‘Our world that has become "heartless" and indifferent to greed and war, and the Catholic Church is in need of revitalizing its missionary joy to open itself up to Christ's infinite love,’ Pope Francis writes in his new Encyclical Dilexit Nos (He loved us.) The Vatican released the 28,000-word text yesterday, October 24. While it is the Pope’s fourth Encyclical, it works in tandem with his previous two encyclicals, Laudato Si', "on Care for Our Common Home" and Fratelli Tutti, "on Fraternity and Social Friendship." By contemplating Jesus' Sacred Heart, the faithful can be filled with the "living water that can heal the hurt we have caused, strengthen our ability to love and serve others, and inspire us to journey together toward a just and fraternal world, built on solidarity" the Pope wrote in his encyclical, which focuses on the Human and Divine Love of the Heart of Jesus Christ. Further on he writes ‘when we witness the outbreak of new wars, with the complicity, tolerance or indifference of other countries, or petty power struggles over partisan interests, we may be tempted to conclude that our world is losing its heart. It is heart-breaking to see elderly women, who should be enjoying their golden years, experiencing the anguish, fear and outrage of war. This is a sign of a world that has grown heartless. In union with Christ, amid the ruins we have left in this world by our sins, we are called to build a new civilization of love.’ Pope Francis is inviting Catholics to rediscover or strengthen their devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the practices connected with it, particularly Eucharistic adoration and receiving the Eucharist on the first Friday of each month.
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