A reflection on the Sacred Heart of Jesus with a Beautiful story (John 19:30-37)
Praise be to Jesus Christ
One evening, an old man was sitting near a riverbank, keeping his legs in the water, watching the current flow. A boy from the village came to him and asked, “Why do you come here every day?” The old man answered, “I once threw the ashes of my son into this river. I come here not to remember his death, but to stay close to his love. The river carries it.” The boy did not understand everything, but he could feel the depth of love in the old man’s silence.
Since we celebrate the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and as we read the Gospel from John chapter 19 today, we are standing not by a river but at the foot of the Cross. Jesus has just said, “It is finished.” His body is broken. His breath is gone. But the story does not end with death. A soldier pierces His side with a spear. And then something happens that no one could have expected — blood and water flow out.
Most people reflect on the Cross by focusing on the suffering or the forgiveness. But today let us reflect on that flow. That moment — silent, deep, and holy — where blood and water pour from the side of the dead Christ. It was not needed. Jesus was already dead. But heaven had one more thing to show us.
The heart of Jesus was opened.
The Sacred Heart is not just an image hanging in our churches or homes. It is the center of our faith. Not because it is a physical heart but because it shows us how far love can go. In our world, when we speak of love, it is often conditional — I love you if you love me. I help you if you help me. But Jesus’ heart is different. It loves even when there is nothing in return.
The Gospel says, “They will look on the one whom they have pierced.” That’s us. We look not with fear, but with awe. Because that wound is not just from a spear — it is from love emptied out.
It reminds us of Moses in the desert, as he struck the rock and water flowed to quench the thirst of the Israelites. But now, the new Moses is struck, and His heart becomes the source of eternal life. It quenches not just the thirst of our mouths but of our souls. In fact, Saint John Paul II once said, “The heart of Christ is the heart of the Church.” That means, without His love, we are just an organisation. But with it, we are His living Body.
And now, perhaps the most difficult part of the gospel is not just a story to admire, but It is a call. When Jesus opens His heart, He is also asking — Will you open yours?
Many of us live with closed hearts. We carry wounds. We hold grudges. We fear to love fully because we do not want to be hurt. But today, standing before the pierced side of Jesus, we are invited to love like He did — not half, but whole. Not safe, but sacrificial.
The old man by the river was not foolish. He knew that love doesn’t end in a grave. It flows. It continues. It becomes a river that reaches far beyond what we can see.
May our hearts, too, be opened. Not just to receive His love but to give it, like that stream of blood and water, to the world around us — to our families, to the broken, to those who cannot believe they are loved.
Let us look at the pierced one not with pity, but with promise — the promise that no wound is wasted, and no love is ever in vain.
Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make my heart like yours.
