The feast of the Sacred Heart, which fell on Friday, June 27 this year, brought faithful from near and far together to honor Christ’s Most Sacred Heart.
The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, a procession and gathering were held at Columbus Sacred Heart Church on the moveable feast day, which falls the Friday following the second Sunday – or 19 days – after Pentecost. Devotion to the Sacred Heart emphasizes Christ’s love, compassion and suffering for humanity.
Bishop Earl Fernandes celebrated a 5 p.m. Mass at the diocesan church named for Christ’s Most Sacred Heart. Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament was offered beginning at 10 a.m. and continued during the day. A talk on the devotion to the Sacred Heart was given before Mass by Msgr. Frank Lane, who continues as the parish’s administrator until July 8.
Several diocesan clergy concelebrated the Mass, with deacons and seminarians also serving. The congregation included consecrated religious, families and individuals ranging from children to the elderly.
Members of the local Welcome His Heart Sacred Heart Enthronement Network helped organize and were present to welcome faithful to the church. They distributed prayer cards with the Litany of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and images of Christ revealing His heart, which is depicted with a flame of fire and surrounded by a crown of thorns.
A procession to nearby Columbus St. John the Baptist Church after Mass was originally planned but canceled due to inclement weather. The bishop, instead, processed inside the church with a monstrance holding the Blessed Sacrament.
An outdoor gathering followed in the side yard once clear skies returned.
This year’s feast concluded the Sacred Heart Jubilee Year taking place in the worldwide Church. The jubilee commemorated the 350th anniversary of the apparitions of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The special year began Dec. 27, 2023, the anniversary of the first apparition of the Sacred Heart of Jesus to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque in Paray-le-Monial, France.
During the jubilee year, faithful in the diocese could receive a plenary indulgence by making a pilgrimage to Sacred Heart Church as well as Cardington Sacred Hearts, Coshocton Sacred Heart and New Philadelphia Sacred Heart churches. To receive the indulgence, the usual conditions were required: detachment from sin, reception of the sacraments of reconciliation and the Eucharist, and prayers for the Holy Father’s intentions.
The physical heart of Jesus represents His divine love for humanity. In his homily, Bishop Fernandes reflected on Christ’s heart – the person of Jesus.
The mystery of the Sacred Heart is one of love. The bishop told the congregation that Christ came to restore, love and heal them.
He explored Jesus’ five “defects,” penned by Cardinal Francois-Xavier Nguyen Van Thaun. The Vietnamese cardinal (1928-2002) wrote that Jesus has a terrible memory, does not know mathematics, does not know logic, is a risk taker, is bad at finances and does not understand economics.
A defective memory can be seen in Jesus’ pardon of the Good Thief on the cross and offering pardon to every person, not remembering who he pardons or their sins. Bishop Fernandes added that, according to Cardinal Nguyen Van Thaun, Jesus does not know mathematics: He was willing to leave 99 sheep to find a lost one.
The bishop said Jesus lacks logic as showcased by His parable of a woman who loses a coin, and upon finding it, throws a celebration costing more than the value of the coin. Christ was also a risk-taker for the love of the Father and humanity.
Each and every person matters to Jesus, Bishop Fernandes told members of the congregation, and that the Lord takes a risk on each of them.
He also explained Jesus’ lack of understanding of finance and economics, exemplified by His parable of workers in the vineyard. If in charge of a business, Christ would pay the same daily wage to a man who began working at 5 p.m. as one working since early morning.
Reflecting on the Lord’s defects, Bishop Fernandes noted that love, at times, can be defective. He said the Sacred Heart of Jesus has reasons for loving each person.
God does not expect people to be perfect. Rather, He is perfecting them, the bishop added. He explained that God has the power to save. The world cannot.
For Petra Garcia, a parishioner at Columbus Our Lady of Guadalupe, Star of the New Evangelization Parish, the Mass brought a sense of rejuvenation.
“It was very nice and calm, peaceful,” she said.
Garcia brought her young daughter, Isabella, to the Mass. As a mother, she explained her hope for Isabella to learn and grow in the Catholic faith and be holy. The family enjoys attending diocesan Masses with Bishop Fernandes.
“It’s the feast of our Sacred Heart of Jesus – that’s the very important thing,” Garcia said of her desire to attend the Mass. “And second, because it was the bishop. He was going to celebrate it, and we like to come here – actually it’s our first time in here – but we like whenever the bishop celebrates.”
Emma Coughlin, a Sacred Heart parishioner, experienced a profound sense of the Lord’s proximity.
“I had chills throughout the entire duration of Mass, honestly, and I felt such a strong presence of the Holy Spirit,” she shared. “I think my favorite was probably seeing the like 30 priests up at the altar … what a beautiful witness that was to their ‘yes’ to the Lord and their ‘yes’ to the Sacred Heart in serving the flock, and that was really powerful to me.
“I could feel the presence of the Holy Spirit and just the reverence. I think the reverence of everyone around, it can’t not have an impact on you.”
Coughlin said she grew in knowledge and devotion to the Sacred Heart since becoming a parishioner at the church about two years ago.
Various practices increased her devotion, she shared, such as “having the image of the Sacred Heart, prayers to the Sacred Heart … reflecting on the things that can hold us back from our relationship with Jesus, and identifying ways to clear the path … through the human heart to Jesus’ heart.”
She described the feast day as a “landmark” in joining the parish.
Trisha Fedders is also a Sacred Heart parishioner but at a church farther south and outside of the diocese. She belongs to Cincinnati Sacred Heart Church and made the 90-minute drive to Columbus for the Mass and procession.
“When I saw online that this was happening up here, I thought, I cannot miss this,” the Cincinnati resident said.
“The Sacred Heart of Jesus is something very special, like how Msgr. Lane said, there’s a ton of devotions out there, but this is truly the devotion of who He is, and then also in Bishop Fernandes’ homily about Jesus and how overflowing His love is with mercy for us and forgiveness.
“Every time that he gives a homily, there’s something new that I take away. When he was talking about Jesus and His defects, that was great to hear and a way to really truly think about our faith.”
Bishop Fernandes – then Father Fernandes – married Fedders and her husband, Joe, while a priest in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati before being ordained a bishop. He served as administrator at Cincinnati Sacred Heart Church from 2014 to 2016. The now-bishop also baptized the couple’s three sons: Henry, John and Mark.
For Fedders, the visit to Columbus’ Sacred Heart Church and opportunity to visit her former priest-turned-bishop was worth the drive.
“This was absolutely beautiful,” she said. “I couldn’t think of another way to celebrate the Sacred Heart of Jesus.”