We read in John’s Gospel that, when Jesus was on the cross and had died, “one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once blood and water came out” (19:34). The passage that includes this verse is read on the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus which, this year, is celebrated this Friday, June 7th. It is also a verse, a passage, which fits with today’s (Sunday’s) celebration of the Body and Blood of Christ.
There is a link between these two feast days: the Body and Blood of Christ, and the Sacred Heart. They are intentionally, purposefully placed close together on the calendar. One connection that can be made is this: if we think of Jesus’ body and blood, well, his heart is at the center of his body, and the heart keeps the blood flowing. Jesus’ heart can be seen as a source of love, as that which keeps the love flowing. That love was and still is shared with us by Jesus, including through the Eucharist.
Here are a couple of verses from one of the other readings of the June 7 Mass for the Sacred Heart of Jesus. These verses also fit with today’s feast of the Body and Blood of Christ: “I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:18-19).
– Fr. Paul Robson SJ