While the image of Christ and his heart is not in itself an object of worship, neither is it simply one among many other possible images. It was not devised at a desk or designed by an artist; it is “no imaginary symbol, but a real symbol which represents the centre, the source from which salvation flowed for all humanity”. 32Angelus, 9 June 2013: L’Osservatore Romano, 10-11 June 2013, p. 8.
Universal human experience has made the image of the heart something unique. Indeed, throughout history and in different parts of the world, it has become a symbol of personal intimacy, affection, emotional attachment and capacity for love. Transcending all scientific explanations, a hand placed on the heart of a friend expresses special affection: when two persons fall in love and draw close to one another, their hearts beat faster; when we are abandoned or deceived by someone we love, our hearts sink. So too, when we want to say something deeply personal, we often say that we are speaking “from the heart”. The language of poetry reflects the power of these experiences. In the course of history, the heart has taken on unique symbolic value that is more than merely conventional.
It is understandable, then, that the Church has chosen the image of the heart to represent the human and divine love of Jesus Christ and the inmost core of his Person. Yet, while the depiction of a heart afire may be an eloquent symbol of the burning love of Jesus Christ, it is important that this heart not be represented apart from him. In this way, his summons to a personal relationship of encounter and dialogue will become all the more meaningful. 33We can thus understand why the Church has forbidden placing on the altar representations of the heart of Jesus or Mary alone (cf. Response of the Congregation of Sacred Rites to the Reverend Charles Lecoq, P.S.S., 5 April 1879: Decreta Authentica Congregationis Sacrorum Rituum ex Actis ejusdem Collecta, vol. III, 107-108, n. 3492). Outside the liturgy, “for private devotion” (ibid.), the symbolism of a heart can be used as a teaching aid, an aesthetic figure or an emblem that invites one to meditate on the love of Christ, but this risks taking the heart as an object of adoration or spiritual dialogue apart from the Person of Christ. On 31 March 1887, the Congregation gave another, similar response (ibid., 187, n. 3673). The venerable image portraying Christ holding out his loving heart also shows him looking directly at us, inviting us to encounter, dialogue and trust; it shows his strong hands capable of supporting us and his lips that speak personally to each of us.
The heart, too, has the advantage of being immediately recognizable as the profound unifying centre of the body, an expression of the totality of the person, unlike other individual organs. As a part that stands for the whole, we could easily misinterpret it, were we to contemplate it apart from the Lord himself. The image of the heart should lead us to contemplate Christ in all the beauty and richness of his humanity and divinity.
Whatever particular aesthetic qualities we may ascribe to various portrayals of Christ’s heart when we pray before them, it is not the case that “something is sought from them or that blind trust is put in images as once was done by the Gentiles”. Rather, “through these images that we kiss, and before which we kneel and uncover our heads, we are adoring Christ”. 34ECUMENICAL COUNCIL OF TRENT, Session XXV, Decree Mandat Sancta Synodus (3 December 1563): DH 1823.
Certain of these representations may indeed strike us as tasteless and not particularly conducive to affection or prayer. Yet this is of little importance, since they are only invitations to prayer, and, to cite an Eastern proverb, we should not limit our gaze to the finger that points us to the moon. Whereas the Eucharist is a real presence to be worshiped, sacred images, albeit blessed, point beyond themselves, inviting us to lift up our hearts and to unite them to the heart of the living Christ. The image we venerate thus serves as a summons to make room for an encounter with Christ, and to worship him in whatever way we wish to picture him. Standing before the image, we stand before Christ, and in his presence, “love pauses, contemplates mystery, and enjoys it in silence”. 35FIFTH GENERAL CONFERENCE OF THE LATIN AMERICAN AND CARIBBEAN BISHOPS, Aparecida Document (29 June 2007), n. 259.
At the same time, we must never forget that the image of the heart speaks to us of the flesh and of earthly realities. In this way, it points us to the God who wished to become one of us, a part of our history, and a companion on our earthly journey. A more abstract or stylized form of devotion would not necessarily be more faithful to the Gospel, for in this eloquent and tangible sign we see how God willed to reveal himself and to draw close to us.