The Gospel is replete with Our Lord’s sayings and these sayings are drawn from the everyday experiences and lives of His listeners. These expressions, albeit simple on the surface, have now become integral to the manner in which we express ourselves even today. One of the most well known is Jesus’s statement, “By their fruits you shall know them.” It is very important that we deeply understand the wisdom of this and all of Our Lord’s expressions lest we apply them superficially. “By their fruits…” reinforces a timeless truth that from the effects of certain persons or actions, we can come to know the nature of the source.

The extraordinary consecrations that took place on July 1 are a cause of great joy. Yet the response from Rome, which includes but is not limited to, excommunicating the bishops and priests of the Society of Saint Pius X can be both a source of fear and bitterness. There are faithful who fear they are now outside of what they love, namely Holy Mother Church. And given the unjust and extremely harsh response from Rome, many are tempted to give in to bitterness. These responses are, to an extent, understandable, yet they must be resisted for they destroy the spirit of Christian charity. The crisis in the Church continues, but so too does the Society’s mission to form authentic Catholic priests for the salvation of souls.

The consecration of four new bishops for the Society of Saint Pius X is an expression of faith in the immemorial teachings of the Catholic Church. Despite the controversy surrounding these consecrations, they were performed for both the preservation of the Faith and to ensure that the Society can continue transmitting the Faith through priests formed according to the traditional Roman Rite. As such, these consecrations were performed in service to the Church and for the salvation of souls.

To live by faith is to embrace the supernatural life. Even in these times of great confusion, the Catholic Faith guides those who embrace it. The just man lives by faith, which is an incredible gift from God. It is a gift that we must continually pray for so that faith continues in our lives.

Our Lord Jesus Christ took on the punishments for our sins. He gave Himself over to great suffering so that we may be saved. Through the model He established, numerous saints throughout history embraced His path and became victims for the sins of mankind. These great acts of compassion, in unity with Our Lord, helps ensure our salvation.

The devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is a devotion to Our Lord’s immeasurable love. Although the Sacred Heart devotion had been around since the Middle Ages, its prominence came at a crucial point in ecclesiastical history, namely during the spread of Jansenism in France during the 17th century. Contrary to the belief in God’s mercy, Jansenism taught that we can never be pleasing to God. As fallen and fallible humans who are often consumed by our own desires, we find it difficult to return love to Our Lord despite His great love for us. However, His love, and the unfathomable patience that comes with that love, never abates.

At the moment of the Ascension, we Christians are called to make disciples of all nations. It is a great responsibility to call others to the feast, that is, to Our Lord’s table. We must live faithfully to our calling, and doing so means bringing in others to live faithfully in the state of grace. We do this effectively by the example of our lives.

God loves the human race. But just as importantly, He loves all of us individually. In this beautiful feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, we focus on the immeasurable love of Our Lord. We pierce His heart through our sins. Yet never does God waver from His love for us. He does not withdraw from us. Our Lord continues to pour out our love so that we may never lose what He has planned for the human race, namely heaven.

God uses sufferings for our good. It is difficult for us to see this truth, for of course we desire no setbacks in our earthly life. We must remember, however, that the ways of God our not our ways. The ultimate end of our lives is our sanctification. The crosses we bear are integral to this sanctification. Throughout history, mankind has tried to reconcile belief in a loving God with the reality of evil. Instead of looking at this matter in a purely earthly view, we must embrace a supernatural perspective.