Friday of week 22 in Ordinary Time
First Friday: Let us entrust ourselves to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Gospel: Luke 5:33-39
In today’s Gospel, Jesus is questioned about fasting, but His answer moves the discussion from religious observance to relationship: “Surely you cannot make the bridegroom’s attendants fast while the bridegroom is still with them?” By presenting Himself as the Bridegroom, Jesus reveals the deepest meaning of our spiritual life: everything is ultimately about our relationship with Him. Prayer, fasting, penance, the sacraments, acts of charity, and every religious observance have value because they unite our hearts more intimately with His. This becomes particularly meaningful on the First Friday, when we contemplate the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Heart of the Bridegroom who loves us and desires our love in return. Christian devotion is therefore not primarily a collection of practices but a response of love to a Person. We pray because we want to remain with Him; we make sacrifices because we love Him; we receive the Eucharist because we desire communion with Him; and we make reparation because His love matters to us. The new wine of the Gospel needs a new wineskin: a heart continually renewed by His love. Entrusting ourselves today to the Sacred Heart means allowing all our external observances to lead us inward, to that intimate place where our heart encounters His Heart. In the end, the purpose of every devotion is simple: to know the Bridegroom, to remain with Him, and to love Him more. Let’s reflect: Do my prayers, sacrifices, and devotions, especially my First Friday devotion, bring my heart into a deeper relationship with the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Bridegroom who loves me?
Don Giorgio