The coat of arms of the DOY bears a golden dove,
taken from the shield of Pope Pius XII,
who created the diocese in 1943.
The dove is also symbolic of the patron of the Cathedral…
Saint Columba…
for "Columba" is the Latin word for "dove."
The image of the innocent…beautiful…little dove…
speaks to our hearts this holy morning…
and helps grasp the glorious mystery of the loving heart of Jesus.
Listen to the words of Saint Bonaventure…
a medieval philosopher and theologian,
a contemporary of Saint Thomas Aquinas…
"It was a divine decree that permitted one of the soldiers
to open His sacred side with a lance…
so that the Church might be formed from the side of Christ
as He slept the sleep of death on the cross.
Flowing from the secret abyss of our Lord’s heart as from a fountain,
this stream gave the sacraments of the Church the power to confer grace…
Arise then, beloved of Christ!
Imitate the dove that nests in a hole in the cliff…keeping watch at the entrance like the sparrow that finds a home.
Press your lips to the fountain, draw water from the wells of your Savior…."
In the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ…our Savior and our Lord…
we find the source of life…
life for the Church, born from the side of Christ on the cross
life made present to us in the Sacraments
life for us who…
like doves nesting in the recesses of a cliff…
take refuge in Jesus’ Sacred Heart
and in its unending…flowing stream of love and mercy.
The water which burst forth from His Heart
is the source of the Sacrament of Baptism.
The Precious Blood which flowed down His broken body…nailed to the cross…
is the Precious Blood we receive in the Eucharist.
The mercy contained in that infinite Heart…
a heart overflowing with love for His beloved bride the Church…
is available to us in the Sacrament of Penance.
The heart of Jesus is the heart of one who knows us intimately…
who loves us beyond what we could ever hope to understand…
and who longs to be one with us forever.
How blessed we would be if we had hearts so loving as His!
The heart of Jesus is a heart that beats with love for us!
It is a heart that pities us in our sinfulness and our brokenness…
and skips a beat with us in our triumphs!
In the Sacred Heart of Jesus we find life…love…peace…joy…and mercy!
Run to His heart in your needs…in your moments of temptation…in your sorrows!
Run and hide yourself in His wounded side!
Run and take refuge in His care…
"make your nest" in the comfort of that Heart which knows no end to love!
Cleanse yourself in the fountain of His goodness and mercy
in the Sacrament of Penance.
Let His love and mercy flow over you and through you…
bringing you the peace that only comes from our glorious and immortal Lord.
Nourish your souls with His Precious Blood!
In the Sacred Heart of Jesus we find a fountain of life…
an indescribably beautiful and marvelous fountain of life…
a fountain of life that conquers all evil and sin…
a fountain of life that wells up within us…
and makes our hearts sing the praises of Christ Jesus…
and the awesome wonder of His loving Heart!
Jesus, meek and humble of heart…
Make our hearts like unto Thine!
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