND HEART

Obviously we need both - because we have both.

And if we live long enough, we’ll discover that it’s smart to work with, cooperate with and be with others who have the gifts we don’t have - and we have the gifts they don’t have.

It’s called a good marriage; it’s called a good team; it’s called a good meeting.

CONCLUSION

Let me conclude with a quote from Marilyn vas Savant - who was a columnist - “Ask Marilyn”. She is said to have been the person who has had the hightest IQ ever recorded: 228. The quote from Marilyn: “If your head tells you one thing, and your heart tells you another, before you do anything, you should first decide whether you have a better head or a better heart.”

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Painting on top: Sacred Heart by Jose Maria Ibarraran y Ponce - 1896