I LEFT MY HEART 

IN ________.

FILL IN THE BLANK.

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily is, “I Left My Heart In ______. Fill in the blank.”

This morning I noticed at the end of the Sports Section of today’s New York Times an obituary for Claramae Turner - who died at the age of 92. I would not have noticed and then read the obituary - except for one word in the title of the obituary: “Claramae Turner, 92, Singer and Heart of a Song.”

Today being the feast of the Sacred Heart - and because I was going upstairs to come up with a homily - after reading The New York Times - I noticed the word “heart”.

Claramae Turner - never heard of her - has just died. She was in the movie Carousel, but she was an opera singer - singing 100 times in the Metropolitan Opera. 

The New York Times obituary gave the trivial comment that the song, “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” was written for her in the early 1950’s as a recital piece. It was then published in 1954. 

The song was little known till Tony Bennett took it and won 2 Grammy awards for the song in 1962 - winning Best Male Solo Vocal Performance.

WHY HAS THAT SONG BEEN SO POPULAR?

Question: why was that song  been so popular?

Answer: I don’t know.

Assumption: However, I would assume it has always been popular because San Francisco - like Paris - in one of those cities that touch emotions, love, memories, stories, vacations, etc.

I would also assume that the idea of being in one place and having one’s heart in another place is something everyone can relate to.

Question: where is your heart?

Question: who has your heart?

Question: where do you go when you go elsewhere?

Question: what do you spend you energy on?

QUESTIONS OF THE HEART

Questions of the heart are very important questions.

Our heart is a box - a safe - a vault - a where we can put precious things - precious feelings - precious memories.

We might have a box in a bottom drawer or a top drawer - where we put precious jewelry - or papers - the sacred stuff.

So too the human heart.

It can contain and consume and be filled with love and hate, joy and sorrow, heaven or hell, gift and hurt.

Want to pray: go into the chapel, the church, the cathedral, the temple of your heart.

TODAY IS THE FEAST OF THE SACRED HEART

Today is the Feast of the Sacred Heart. Most of us here were brought up seeing images of the Sacred Heart.

It’s the image of Jesus - with his heart outside his rib cage and chest.

We get that image - because we know Valentine’s Day - we have called people “sweetheart” - we know what a bumper sticker means that spells the word “love” with a heart - as in “I [HEART] my pug.” Father Tizio has one of those. We’ve seen signs forever that Virginia is for Lovers [HEART].

Today’s readings feature the theme of a shepherd - that loves his sheep so much - he’ll do anything or go anywhere for his sheep - especially when lost.

I was talking to a woman the other day in the hospital who was dying. Her family were around the bed - so this was not confidential - and she said she was scared of dying. I asked her why. She answered immediately: “Because I’m scared that God is going to yell at me.”

Silence. Uh oh!

So I asked her - nervously - why do you say that, “Well that’s what our parish priest in New York said.”

I told her I don’t buy that or preach that. I preach Luke 15 as the heart of the Gospel.  One of the 3 parables in that 15^th Chapter is today’s gospel: that of the Lost Sheep.

Now I would say, “I left my heart in Luke 15. It has 3 parables that tell us about God - that he will come looking for us or wait for us: not yell at us. If we are a lost son or daughter, or a lost coin, or a lost sheep, Jesus will come and find us and embrace us and loves us and pull us close to his heart.

CONCLUSION

Have a heart. Leave it in Jesus.