{"id":67275,"date":"2025-05-16T16:31:44","date_gmt":"2025-05-16T21:31:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/?p=67275"},"modified":"2025-06-27T17:11:28","modified_gmt":"2025-06-27T22:11:28","slug":"dilexit-nos-and-the-heart-of-worship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/16\/dilexit-nos-and-the-heart-of-worship\/","title":{"rendered":"Dilexit Nos and the Heart of Worship"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>This post is the first in a Seven-Week Series <em>by Nathaniel Marx.<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"267\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/mauro-shared-pictures-P-JuHm6FuMk-unsplash-267x400.jpg\" alt=\"Statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus\" class=\"wp-image-67280\" srcset=\"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/mauro-shared-pictures-P-JuHm6FuMk-unsplash-267x400.jpg 267w, https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/mauro-shared-pictures-P-JuHm6FuMk-unsplash-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/mauro-shared-pictures-P-JuHm6FuMk-unsplash-768x1152.jpg 768w, https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/mauro-shared-pictures-P-JuHm6FuMk-unsplash-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/mauro-shared-pictures-P-JuHm6FuMk-unsplash-1365x2048.jpg 1365w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 267px) 100vw, 267px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Photo by <a href=\"https:\/\/unsplash.com\/@maurosharedpictures?utm_content=creditCopyText&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_source=unsplash\">Mauro Shared Pictures<\/a> on <a href=\"https:\/\/unsplash.com\/photos\/gray-concrete-statue-under-blue-sky-during-daytime-P-JuHm6FuMk?utm_content=creditCopyText&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_source=unsplash\">Unsplash<\/a>\n      <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Starting From the Heart<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cHe loved us\u201d (see <a href=\"https:\/\/bible.usccb.org\/bible\/romans\/8?37\">Rom 8:37<\/a>) is the disarming incipit of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vatican.va\/content\/francesco\/en\/encyclicals\/documents\/20241024-enciclica-dilexit-nos.html\">Pope Francis\u2019s final encyclical<\/a>. Released at a moment of sharp discord, the letter seeks concord in the church and in the world by returning to the heart (<em>kard\u00eda<\/em> \/ <em>cor<\/em>) of Jesus as the unifying principle of the person, of human society, and of the cosmos. It has much to say, therefore, about the heart of Christian worship that integrates and transcends words, gestures, and thoughts. \u201cWhere the thinking of the philosopher halts, there the heart of the believer presses on in love and adoration\u201d (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.vatican.va\/content\/francesco\/en\/encyclicals\/documents\/20241024-enciclica-dilexit-nos.html#:~:text=Where%20the%20thinking%20of%20the%20philosopher%20halts,%20there%20the%20heart%20of%20the%20believer%20presses%20on%20in%20love%20and%20adoration\">DN 25<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Remembering the late Holy Father and anticipating the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, <em>Pray Tell<\/em> will publish a series of Friday reflections on <em>Dilexit Nos<\/em>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Friday, May 16, 2025: Starting from the Heart<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/23\/the-importance-of-the-heart\/\">Friday, May 23, 2025: Chapter One: The Importance of the Heart<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/30\/actions-and-words-of-love\/\">Friday, May 30, 2025: Chapter Two: Actions and Words of Love<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2025\/06\/06\/this-is-the-heart-that-has-loved-so-greatly\/\">Friday, June 6, 2025: Chapter Three: This Is the Heart that Has Loved So Greatly<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2025\/06\/13\/a-love-that-gives-itself-as-drink\/\">Friday, June 13, 2025: Chapter Four: A Love that Gives Itself as Drink<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2025\/06\/20\/love-for-love\/\">Friday, June 20, 2025: Chapter Five: Love For Love<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2025\/06\/27\/love-fraternity-and-care-for-our-common-home\/\">Friday, June 27, 2025 (Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus): Love, Fraternity, and Care for Our Common Home<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Human and Divine<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This Friday, we consider Pope Francis\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vatican.va\/content\/francesco\/en\/encyclicals\/documents\/20241024-enciclica-dilexit-nos.html#:~:text=ON%20THE%20HUMAN%20AND%20DIVINE%20LOVE%20OF%20THE%20HEART%20OF%20JESUS%20CHRIST\">starting point in <em>Dilexit Nos<\/em><\/a>, \u201cthe human and divine love of the heart of Jesus Christ.