The Pope called for a rediscovery of love and compassion in today’s “heartless” world, taking the heart of Christ as a guide and inspiration.

“The symbol of the heart was often used to express the love of Jesus Christ; some have questioned whether this symbol is still meaningful,” writes Pope Francis in his new encyclical Dilexit no (He loved us).

“However, living in an age of superficiality, rushing frantically from one thing to another without really knowing why, and ending up as insatiable consumers and slaves to the mechanisms of a market unconcerned with the deeper meaning of our lives, we all need to rediscover. the importance of the heart.”

The 28,000-word letter, “On the Human and Divine Love of the Heart of Jesus Christ,” was published Thursday in the final stages of the Synod of the CR Church’s month-long synod (News, Oct. 17, Oct. 25).

It says that people’s “inner reality” is often “hidden behind much foliage” based on “mere appearances, dishonesty and deception”, often leaving them “confused and torn, almost devoid of an inner principle that can create unity and harmony in their lives and actions’.

“We are immersed in mass consumer societies that live from day to day, dominated by hectic pace and bombarded by technology,” he says.

“Despite every attempt to appear as something we are not, our heart is the ultimate judge, not of what we show or hide from others, but of what we really are. . . The failure to make room for the heart, as opposed to our human powers and passions viewed in isolation from each other, has led to a decline in the idea of ​​personal center, where love, ultimately, is the only reality that can unify all others. .”

The encyclical, announced in June, the month traditionally dedicated by the Church to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, is the pope’s fourth since his election in March 2013 and contains reflections from the Bible, previous magisterial texts and the writings of saints and mystics. .

Presenting the text at a press conference in the Vatican, an Italian theologian, Archbishop Bruno Forte, said it provided a key to understanding Pope Francis’ pontificate, including the spiritual and theological underpinnings of his “message to the Church and the world”.

The Pope says that the love of Christ represented in His Sacred Heart has antecedents in Greek philosophy and the Old Testament, and was embraced by St. Augustine, St. Ambrose and other Church Fathers, as well as by visionaries from Julian of Norwich to St. John. of the Cross.

Developed by modern saints such as John Henry Newman, Teresa of Lisieux, Faustina Kowalska and Charles de Foucauld, it also finds echoes in modern writers and philosophers, from Fyodor Dostoevsky to Martin Heidegger, the encyclical says.

As they free themselves from “self-righteous moralism,” modern men can find in the heart of Christ “a burning furnace of divine and human love, the most sublime fulfillment to which mankind can aspire,” at a time when new wars and “small power struggles.” ” gives the impression “that our world is losing its heart”.

They may also see it as an antidote to the newly emerging forms of Gnosticism and “wretched Jansenist dualism,” as well as to the “illusory and disembodied other” expressed in a current church obsession with “plans of reorganization, worldly projects, secular ways of thinking”. and compulsory programs. . .

“Throughout history and in different parts of the world, the heart has become a symbol of personal intimacy, affection, emotional attachment and the capacity for love – it is understandable, therefore, that the Church chose the image of the heart to represent humanity . and the divine love of Jesus Christ,” the encyclical explains.

“We are facing a strong wave of secularization that is trying to build a world free of God. In our societies, we see a proliferation of various forms of religiosity that have nothing to do with a personal relationship with the God of love, but are new manifestations of a disembodied spirituality. . . For this reason, I turn my gaze to the heart of Christ and invite all of us to renew our devotion to it.”

Pope Francis recounts modern exhortations to seek “unity with the heart of Christ” from popes from Leo XIII to Benedict XVI.

He also pays tribute to religious orders, congregations, sanctuaries and charities that encourage devotion to the heart of Christ, promoting a deeper understanding of the “community, social and missionary dimension” and says that Dilexit no should be seen as an extension of his social encyclicals Laudato Si’ (May 2015), on “caring for our common home” and Fratelli Tutti (October 2020), on “fraternity and social friendship”.

Devotion to the heart of Christ can counter potential dangers from artificial intelligence as well as digital algorithms that devalue natural encounters and simple life experiences and suggest that “our thoughts and will” are “easily predictable and thus capable of manipulation.”

She calls Christians to “spread goodness in our world” and find “missionary joy” in repair, forgiveness and service to others, the encyclical says.

“In a world where everything is bought and sold, people’s sense of their worth seems to depend more and more on what they can accumulate with the power of money – we are constantly pushed to keep buying, consuming and we are distracted, held captive to a demeaning system. which prevents us from looking beyond our immediate and petty needs,” writes the Pope.

“The love of Christ has no place in this perverse mechanism, but only that love can free us from a mad pursuit that no longer has room for free love. . . The Church also needs this love, lest it be replaced by outmoded structures and concerns, excessive attachment to our own ideas and opinions, and fanaticism in all sorts of forms.”