Falling Into His Heart

Today is the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.  Thanks to one of my older guys, I was able to go to Mass this morning all.by.myself!  :)

I need to do that more often!  Mommas need some recharging time, too!

This past Wednesday night, the Women of Grace group in my parish brought in a guest speaker, Fr. David Nicorski.  Fr. Dave had also come to give a talk last year that I was able to attend.  I enjoyed his talk last year and I was grateful that I was able to make it again this year.

Fr. Dave's talk was focused around the Sacred Heart of Jesus.  He spoke about a lot of different things, but the majority of his talk was about how different religious artwork speaks to different people.  In particular, he focused on this picture.....

  

Fr. Dave asked for volunteers in the room of around 60 women to share what struck them about this particular picture.  Some women commented on his eyes, others on his heart, some more specifically on the crown of thorns.  (It's always interesting to hear other women's perspectives!)

There were a couple of things that struck me about this picture.  The first are the position of Jesus' hands opening his cloak(robe?)  There's a humility in the way He keeps His hands against His body.  

Think about it....if someone has something they are trying to "show off" on their chest, like a tattoo for example, their palms are facing out when they open their shirt.  Something like this....

 

Very different from Jesus' hands in the Sacred Heart pic!  (And I am in no way comparing Fonzie to Jesus!  Just using Fonzie's shirt and hands as a comparison!)

Another thing that struck me about the Sacred Heart picture is the feeling of an invitation to be drawn into His heart.....

(I'm pasting the picture again so you don't have to scroll:)

His eyes and His facial features are gentle, His hand placement directs our gaze in a gentle way to His heart, and the flame and the bright lights emanating from His heart just draw me right in.  Wednesday night, as I was thinking about the picture during the talk, I could imagine just falling into His heart...like falling into a beautiful lake on the perfect summer day!  His Precious Blood would just envelop me.  I could imagine His heart as being like a womb for each one of us...a place of ultimate love, safety, and compassion.

To me, it was a beautiful thought and image.....

Something (that felt) profound for me, was quickly  followed by ridiculousness:
The lights around His heart drawing me in like a......bug zapper.  Just without the zap...or the 'frying'.  

That's the kind of thinking that comes from being the mother of boys!

I think I will stick to my first image.....Ultimate love, safety, and compassion!

Is there anything about this picture that speaks to you?