Gospel in Art: Solemnity of the most sacred heart of Jesus

The Sacred Heart of Jesus, by Pompeo Batoni, 1767,© Christian Art

Source: Christian Art

Gospel of 16 June 2023
Matthew 11:25-30

Jesus exclaimed, 'I bless you, Father, Lord of heaven and of earth, for hiding these things from the learned and the clever and revealing them to mere children. Yes, Father, for that is what it pleased you to do. Everything has been entrusted to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, just as no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

'Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened, and I will give you rest. Shoulder my yoke and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Yes, my yoke is easy and my burden light.'

Reflection on the painting

Christ is at the very centre of our faith. And at the very centre of him is his sacred heart. So everything comes back to Jesus' heart. In his sacred heart we see the divine love and the human love. In 2013, Pope Francis, said on this solemnity that 'it is more difficult to let God love us than to love Him! The best way to love Him in return is to open our hearts and let Him love us.' So our hearts and Christ's heart need to be intertwined and constantly communicating. He gave us his heart first, so we can give ours to him too.

Our painting by Pompeo Batoni from 1767 is showing Jesus presenting us his heart. Christ is depicted wearing a tunic that is blood-red, the colour of blood, martyrdom and his humanity. He also wears a blue over-mantle which symbolises the colour of heaven and Christ's divinity. One hand presents his heart, the other hand shows Christ's wound. The inflamed heart is crowned with thorns and with a cross. His heart is on fire. Jesus is looking straight at us.

Batoni's artwork became instantly popular and rapidly became the almost 'official' image for the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Batoni was born 18 years after the death of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, the saint who inspired the artists of all Sacred Heart of Jesus portraits. Jesus appeared to St Margaret Mary under the title of the Sacred Heart. His Sacred Heart was described by the saint with these following words: "The Divine Heart was presented to me in a throne of flames, more resplendent than a sun, transparent as crystal, with this adorable wound. And it was surrounded with a crown of thorns, signifying the punctures made in it by our sins, and a cross above signifying that from the first instant of His Incarnation, [...] the cross was implanted into it [...]." This oval portrait is an altarpiece placed above the altar in the northern side chapel of the Church of the Gesù in Rome.

LINKS

Gospel in Art: https://christian.art/
Today's reflection: https://christian.art/daily-gospel-reading/matthew-11-25-30-2023-2/