The Creation Spirituality Lineage Calling All Social and Environmental Activists, Mystic Explorers, Justice Makers, Cosmic Thinkers, Earth Keepers Daily Meditations with Matthew Fox |
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By Gianluigi Gugliermetto 11/14/2025 |
The devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is something that one is inclined to toss into the sentimental garbage bin, until one finds its origins. |
Gertrude of Hackeborn (1232–1292) gave shelter to our Mechtild of Magdeburg (1210-1297) in the convent of Helfta, of which she was the abbess. There, Mechtild was recognized as a spiritual teacher and was able to impart the treasures of her wisdom to two other women: one also named Gertrude, and the other also named Mechtild. These two slightly younger women |
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are credited with the origins of the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Mechtild of Hackeborn (1240-1298), who was also a musician of great talent, wrote a book called The Book of Special Graces, which became immediately known in many places, including Florence. Gertrude of Helfta (1256-1302) wrote a book called Herald of Divine Love, which, some two centuries later, at the time of the invention of printing, was edited, published, and widely read. It became one of the books cherished by Teresa of Avila (1515-1582). What a place must have been the Cistercian monastery of Helfta when these four women lived there! Each of them received visions and special messages, which gave them confidence in their own personal experience of the divine, while they collaborated with each other, rather than fighting for prestige. It has been noticed that the most repeated word in the first portion of The Book of Special Graces is “splendor,” and I can’t help thinking how this perfectly matches the via positiva as described by Matthew Fox, whose core message is awe and wonder at the splendor of creation. |
Orion nebula appearing as a glowing heart. Photo by Aldebaran S on Unsplash. | As for the notion of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the best way to understand it resides in a vision reported in the Herald of Divine Love. The Beloved lets Gertude put her ear to his breast, and she hears two pulsations, just as in the case of |
people. She wonders, and Jesus explains to her that the human heart keeps the human body going; the divine Heart keeps the universe going. Moreover, with the first pulsation, the Sacred Heart brings to salvation entire groups of sinners; with the second pulsation, it also brings to salvation some just people — in that order, mind you! The devotion to the Sacred Heart — whatever it might have become — originally had a cosmic scope. It had to do with how divine beauty pervades the universe, and how divine love keeps the universe alive, including all kinds of people, good and bad. |
It is in this cosmic context that innumerable images of the relationship with the divine related in these books must be understood. The “golden tube” which departs from the heart of Jesus and fills Gertrude with all the divine qualities; the heart of Jesus transforming itself into a woman’s breast at which she can feed; and so on and so forth. “God is love” was not for these women a notion, but a lived reality. Understanding the divine as the beating heart of |
This is one of a series of heart creations by Leslie
Richards. This particular painting she paired with Rumi: “In your light I learn how to love. In your beauty, how to make poems. You dance inside my chest where no-one sees you, but sometimes I do, and that sight becomes this art.” Used with permission. |
the
cosmos, which also feeds and fills each individual heart, is something that we as moderns struggle with mightily. But between premodern folk and ourselves of the modern age, who is wiser? |
For books by authors mentioned in the DMs and recommended by Matthew Fox and GG, check out Matthew’s online bookstore at Bookshop.org. Each purchase helps to support
Matthew’s work and can also subsidize the independent bookshop of your choice.
Banner Image: This mosaic of Christ revealing his Sacred Heart to St Margaret Mary Alacoque is in the Basilica of Sacre Coeur in Paris (depicted in the background). Photo by Fr. Lawrence Lew, O.P. on
Flickr. |
Queries for Contemplation Is the metaphor of the Sacred Cosmic Heart helping you in your spiritual
path? Why or why not? |
Responses are welcomed. To add
your comment, or read other comments and enter into dialogue, please click HERE to go to our website and scroll down to the Comments field. |
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| Counterpoint: A Response to Peter Thiel’s Antichrist An Important Conversation with Matthew Fox and Gil Duran Did you miss this two-session series with its powerful counter-narrative rooted in wisdom, justice, and |
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