Two Reflections on the Feast of the Sacred Heart Now for Human Hearts and the Sacred Heart by Matthew D. Walz And Now for A Pilgrimage to the Sacred Heart by Fr. Thomas G. Weinandy, OFM Cap.

About this episode

The episode features reflections on the Feast of the Sacred Heart, discussing the significance of the heart in relation to God and human existence.

By Matthew Walz and Fr. Thomas G. Weinandy, OFM, Cap. But first a note from Robert Royal: Two more days should do it - if we make it. So let's end this campaign with a bang and get back to the chief business of The Catholic Thing. What is the "heart"? The Catechism proves helpful here. In a section on the unity of man, the Church teaches that man is "at once corporeal and spiritual" and that "man, whole and entire, is. . .willed by God." (CCC 362) Then, having unpacked these assertions, the section concludes: The spiritual tradition of the Church also emphasizes the heart, in the biblical sense of the depths of one's being, where the person decides for or against God. (CCC 368) The heart, then, names what is profoundly singular about each human being, a principle that underlies both body and soul. At the depths of every human being's existence lies a heart from which arises the decisive direction of his or her life in relation to God. Unfortunately, the last portion of the translation above could be more precise. The typical Latin edition of the Catechism says that the heart is ubi persona se decidit aut non decidit pro Deo, "where the person decides or does not decide himself…

People in this episode

Guests: Matthew D. Walz, Fr. Thomas G. Weinandy, OFM Cap.

Topics covered

• Feast of the Sacred Heart
• spirituality
• human heart
• Catholic teaching
• decision for God

Keywords

• Sacred Heart
• Catholic Church
• spiritual tradition
• human existence
• decision for God

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Catechism

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