But one soldier thrust his lance into his side, and immediately blood and water flowed out. (John 19:34)
June 24, 2025
Hello Everyone –
At the beginning of the month, I wrote about June being the month dedicated to our Catholic devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Since then, I have written about the great feast of Pentecost and the celebration of Trinity Sunday. As the month quickly draws to a close, I wish to return to where we started.
On Friday, we will hear in the preface of the Mass on the feast of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus the following:
For raised up high on the Cross,
he gave himself up for us with a wonderful love
and poured out Blood and water from his pierced side,
the wellspring of the Church’s Sacraments,
so that, won over to the open Heart of the Savior,
all might draw water joyfully from the springs of salvation.
How critical it is for each and every one of us to be “won over to the open Heart of the Savior” — well, at least if we ever expect things to change — and be renewed. We are incapable of doing it ourselves. I get that! But that does not mean that we should not act and rather give in to spiritual inertia — or just “leave it to God” — or wait for someone else to fix the problem.
In a society — and world — where the rights of human beings and their God-given dignity are systematically and at times comprehensively disregarded on an increasingly regular basis, people of goodwill do not have the luxury of sitting back and allowing the evil at work to continue.
Realistically, we cannot do it all — but we had best do something. And I believe it is safe to say that this “winning over” is already at work in us and among us. And it has been going on for some time. It just did not start yesterday. For instance:
1) In Baptism — and then through the rest of the Sacraments — a relationship began — and grows — your life, my life, has been punctuated by encounters with the open Heart of our Savior — and those encounters change us —challenge us — heal us — and convert us.
2) The “winning over” to the Heart of the Son is nurtured by communication (a.k.a. prayer — devotions — reading Scripture — etc.) — every healthy relationship depends on communication. Relationships die on a daily basis without living communication. How is your relationship with God? Have you been chatting lately?
3) The demands of that same Heart demonstrate at the most fundamental level that his disciples are sent out to manifest the love that radiates from that Heart — on mission — commissioned — mandated with a new commandment: to love as God loves — to embrace as God embraces — to welcome as God welcomes — to heal — to forgive — to accept without judgment. Ultimately, to possess a radical capability to be catalysts for change.
If we call ourselves members of the Body of Christ — and if we allow ourselves to be won over to that open Heart — then get ready — there’s no turning back.
Allow yourself to get lost in that Heart of love in order that you may draw water joyfully.
Be on fire for God — God will not disappoint you!!
As I do for you, please pray for me,
Most Reverend Jeffrey S. Grob
Archbishop of Milwaukee
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