\u201d The lengthy subtitle bears Christological significance that receives systematic treatment in chapter three. But the words \u201chuman and divine\u201d also indicate the sacramental outlook of the whole encyclical. In the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, the same combination of adjectives describes \u201cthe mystery of Christ and the real nature of the true church.\u201d Receiving its \u201cessence\u201d from Christ, the church is \u201cboth human and divine\u201d so that it may be \u201ca sign lifted up among the nations under which the scattered children of God may be gathered together\u201d (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.vatican.va\/archive\/hist_councils\/ii_vatican_council\/documents\/vat-ii_const_19631204_sacrosanctum-concilium_en.html#:~:text=It%20is%20of%20the%20essence%20of%20the%20Church%20that%20she%20be%20both%20human%20and%20divine\">SC 2<\/a>). The <em>significance<\/em> of the church, in other words, is human unity caused by the Father\u2019s divine love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In just the same way, the heart of Jesus Christ is an effective sign of grace. Indeed, it is the <em>signum efficax gratiae<\/em> from which the church and all the sacraments flow. \u201cFor it was from the side of Christ as He slept the sleep of death upon the cross that there came forth \u2018the wondrous sacrament of the whole Church\u2019\u201d (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.vatican.va\/archive\/hist_councils\/ii_vatican_council\/documents\/vat-ii_const_19631204_sacrosanctum-concilium_en.html#:~:text=For%20it%20was%20from%20the%20side%20of%20Christ%20as%20He%20slept%20the%20sleep%20of%20death%20upon%20the%20cross%20that%20there%20came%20forth%20%22the%20wondrous%20sacrament%20of%20the%20whole%20Church%22\">SC 5<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u201cHe Loved Us First\u201d<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The first paragraph of <em>Dilexit Nos<\/em> cites Paul and John to establish the sacramentality of the \u201copen heart\u201d of Jesus. Specifically, Francis evokes three of the best-loved passages about love in the New Testament. A thoughtful or prayerful reader of the encyclical might pause here to review <a href=\"https:\/\/bible.usccb.org\/bible\/romans\/8?28\">Romans 8:28\u201339<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/bible.usccb.org\/bible\/john\/15?9\">John 15:9\u201317<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/bible.usccb.org\/bible\/1john\/4?7\">1 John 4:7\u201321<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Although Johannine and Pauline texts speak in different ways about signs and mysteries, they share the bedrock conviction that Christ is the revelation of God\u2019s love. More exactly, in the texts that Francis cites, God\u2019s love revealed in Christ is the bedrock of conviction itself. God\u2019s love is the ground of faith, the reason for hope, and the stimulus to charity. \u201cLove alone is credible,\u201d as von Balthasar said,<sup><a id=\"ffn1\" class=\"footnote\" href=\"#fn1\">1<\/a><\/sup> so Francis starts with the gospel of love. Out of love, the Father gave his own Son to lay down his life for those whom Jesus calls \u201cfriends\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/bible.usccb.org\/bible\/romans\/8?32\">(Rom 8:32<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/bible.usccb.org\/bible\/john\/15?13\">Jn 15:13<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/bible.usccb.org\/bible\/1john\/4?10\">1 Jn 4:10<\/a>). He who raised Jesus from the dead will give his friends everything, even his own Spirit (<a href=\"https:\/\/bible.usccb.org\/bible\/romans\/8?32\">Rom 8:32<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/bible.usccb.org\/bible\/john\/15?16\">Jn 15:16<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/bible.usccb.org\/bible\/1john\/4?13\">1 Jn 4:13<\/a>). In the Spirit, the friends of Jesus remain in God\u2019s love and love one another (<a href=\"https:\/\/bible.usccb.org\/bible\/romans\/8?28\">Rom 8:28<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/bible.usccb.org\/bible\/john\/15?10\">Jn 15:10<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/bible.usccb.org\/bible\/john\/15?17\">17<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/bible.usccb.org\/bible\/1john\/4?11\">1 Jn 4:11\u201312<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Encountering Love<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Near the start of his pontificate, Francis similarly summarized \u201cthe heart of the Gospel\u201d from which every effort at evangelization must proceed. \u201cIn this basic core, what shines forth is the beauty of the saving love of God made manifest in Jesus Christ who died and rose from the dead\u201d (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.vatican.va\/content\/francesco\/en\/apost_exhortations\/documents\/papa-francesco_esortazione-ap_20131124_evangelii-gaudium.html#:~:text=the%20heart%20of%20the%20Gospel.