“It is only by starting from the heart that our communities will succeed in uniting and reconciling differing minds and wills, so that the Spirit can guide us in unity as brothers and sisters.”
-Pope Francis in Dilexit Nos
On March 14, the 182nd anniversary of the birth of Ven. Fr. Leo John Dehon, the Dehon Study Center hosted the first of three presentations on Dilexit Nos, Pope Francis’ encyclical on the love of the Heart of Jesus. The sessions – held via Zoom – are led by Dr. Jeremy Blackwood, associate professor of Systematic Theology at Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology.
“Renewing the Sacred Heart: Dilexit Nos and Fr. Leo Dehon,” was the title of the first session. To give a sense of why Pope Francis wrote the encyclical, Dr. Blackwood quoted one of its opening paragraphs:
“[L]iving as we do in an age of superficiality, rushing frenetically from one thing to another without really knowing why, and ending up as insatiable consumers and slaves to the mechanisms of a market unconcerned about the deeper meaning of our lives, all of us need to rediscover the importance of the heart.”
By “all of us,” Dr. Blackwood emphasized that even those who serve or work closely with the Church are not immune from the challenges of being “serial consumers… lacking in the patience needed to engage in the processes that an interior life by its very nature requires,” as Pope Francis writes.
The Holy Father “suggests that Sacred Heart devotion could be a key in overcoming that sense in the modern world,” said Dr. Blackwood. “And I think that vision resonates well with that of Fr. Leo John Dehon.”
Dr. Blackwood went on to say that one of the challenges of modern society is “a denial of the heart. We find ourselves unsure of what to do with an image that’s not purely intellectual nor purely moral.The heart does not calculate. It doesn’t follow clear rules. It is not subject to capture by technocratic or bureaucratic systems, and it often refuses to simply do what it’s told. We also find ourselves unsure how to nail down the image in the first place. Are we talking about emotions, the mind, how we feel, how we imagine?
“…Reflection on the heart and through the heart requires an openness and a vulnerability to which many of us are strenuously opposed, but without that vulnerability, we’re closed off from love.”
People are generally more comfortable with things that can be understood and controlled, but “the fullness of life with other persons, the fullness of things like poetry and art, and the fullness of love require a surrender of that control,” Dr. Blackwood continued. “If we are to help build a civilization of love, then then we must begin with the heart.”
As Pope Francis writes: “It is only by starting from the heart that our communities will succeed in uniting and reconciling differing minds and wills, so that the Spirit can guide us in unity as brothers and sisters.”
This echoes Fr. Dehon who saw the heart as “the site or the center point of all that we are,” said Dr. Blackwood. “The connection point of our relationships with others; the point at which we understand the meaning of our life.”
A recording of the Zoom presentation will soon be made available by the Dehon Study Center. The next two presentations are on June 18 and on August 12 (as a part of the commemoration of the centenary of the death of Fr. Dehon).
