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“Without a Heart it is Impossible.” The Personal and Social Significance of Devotion to the Heart of Jesus in the Light of Post-Conciliar Church Teaching
Abstract
The article illuminates the significant development of the devotion to the Sacred Heart as a result of the teaching of three post-conciliar popes: Paul VI, John Paul II and Benedict XVI. All three, while constantly referring to the writings and speeches of their predecessors, in particular Leo XIII, Pius XI and Pius XII, whose personal contribution to the promotion of the cult of the Sacred Heart cannot be overestimated, they permanently deepened and adapted it to the ever-new needs of the post-conciliar Church since the “old” and the “new” are always profoundly united.
Paul VI saw in the cult of the Heart of Jesus manifold spiritual potential and made the Heart of Jesus the inspiration, strength and instrument of the conciliar renewal of spirit and morals. John Paul II, to whom the mystery of the Heart of Christ appealed from an early age, proclaimed the theology of the Divine Heart tirelessly throughout his pontificate, emphasising its Christocentric, ecclesial and missionary dimensions. It is to the great credit of the Polish Pope that the devotion of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is closely linked to the cult of Divine Mercy and that the former is shown as the revelation, source and mediator of the mercy of God the Father. In his rich scholarly and pastoral legacy, Benedict XVI made it clear that the loving Heart of God has revealed itself throughout the ongoing history of salvation in three guises: as the open Heart of God, the pierced Heart of the Son of God and the beating of both in the hearts of Christians.
Keywords:
post-conciliar teaching of the Church, heart of God, Paul VI, John Paul II, civilisation of love, cult of the heart of Jesus, Benedict XVIMost read articles by the same author(s)
- Marzena Górecka, Divine Pedagogy in the Face of Educational Crisis. On the Approach of Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI , Kościół i Prawo: Vol. 12 No. 2 (2023)
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.