Hajja Salesjana

surrender of the human will to the divine (Lk 22:42, “Not my will but thy will be done”), is reflected by Jesus being stripped naked on the Cross. Human desires are “clothing” for the heart. Jesus, naked on the cross, reveals that he has no desires other than for his Father and the fulfillment of His will. On the cross, Jesus’ heart was bare, clothed only with “charity as a garment”. The Sacred Heart: Maternal and Paternal Even more than viewing the Heart of Jesus as the center of the eternal life of heaven, Francis sees it as the source of that divine life and friendship even now, and its means of nourishment in the ordinary events of everyday life. In this sense the Heart of the crucified Christ conveys both maternal and peternal qualities of the divine Heart of God. Francis affirms that from his heart on the Cross “our Lord treats us as a good Father and a good Mother”, offering us life and sustenance. The maternal qualities of the Sacred Heart resonate in both The Introduction to the Devout Lifeand the Treatise on the Love of God. In the Introduction, Francis writes: “The Heart of Christ plans to bring you forth to salvation and make you his child. He prepared on the tree of the cross whatever was necessary for you - a spiritual cradle, linen, swaddling clothes, nurse, and all else needed to make you happy”.And in the Treatise we read: “Within Christ’s maternal breast his divine heart foresaw, disposed, merited and obtained all our benefits, not only for all of humanity ingeneral but for each individual person in particular”. Pondering the paternity of God’s heart, Francis believes that all those in the Church are “children of the loving and paternal Heart of Christ”. In his paternal role, Jesus’Heart is the gateway to divine providence. “Henceforth”, writes Francis to Filothea, “have no other arms to carry you than his, no other bosom to rest on than his, trusting always in his providence”. Mount Calvary: The Mount of Lovers In Salesian devotion, the ultimate expression of both the human and divine Heart of Christ is found in his passion and death on Calvary. Convinced that the heart of Christ crucified is the human access point to the unfathomable depths of divine love for us, Francis concludes that “Mount Calvary is the mount of lovers. All love that does not take its origin from the Saviour’s passion is foolish and perilous. Unhappy is death without the Saviour’s love; unhappy is love without the Saviour’s death. Love and death are so mingled in the Saviour’s passion that we cannot have the one in our hearts without the other… Live, Jesus, live; your death up on the tree shows all your boundless love for me!”. Sources: Thomas Daily, O.S.F.S, Behold this Heart. St. Francis de Sales and Devotion to the Sacred Heart, Sophia Institute Press, Manchester, New Hampshire. 2020. John A. Abruzzese, Francis de Sales and the Heart of Jesus, http://hosted.desales.edu/files/salesian/library/Abruzzese- Heart.pdf Visit our social media platforms in English, French, Italian, and Spanish https://www.museocasadonbosco.it Museo Casa Don Bosco museo_casadonbosco 28 Ottubru - Diċembru 2022 hajja