Retreat Homily for the Feast of the Sacred Heart

          It is fortuitous that our retreat begins on the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Love is the free and imaginative outpouring of the spirit into our world. Love is the most universal, the most tremendous and the most mysterious of the cosmic forces. It is the heart of Jesus that makes God's love for us personal. While it is true that Eastern Point Retreat House is a beautiful place where many people meet God in creation, it is the actions of the risen Jesus that touch us and bring us to God's embrace. He is the one sent by God into the world to bring us life and freedom. It is his heart that reveals God's intense desires for us.

          The readings reveal God's intense yearning for us. The author of Deuteronomy says that we are peculiarly his own. We do not deserve God's love and we cannot earn it, but God loves us all the same. God chooses us - merely because God creates us - and it is a personal choice. I've been in a situation many times, when I acknowledge that a remote God loves the world and all its people uniformly, but that somehow God is too busy with more important people to really, personally care about me. Somehow I have slipped through the cracks in God's gaze. Yes, cognitively I know God loves me, but not really enough to like me or to choose to spend time with me. I come to believe that my problems are not big enough for God and that I am not important enough. This cannot be further from the truth. God's greatest yearning is that I can allow myself to be held in God' embrace.

          Examine the emotions and desires of Jesus in the Gospel. He begins with gleeful praise that God the Father has revealed himself to us ordinary people. His heart is pouring over with gratitude that he has friends with which to share his life in God. He further beckons people to come to him and lay their woes and concerns at his feet so he can give a nourishing rest. That's all. He only wants our true selves. Christ wants nothing more than to be with us and to enjoy our companionship. This is a God who really, truly loves us - not only that, God likes us, and wants to waste time with us in restful ways. Let go, and take your rest in the Lord. He promises to be gentle with us.

          On Sunday, I visited my niece, Brooke Arianna, on her second day of life. Her mother, Erica, held her in her arms for half an hour and just gazed upon her with a deep bonding. She would have held her longer but I was eager to welcome her into this world. She looked on her daughter with wonder and amazement and had no need of words. She fixed her eyes on upon her even though the baby slept soundly. When my sister did speak, she could only coo, "I love you. I love you. I love you" and I know Brooke's life is sustained by her love.

          I find this image a worthy one to consider on this feast. God is always gazing upon us whether we are infants or in our 80's and I can picture God looking upon us as my sister does with my niece. No words can adequately express the intensity of the desire and delight of God as he looks upon us in amazement and wonder. This is not an abstract love. Just as my sister is beaming with pride at the potential for happiness and a full life for her daughter, God's delight in me (in us) is exponential for our happiness and fullness. As my sister slowly whispers the words, "I love you" that are unintelligible to her child, she is changed by saying them. Is it possible that God's love for us increases when God is able to caress us and say those life-creating words to us? I think so. Let's give God this opportunity.

            What I cry out for, like every being, with my whole life and all my earthly passion, is a God to cherish and adore - a God who is steadfast, caring, and concerned for my well-being. The zest for life, which is the source of all passion and all insight, does not come from ourselves. It is God who gives us the impulse of wanting him. Every encounter that brings me a caress, that spurs me on, that comes as a shock to me, that bruises or breaks me is a contact with the hand of God. God is very active with gentle promptings, nudges, and invitations. God wants to complete the good work in you and bring it to completion.

            Perhaps we can clear space in our prayer times today to allow God to speak those words of intimacy, belonging, and affection that we crave to hear. Some of us may be able to say the words, "I love you" to God; for others of us, it will take a longer time before we can do that, but when we are able to do that, be sure to give God a chance to respond to you. If God is slow in answering, go ahead and beg for a response. A lover always responds to the movement of the beloved. Always. Always. Simple words elicit a strong response from one's heart. Simple words - gentle and fraught with vulnerabilities - that change our whole lives.

            My prayer is that each of us can get a glimpse of just how beautiful we are to God. We don't often hear the words, "You are so beautiful," but if we can truly believe it, because it is said it truth and mystery, without a doubt, God's love can reign a little more brightly over our world. Let God behold you today and find much joy in staring deeply into your eyes so much so that they transform us.

            I imagine when my niece is able to speak these sacred words of devotion to her mother, to utter the singing words, "I love you," my sister's whole being will beam. She will embrace her daughter with a huge hug, and she won't let go easily because she will be dancing with joy. Let God sing and dance today as you mutually share the gift of love God has given you.