p. 54The Sacred Heart and Catholic Organizations

The Sacred Heart of our Lord is a fountain of endless love for God and man. This pure love is the master motive of the life of Christ, the explanation of His life and His teachings. Charity means love, and all active good works, if they are truly Christian, must have love for their motive—love of God for His own sake and of men for the sake of God. Hence, all Catholic activities, if they are worthy of the name, must spring from the love of the Sacred Heart, that source of all true kindness, serviceableness, and helpful ministry to others.

Our blessed Lord first gave us an example of individual good works. He went about doing good, exercising the corporal and spiritual works of mercy, teaching the ignorant, counseling the doubtful, healing the sick, bearing wrongs patiently, and praying for the living and the dead. But at the same time, our Lord gives us also a great example of the power of organization. Even He, the infinite God become man, did not choose to do everything Himself nor to remain on earth indefinitely. It was His Father’s will to establish a human society, the Catholic Church, that is, the assemblage of the faithful organized into a great religious society which should endure to the end of time and be one, holy, catholic, and apostolic in all ages.

To establish this organization Christ chose the twelve apostles, instructed and trained them, made them rulers of His Church, gave them immense powers, and authorized them to appoint successors in authority until the end of time. Through this Church, Christ continues to live and work in the world. It is the greatest, most perfect, and most successful of all human organizations. The love of the Sacred Heart of Jesus for mankind has been the motive of this sublime organization, our Holy Mother, the Church, the daughter and the spouse of Christ.

The purpose of the Church is to save and sanctify the souls of men, but the example of our Lord has encouraged His followers to use the same principles of organization for many other excellent purposes. Catholic societies have existed in all the ages of the Church to promote charity, to help the poor, to bury the dead, to nurse the sick, to care for widows and orphans—to exercise, in a word, all the spiritual and corporal works of mercy. These Catholic societies have taken different forms in different ages. The organization of the faithful in apostolic times must have been very excellent and perfect. “For neither was there any one needy among them. For as many as were owners of lands or houses, sold them, and brought the price of the things they sold, and laid it down before the feet of the apostles. And distribution was made to every one, according as he had need” (Acts, iv. 34-35).

Indeed, so great was the burden of thus helping the poor, that the twelve apostles demanded of the faithful that seven deacons should be chosen whom they might “appoint over this business.” As time went on, other forms of organization arose; as for example, the guilds of the middle ages, the sodalities, and other societies of more modern times. The Church, like a kind mother, allowed her children to group themselves together in the form which best suited them, providing always, of course, that everything was carried on in a manner conformable to the wishes of the Sacred Heart, and to the interests of the Church and of souls.

There was never another time, perhaps, in the history of the Church when the variety of Catholic organizations was so great as it is today. Every member of a Catholic family who is devoted to the interests of the Sacred Heart can find some means of promoting those interests by faithful and active membership in a Catholic organization. For some, one society has an appeal; for others, another; but there is hardly anyone who will not find some good work organized and at hand, to satisfy his or her desire.

It is important for us all to realize that faithful membership in these Catholic societies is very pleasing to the Sacred Heart and that each member of the family consecrated to the Heart of our Lord ought to show a reasonable zeal toward Catholic organizations. This is surely the providential means by which our Lord designs to aid His followers, to meet the needs of the time; and, though these societies cannot work miracles nor perform wonders, still their steadfast and faithful cooperation will do much to help the work of the Church in saving souls.

It is a good and worthy thing to encourage the members of your family to take due pride in Catholic organizations, to belong to the right societies, and to cooperate in their activities. Every member of the family should take a special interest in what the others are doing for Catholic organizations. A little encouragement at home and a little real appreciation from the family circle often help a great deal to keep the officers and members of Catholic societies courageous and faithful in their work. If we truly love the Sacred Heart, we shall be devoted to all that promotes the interests of the kingdom of Christ on earth. It must follow, then, that we shall esteem and love in our family circle the Catholic organizations which Christ holds so dear.