The foundation of our spirituality is expressed in our veneration of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Although the devotion to the Heart of Jesus was formalized in the Church through the efforts of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, its roots are deeply scriptural and human.
This devotion cannot be understood apart from the mystery of love. In Jesus Christ, the Word made Flesh, God’s love for man beat with a human heart. The longing of God for each and every human person created out of and destined for love is what we celebrate in this mystery. The Scriptures describe this reality as a “thirst” – one that Christ expressed in a particular way on the Cross.
The originality of St. Francis’ gaze consists in his perception of this divine thirst, and his life may be understood as a longing to meet love with love. In making this response of love, the Scriptural text is fulfilled: “They will look on the one whom they have pierced” (John 19:37).
This love likewise grasped Mother M. Anselma, expressing itself in her self-understood readiness to serve all those entrusted to her care.
The centrality of the Cross and the Eucharist, as well as the observance of First Fridays, are tangible expressions of our devotion to Christ’s Heart.
