On the occasion of the Solemnity of
the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Cardinal
Oswald Gracias of Mumbai sent us his thoughts. In them, he strongly
underscores that Christ’s love and compassion flows out of the Church’s
missionary involvement in India in the educational, medical and welfare
fields.“The Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus contains the core message of Christianity that God loves humankind and has specifically shown his love by sending his Son Jesus who suffered and died for us.
Today as we call to mind the great love of Jesus for us, we open our hearts and receive God’s love, thus living lives based on the Gospel values of justice, peace and truth. We also share His Love with others through service and works of charity, working for social justice and human rights, as well as serving the poor who are alienated and often without hope.
This Solemnity is something very significant for all the Church. To receive God’s Love and share this Love with others, the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is connected intimately with the celebration of the feast of Corpus Christi, the Body and Blood of Christ.
For the Church in India, our Mission is intrinsically connected to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Church. His heart is the fountain from which the Church draws strength and Grace to empower people through its health, education and welfare missions.
For decades, the Catholic Church has been empowering people through education in the most unreached areas, in rural areas, for Dalits, Tribals and girls, bringing the love of the Heart of Jesus to the people.
The Catholic Church runs about 25,000 educational institutions: schools (15,000), colleges (300), nursing schools (115), hospitals and health clinics (5,000), rehabilitation centres (2,000), technical schools (1,500), medical colleges (6), two universities, apart from engineering colleges and other social and welfare institutions.
All our outreach programs are a response to the call of Jesus, an imitation of Jesus and, importantly, an outflow of the love of the Heart of Jesus. There is an inescapable duty to make ourselves the neighbour of everyone, irrespective of caste or creed. In his messianic activity, Christ drew increasingly closer to the world of human suffering. ‘He went about doing good’, his actions primarily concerned for those suffering and seeking help.
The health mission of the Catholic Church in India plays a vital role in alleviating the pain of the sick and suffering, especially of those who are poor and cannot afford adequate treatment. The Catholic Church has 746 hospitals, 2,574 dispensaries, 70 rehabilitations centres, 107 mental health centres, 61 alternative medicine centres, 162 non-formal health facilities and 115 medical training centres, including six medical colleges. Along with this, there are 165 leprosy centres, 416 health care centres for the aged, 62 centres for tuberculosis (TB) and the terminally ill, 67 Community Care Centres (CCC) for PLHAs and 60 counselling centres. All of these are works of love, flowing from the Heart of Jesus.
Today, on this Solemnity, I pray in a very special way for our people, for our marginalised and poor. So many still suffer from hunger and malnutrition and so many people suffer from injustice and dehumanising poverty. So many of our people are suffering for their faith.
For our beloved motherland, I pray for an ethos of justice, honesty and a spirit of selflessness.
It is most heartening to see the devotion of the people in India to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. In most parishes in the country, Novenas or Triduum have been recited in preparation for the feast day.
In most homes, there is the enthronement of the home to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. It is very encouraging to see the devotion of the people of India and the love and compassion that are shared in so many neighbourhood outreach programmes in the dioceses of the country, spreading the splendour of truth and light through works of love.
Devotion to the Sacred and Priestly Heart of Jesus is very significant for our priests, religious and seminarians in the Indian Church.
They have been ‘chosen’ to make His love present and make people ‘experience” His Sacred Heart as well as empower our people to live His experience. Our priests and seminarians are trained to pattern their mission after His Most Sacred Heart to reach out in love and service.”