%20In%20this%20basic%20core,%20what%20shines%20forth%20is%20the%20beauty%20of%20the%20saving%20love%20of%20God%20made%20manifest%20in%20Jesus%20Christ%20who%20died%20and%20rose%20from%20the%20dead.\"><em>Evangelii Gaudium<\/em>, 36<\/a>). At that time, Francis wrote that he would \u201cnever tire of repeating those words of Benedict XVI which take us to the very heart of the Gospel: \u2018Being a Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction\u2019\u201d (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.vatican.va\/content\/francesco\/en\/apost_exhortations\/documents\/papa-francesco_esortazione-ap_20131124_evangelii-gaudium.html#:~:text=I%20never%20tire%20of%20repeating%20those%20words%20of%20Benedict%20XVI%20which%20take%20us%20to%20the%20very%20heart%20of%20the%20Gospel:\">EG 7<\/a>, quoting <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vatican.va\/content\/benedict-xvi\/en\/encyclicals\/documents\/hf_ben-xvi_enc_20051225_deus-caritas-est.html#:~:text=Being%20Christian%20is%20not%20the%20result%20of%20an%20ethical%20choice%20or%20a%20lofty%20idea,%20but%20the%20encounter\"><em>Deus Caritas Est<\/em>, 1<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The sacramental encounter with the saving love of God remained likewise the heart of Francis\u2019s message. To open the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy in 2015, he wrote, \u201cJesus Christ is the face of the Father\u2019s mercy,\u201d adding that \u201cthese words might well sum up the mystery of the Christian faith\u201d (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.vatican.va\/content\/francesco\/en\/bulls\/documents\/papa-francesco_bolla_20150411_misericordiae-vultus.html#:~:text=Jesus%20Christ%20is%20the%20face%20of%20the%20Father%E2%80%99s%20mercy.\"><em>Misericordiae Vultus<\/em>, 1<\/a>). To inaugurate the Ordinary Jubilee of the Year 2025, Francis wrote, \u201cHope is born of love and based on the love springing from the pierced heart of Jesus upon the cross\u201d (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.vatican.va\/content\/francesco\/en\/bulls\/documents\/20240509_spes-non-confundit_bolla-giubileo2025.html#:~:text=Hope%20is%20born%20of%20love%20and%20based%20on%20the%20love%20springing%20from%20the%20pierced%20heart%20of%20Jesus%20upon%20the%20cross:\"><em>Spes Non Confundit<\/em>, 3<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u201cHe Is Going Before You\u201d<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Dilexit Nos<\/em> might seem a fitting conclusion to this pope\u2019s ministry, which always returned to the human encounter with Jesus, through which we know and trust the divine love manifest in his sacrificial death and glorious resurrection. But in the last months of his earthly life, Francis was writing a new overture, not a coda. For if Christ, in is humanity, is the saving manifestation of divine love, then the Sacred Heart of Jesus is not a peripheral devotion. Rather, it is the central symbol of the church\u2019s mission to circulate God\u2019s love ever more widely. Thus, Pope Francis, who has now gone ahead of us, begins his final major message by directing our gaze forward to the beloved Son of God. \u201cHis open heart has gone before us and waits unconditionally, asking only to offer us his love and friendship\u201d (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.vatican.va\/content\/francesco\/en\/encyclicals\/documents\/20241024-enciclica-dilexit-nos.html#:~:text=His%20open%20heart%20has%20gone%20before%20us%20and%20waits%20for%20us\">DN 1<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol id=\"footnotes\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Hans Urs von Balthasar, <em>Love Alone Is Credible<\/em>, tr. D. C. Schindler (Ignatius Press, 2004). <a href=\"#ffn1\">\u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>NATHANIEL MARX \u2014 The sacramental encounter with God\u2019s saving love is the heart of the late pontiff\u2019s message, and the heart of Jesus is the central symbol of the church\u2019s mission to circulate God\u2019s love more widely.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":108,"featured_media":67280,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[17,3496,2224,3086,31],"tags":[4033,3021,814],"class_list":["post-67275","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-liturgical-spirituality","category-liturgical-theology","category-pope-francis","category-popular-piety","category-sacramental-theology","tag-dilexit-nos","tag-pope-francis","tag-sacred-heart"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.8 - 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