Last week, we celebrated the Sacred Heart of Jesus followed by the Immaculate Heart of Mary.  It seems appropriate to link these two celebrations.  We can envision their hearts beating together—beginning with Mary’s pregnancy.  I love the idea that a newborn child finds comfort on resting against the chest of his/her mother because he/she can hear and feel her heartbeat that is so familiar.  Could it have been any different for Jesus?

One can easily appreciate how their hearts matched up in love for each other and for Joseph.  We hear how their hearts feared for each other as Mary sought the young Jesus when he was “lost” and how Jesus felt anxiety for his mother’s wellbeing at his crucifixion.  We find their camaraderie in the regard for others as Mary demonstrates at the Wedding Feast of Cana and Jesus shows on the mountain with the feeding of the crowd.  All the stories of Mary involve Jesus from the Annunciation to the Cross, from the Visitation through the Nativity to the Presentation.  With Joseph, they flee into Egypt together and return from there to establish a home in Nazareth.  Mary is God’s “highly favored daughter” (Lk 1:28) and Jesus is God’s “beloved son” (Mt 3:17).  Jesus offers a succinct description of Mary: “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and act on it” (Lk 8:21).  Who is more captured by those words than Mary who promised: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word” (Lk 1:38).  Yes, two hearts that beat together.

But there is a third heart.  All of us who value the Vincentian charism are familiar with the Miraculous Medal.  The image of Mary graces the front of the medal.  She is standing on a globe and rays of light emanate from her hands.  On the back, we will remember, are the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. The heart of Jesus is surrounded by a crown of thorns, and that of Mary, pierced by a sword.  It is appropriate that our medal holds these two hearts so close together.  Yet, another heart is involved.  Many of us wear the medal around our necks, and it rests near our own hearts.  We pray that our hearts are joined to theirs.

We can hope that our hearts follow the model of Jesus and Mary, that they brim with love and compassion.  We can pray that we surrender our hearts fully and freely to the carrying out of God’s will in our lives, just as they did.  We can desire to identify with them in concern for those brothers and sisters who are hungry and sick, refugees and homeless.  We can yearn to know the truth of God’s love for us as his beloved children and to walk the path that leads to our eternal home.

It seems appropriate to imagine the hearts of Jesus and Mary beating together.  Love and care bound them firmly as one.  We pray that a symbol of our Vincentian heritage, the Miraculous Medal, encourages us to join with them in feeling and understanding.