Pondering the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Via Pulchritudinis
The Way of Beauty
 
By Sharon Clossick

Sacred Heart of Jesus, Sharon Clossick
16 x 20", Oil on Canvas
Original available $1,200

     HAVE YOU EVER SEEN a natural spring of running water flowing from the earth?  Have you ever stopped to think how amazing the idea of this is?  I find it fascinating that fresh water can freely and continuously flow from the ground.  Last October we visited a dear priest friend on Block Island who introduced us to a natural flowing spring.  As a matter of fact, he told us that he remembers fetching fresh water from this particular spring back in 1958 while visiting his uncle on the island.  Stop and think for a moment, this spring of water has been flowing most likely, since before 1958!  I say to myself, how can this be?  As I sit writing this reflection, my husband and I are actually on the Block Island ferry returning home from a beautiful September day on the island.  I have my large bottle filled with water from this very spring.  I no longer visit the island without making a special stop at my new favorite place.

     With this on my mind, I'm thinking about the reflection I’ve been wanting to write for quite a while about the Sacred Heart of Jesus.  Now that the painting is completed, I desire to write the thoughts and feelings I encountered while working on the Sacred Heart Project.  What does “Sacred Heart of Jesus” mean?  A few months prior to starting this painting, I felt uncomfortable with the idea of painting Jesus.  Honestly, it felt slightly intimidating for obvious reasons.  How does one portray Christ?  I am not worthy of such a high task.  I also tried to sit with Jesus in front of the tabernacle to begin to discern His heart and His desires for this project.

     I believe that all things happen for a reason and I know that God assisted me in my reflection by introducing a special book that a fellow parishioner recommended, The Bishop of the Abandoned Tabernacle, reflections by Saint Manuel Gonzalez Garcia.  This was exactly what I needed!  I soaked up every word and at times sat with it in front of the Tabernacle.  The beautiful reflections and thoughts from St. Manuel touched my heart and helped me to begin to understand Jesus in the Tabernacle.  It is in the Tabernacle that I learned that Jesus is most active.  And it is there where we can most certainly find His most sacred heart.

I learned that the Sacred Heart of Jesus is:

A crucified heart.
A redeemed heart.

A heart that takes on all our sins.
A heart that loves us so much, it redeems and offers us salvation.

A heart with eyes that see us.
A heart with ears that hear us.

A heart that is resurrected.
A Eucharistic heart that offers us His body and blood.

     Jesus has a heart that is very much alive and burns for souls to come to Him.  He freely gives us His heart and we are free to receive it.  I envision Jesus as mighty but gentle, therefore my painting portrays Him as mighty in appearance but with eyes that gaze toward us with compassion, mercy and most importantly, love.  I made Jesus’ hand large and strong, His cloak white to signify His redemption, His crown of thorns and the mark from the nail in His hand to remind us of the suffering He endured for our Salvation.  Jesus’ halo is Eucharistic in appearance, reminding us that He comes to us fully alive in the Eucharist.

     When I sit in front of the Tabernacle I can’t help but realize that Jesus is fully alive and present.  His merciful heart is right there just waiting for us to come to him.  Our priest friend who introduced my husband and me to the spring made the analogy of the continuous flowing water with that of God’s abundant grace for us.  This is all I could think of today while filling the water from the natural spring into my water bottle.   At that moment, it dawned on me that Jesus’ heart is just like this fresh running water.  He is continuously pouring his grace out to us from his merciful heart.  It is constant and never ending, just like the water flowing from the natural spring.

     This painting is very special to me.  It is by far one of the most important paintings I’ve ever done and I pray that it finds a special home.  Whoever desires to obtain this, I know that it is because Jesus is desiring to share his heart with them in a profound way.  Along with the original, prints are also available.


God bless you.


Sharon

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