Month of the Sacred Heart: We Must Go Through the Mother to Know Her Son

“The principal goal I had in mind was to reveal to men the secret of My Heart in order that they might understand that My love is even greater than the exterior signs I give of it; for while there is an end to My sufferings, there is no end to My love.

How shall we study the Heart of Jesus? How shall we obtain this knowledge? Ah! For anyone who knows the mysterious depths of all the evangelical facts, there is a mystery here. It is that we only find Jesus with Mary and through Mary; we only obtain a sure knowledge of the Son through His Mother.

Indeed, who better knew Jesus than Mary, His Mother? Therefore, who better than she can teach us to know Him?

A mother knows not only the exterior features, the face, and the gait of her son; she knows him through and through, she penetrates into the deepest corners of his heart, she guesses his most intimate thoughts, and even his most secret desires. That is how Mary knew Jesus. She studied Him both with a sentiment of motherly tenderness and respectful admiration as her Son and as her God. She kept all His words in her heart and drew her inspiration from the spirit of all His works.

No one knew as well as Mary the interior life of Jesus that Scripture calls the life of the heart, that is to say, the true life. Our Lady of the Sacred Heart! Yes, truly, o Mary, this name belongs to you; for this adorable heart was transparent for you, you read openly in all its thoughts, movements, and sentiments. What am I saying? Your Heart was the mirror in which all the traits of your Son’s Heart were reflected. To reveal the Heart of Jesus to us, you have only to reveal your own (Cardinal Pie).

Meditations sur le Sacré-Coeur de Jésus pour tous les vendredis de l’année par un directeur de grand séminaire, Rome, 1909, p. 5 and 6.