With all of these practices, the core message of the Sacred Heart is this: God loves us all. God loves the entire humanity, and He invites our hearts to be inflamed with love- to tango in this dance of love- by following His commandments. As Jesus replied, “The first is this: 'Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:29–31). To devoutly consecrate oneself to the Sacred Heart of Christ Jesus is to live these commandments. Receive Him, honor Him, and love Him in the Eucharist and in our neighbors as His living images.
By loving God most- first and foremost, and above everything and everyone else- the love for ourselves, our neighbors, His creatures, and all of creation will follow in a holy manner. One doesn’t fully love God if one does not trust Him but chooses instead to trust and depend on earthly practices such as luck charms, superstitious beliefs, believing in other “gods,” and the like. One doesn’t love God if practicing witchcraft or doing evil deeds. One cannot say that they love God but do not love their neighbors. As Christ says to us, “Whatever you do to your brethren, you do it to Me.” Moreover, each human being is created in the image of God- an image that humanity broke through disobedience. Christ came to us and for us, to restore this image of ours. By following Him and His commandments, we are cooperating and participating in the restoration of that image and in the restoration of our relationship with God.
Who dares to say that one truly loves God with their whole being at every time, every hour, every minute, every second, in every place, throughout their whole lifespan? Who among us lives their entire life for God alone, perfectly, without any reserve for self, things, or others? No one- but Christ alone did it all. As He made Himself one of us, His perfect Humanity and Divinity please the Father. He is the only beloved and begotten Son of God. The Father tells us during Christ’s baptism and transfiguration: “Listen to Him!” It is Christ alone Who unites us to the Father - to the God Who created and sustains us. So, we should also listen to Mary, the Mother of Christ, as she told us, “Do whatever He tells you.”
To Christ alone we listen, we act, we follow, we live, we obey, and we trust- because He is the only Way, the Truth, and the Life. May we let His Holy Will conform our wills to His. For His Holy Will for us is good, and He knows us- He knows us more than we know ourselves, ever since even before our creation and beyond this life. For He is the One Who truly loves.