The Sacred Heart of Jesus is depicted as an image of a heart burning with flames, crowned with thorns and a cross. It connects us to the illustrious bond, compassion, and joy in the Parable of Finding the Lost sheep. Do we have such ideals in our hearts?

Oftentimes, we hear remarks that "this person has no heart" or "I don't have the heart to do this", which is not meant in the somatic sense. Our hearts are the seat of our deep desires to be compassionate. As we are becoming more human, our hearts may not always be oriented towards the virtuous direction as we intended. The temptation to be above or free from any authority does persist. But look at Jesus' heart, humane and divine, echoed in "I myself will tend my sheep and have them lie down" (Ez 34:15), it compels us to submit to this love. We rejoice because Jesus reveals a heart that is infinite in compassion and love.

With such a heart, Jesus empowers us to imbibe His ways. St Paul tells us "the love of God has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit" (Rm 5:5) Since we are capable of receiving this love, we should be able to articulate this love in our engagement with others. The gestures of love that we exercise in our daily affairs should spring from the humane and divine love of Jesus; not the restrictive charity that the world vulgarizes.