Cease the Heart of Jesus Is with Me!

“Cease, the Heart of Jesus is with me!”  Admittedly it is an odd turn of the phrase for us today.  I was reminded of it the other day.  It was the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and one of our seminarians asked me to bless something for him.  He stretched out his hand and in it was a Sacred Heart Badge.  If you are not familiar with it, it is a small oval shaped piece of red cloth, usually made of felt, that has attached on one side a picture of Our Lord holding in His hand His Sacred Heart.  On the reverse side is just the Sacred Heart, topped with a Cross and flames coming from it, thorns encircling the Heart, and drops of the Precious Blood falling from the place where the Heart was pierced by the centurion spear.  Finally, there are two short prayers that circle the image of the Sacred Heart. One is, “Sacred Heart of Jesus, Thy Kingdom Come!”  The other proclaims, “Cease, the Heart of Jesus is with me!”

For me, this request for a blessing was a real moment of grace because it brought back many good memories of my mother always having a Sacred Heart Badge in her rosary case. It spoke to me of my great grandparents’ picture of the Sacred Heart that was in our parlor when I was a child and still hangs in my living room to this day.  Most of all, I was reminded by the young man who asked for the blessing that love of the Sacred Heart of our Savior is for every generation.  How awesome is that!

You see, the Sacred Heart of Jesus is a tremendous testimony to the reality of God’s love for us.  We live in a world where words and actions often tear people down, make them feel worthless, without dignity and not worthy of love. 

Enter the Heart of Jesus!  His very image calls out to us of the unconditional, unfailing love that Christ bears us.  The Cross on the top of the image tells us that He loves us so very that he did not count the cost but, rather, went to the altar of the Cross and offered Himself there for our sins.  The Cross is also His throne of glory from where He reigns forever in His risen life.  His Cross is so important in our lives that wherever we pray, we begin with the Sign of the Cross confessing that He saved us by going to it. 

The flames that leap from of the top of His Heart recall for us the invocation of the Litany of the Sacred Heart, “Heart of Jesus, burning furnace of charity, have mercy on us!”  In this burning furnace we are never harmed or destroyed.  It is a furnace that warms our hearts and, by the light it produces, it enlightens our path through life.  What this furnace does burn away is our sin, as wax melts away before a flame.

The thorns that encircle His heart symbolize our sins that caused Him to undergo His Passion and Cross.  The greatest sin, however, is no match for His burning love that heals and restores us to His grace and grants us peace especially through the Sacrament of Penance. 

The ultimate proof of His love for us is the Blood that He shed for us willingly and without hesitation – the Blood that flowed from the wounds inflicted upon Him during His Passion.  The image of His Sacred Heart manifests the Blood that gushed forth from His Heart when the spear was driven into His side tells us of His abiding Presence to us in the Holy Eucharist. 

I don’t know about you, but I am in constant need of being reminded of His love.  Especially on those days when nothing is going right, when someone attacks us with unkind words or throws a wrench into our plans, we might feel worthless and beat up.  We might even imagine that no one loves or cares about us.  All we need do is to see his Sacred Heart before us.  Beholding it, even in our mind’s eye, should be the wake-up call that tells us, “You are so loved by the Lord Jesus. You are so important in His eyes.  He always loves you!  Believe it!” 

So let’s get back to that prayer, “Cease the Heart of Jesus is with me!”  This few words teach us that no matter where we go, no matter what we face, He is always with us.  We might say it this way, “No matter what evil is working against me, no matter what troubles assail me, cease and desist!  The Heart of Jesus, my refuge and strength, is with me!”  He said to us, “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” (Jn 14:18) If Jesus said it, I believe it!

I am so grateful to that seminarian asked me to bless his Sacred Heart Badge, that holy reminder of Christ’s unfailing love and presence.  Maybe we should this great sacramental, the Sacred Heart Badge, to remind others, too. 

Most Reverend William J. Waltersheid
Auxiliary Bishop of Pittsburgh