In top photo, an aerial view of the congregation gathered for the June 7 Mass celebrated by Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., in Sacred Heart Church, Bay Head. Vic Mistretta photo
The Eucharist and the Sacred Heart of Jesus are united “in one mystery of love,” Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., told the faithful recently gathered for Mass in Bay Head.
The June 7 Mass in Sacred Heart Church marked the second of four Masses celebrated by the Bishop in commemoration of the United States’ consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. It also coincided with the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, or, as it is also known, the Feast of Corpus Christi.
“The Feast of Corpus Christi and the Feast of the Sacred Heart are inseparable,” Bishop O’Connell said in his homily. “One feast draws our eyes to the altar; the other draws our eyes to the Heart of Christ. But in truth, they are one mystery of love.”
He explained that while the Eucharist is the gift of Christ’s Body and Blood, the Sacred Heart is the source of that gift, describing the Eucharist as “the overflowing love of the Heart of Jesus.”
“When we approach the Eucharist, we are approaching the Heart of Christ itself,” he said, stressing that the Sacrament is not merely a ritual or theological concept but a deeply personal encounter with Christ’s love.
The Bishop noted that God comes to his people not through displays of earthly power but under the humble signs of bread and wine, revealing “the quiet persistence of divine love.” Likewise, he said, the Sacred Heart reveals Christ as “wounded, burning, merciful and patient” – a heart that continually seeks sinners and never ceases to love.
Drawing from the day’s Second Reading in which St. Paul teaches that “because the loaf of bread is one, we though many are one body,” Bishop O’Connell challenged the faithful to live what they receive in the Eucharist.
“If we receive the Body of Christ, then we must become the Body of Christ,” he said. “If we receive the love of the Sacred Heart, then our hearts must begin to resemble his.”
He reminded worshippers that the Eucharist calls believers not only to adoration but also to transformation.
“We cannot receive the Body of Christ while remaining indifferent to the suffering around us,” he said. “We cannot kneel before the Sacred Heart while refusing mercy to others. We cannot receive divine love while withholding love from our neighbor.”
Bishop O’Connell was joined at the altar by Father Joseph Hlubik, pastor of Sacred Heart Parish and St. Pietrelcina Parish in Lavallette. A reception in the parish hall followed the Mass.
