Karl Rahner on the Sacred Heart of Jesus
The German Jesuit theologian Karl Rahner (1904-1984) was known for his rather dense, academic theological writings. But he also authored a number of meditative spiritual writings that are very inspiring and thought-provoking for our life with God. Today, on the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, I share with you a selection from one of his writings on the Sacred Heart. Rahner had a deep devotion to the mystery of the pierced heart of Christ and he thought that this was a church devotion that would endure through the ages. He believed that it communicated the core, the very heart, of the Christian message of God’s infinite love poured out in Christ. At the conclusion of this essay, Rahner wrote these words:
“We look at the heart of the Lord and the question that is decisive for eternity fills our innermost being, our innermost heart and life: Do you love me? Do you love me in such a way that this love generates a blessed eternity, that it truly, powerfully and invincibly generates my everlasting life? This question is not answered because the answer would no longer be a secret; we could give it to ourselves. The question enters the mystery that has come near to us in the heart of the Lord. But when it enters this heart, because it is asked with faith, hope and love, that question is not answered but overpowered by the mystery that is love, by the unquestionable reality of the mystery of God. . . .
It is impossible properly to teach devotion to the Sacred Heart. With confidence in the Church and the Spirit, we must try to approach its mystery. We must eventually, in the luminous and in the dark hours of life, try to pray: ‘Heart of Jesus, have mercy on me.’ We should perhaps try to practice a prayer like the Jesus prayer of the Russian pilgrim. We might venture to use this word like a mantra in Eastern style meditation. But over and above all that, we must experience in life that it is most improbable, most impossible, and so most evident that God, the incomprehensible, truly loves us and that in the heart of Jesus Christ this love has become irrevocable.”
(“Devotion to the Sacred Heart Today,“ Theological Investigations, volume 23, 127-128)
Robin Ryan, C.P.
Robin Ryan, C.P., taught systematic theology at Catholic Theological Union from 2004-2010. He was elected Vicar Provincial of his religious congregation (the Passionist community) in May 2010. He earned his Ph.D. from the Catholic University of America. Prior to coming to CTU, he taught theology at Saint John's Seminary in Boston for nine years. During his time at CTU, he also served as the founding director of Catholics on Call, a national vocation discovery program for young adults. He is the author of a number of essays on God and human suffering, young adults and the Church, Christology, and ecclesiology. He is the editor and co-author of Catholics on Call: Discerning a Life of Service in the Church (Liturgical Press, 2010). He is also the author of the forthcoming book God and Suffering: A Theological Conversation Through the Ages (Paulist Press, 2011).
