“Haurietis Aquas”: A Meditation on the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Eucharist

Fr. Scott A. Haynes

“You shall draw waters with joy out of the Savior’s fountains.”—Isaiah 12:3

At the heart of Catholic devotion lies the burning furnace of charity: the Sacred Heart of Jesus. It is no coincidence that the feast of the Sacred Heart is placed liturgically on the Friday after the Octave of Corpus Christi, as though the Church is gently leading the faithful from the visible manifestation of Christ’s Eucharistic gift into the hidden mystery of His divine love. Corpus Christi displays the Body and Blood of Christ veiled under the Sacrament, and the Sacred Heart reveals the very source and motive of this gift — His infinite, sacrificial love.

The pierced Heart of Jesus is the fountain spoken of by Isaiah, from which we draw living water, the graces of the sacraments, and the nourishment of the Eucharist. Pope Pius XII, in his magisterial encyclical Haurietis Aquas, proclaimed that “the Sacred Heart is the symbol and express image of the infinite love of Jesus Christ” for all mankind — a love revealed most perfectly in the Most Holy Eucharist and consummated on the Cross.¹

The Wounded Heart and the Waters of Life

The devotion to the Sacred Heart has its clearest Scriptural origin in the Gospel of John:

“But one of the soldiers with a spear opened his side, and immediately there came out blood and water” (John 19:34).

The Church Fathers were quick to recognize in this event not only a historical detail but a theologically rich symbol. St. Augustine writes:

“The Evangelist has used a word which is of special significance. He does not say, the soldier ‘pierced’ or ‘wounded’ His side, or anything else, but ‘opened’ it, so that thereby the door of life might be opened.”²

St. John Chrysostom interprets the blood and water that flowed from Christ’s side as representing the Eucharist and Baptism — the sacraments by which the Church is formed and nourished:

“From His side flowed blood and water...this was the origin of the sacraments of the Church.”³

Thus, the pierced Heart is not only a revelation of divine tenderness but also the fountain from which the Church is born and sustained.

“Learn of Me, Because I Am Meek and Humble of Heart”

The Lord Himself offers His Heart to His disciples when He says,

“Take up my yoke upon you, and learn of me, because I am meek, and humble of heart: and you shall find rest to your souls” (Matt. 11:29).

The Sacred Heart is not a mere sentimental image but a living, beating symbol of divine humility, meekness, and sacrificial love. It is the very expression of the Incarnation, of the Word made flesh who “loved me and delivered himself for me” (Gal. 2:20).

St. Bernard of Clairvaux speaks of Christ’s wounds as doors through which we may enter the mysteries of divine love.

“The secret of His Heart is laid open in the wounds of His body...there, in the Heart of Jesus, you find refuge.”⁴

To contemplate the Sacred Heart, then, is to contemplate the whole of salvation history condensed into one beating center of mercy.

Eucharistic Love: The Heart Hidden in the Host

Pope Pius XII writes,

“The Sacred Heart of Jesus is the principal sign and symbol of that threefold love with which the divine Redeemer unceasingly loves His eternal Father and all mankind.”⁵

That threefold love is made perpetually present in the Holy Eucharist. The same Christ who poured out His Heart on the Cross makes that selfsame offering upon every altar, in every Mass, in every tabernacle across the world. The Eucharist is not just a gift from Christ — it is Christ Himself, and thus, it is His Heart.

It is no surprise, then, that the Saints have often connected the Sacred Heart with Eucharistic adoration. St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, the great apostle of the Sacred Heart, said:

“In the Blessed Sacrament, Jesus opens His Heart to us and lets us rest our head upon it, as He allowed St. John at the Last Supper.” 

The image of the disciple whom Jesus loved reclining upon His breast (John 13:25) becomes a spiritual invitation for all the faithful to rest their souls upon the Heart that loves them infinitely.

Corpus Christi and the Sacred Heart: Liturgical Fulfillment

The placement of the feast of the Sacred Heart immediately following the Octave of Corpus Christi is rich in meaning. Corpus Christi celebrates the objective reality of the Eucharist — Christ’s Real Presence under the appearances of bread and wine. The Sacred Heart feast invites us to meditate on the interior motives behind this divine gift: namely, love. As Pius XII remarks:

“It is altogether impossible...that a man should give greater proof of his love than by offering himself in sacrifice for the one he loves.”⁶

This liturgical movement from Corpus Christi to the Sacred Heart mirrors the movement from the outer signs of the Sacrament to the inner fire of divine charity. The Eucharist, being both sacrament and sacrifice, is the perpetual extension of the love that burst forth from the Heart of Christ on Calvary. And thus, the feast of the Sacred Heart is not a separate devotion from the Eucharist, but its crown and culmination.

A Love That Surpasses Knowledge

In his letter to the Ephesians, St. Paul prays that the faithful may come

“to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth, and length, and height, and depth: to know also the charity of Christ, which surpasseth all knowledge” (Eph. 3:18–19).

This charity, surpassing knowledge, is revealed in a tangible way in the Sacred Heart. The Heart of Christ, though finite in a bodily sense, reveals an infinite ocean of mercy. As St. Bonaventure exclaims,

“O abyss of charity! What could be more generous than this, that the Creator should be made a creature, and for creatures suffer death!”⁷

Devotion to the Sacred Heart is an invitation to dwell in the immensity of that love, not merely by sentiment but through sacramental union. The Sacred Heart is not an abstract ideal; it is the Eucharistic Jesus, truly present and waiting, wounded yet victorious, silent yet eloquent, calling each soul to come and rest in Him.

Reparation: A Call of Love Answered

The image of the Sacred Heart often includes the thorns that encircle it, representing the offenses, ingratitude, and coldness of men toward Christ’s love. Thus, devotion to the Sacred Heart includes not only adoration but also reparation — a heartfelt response of love in the face of love rejected. In Haurietis Aquas, Pius XII confirms this:

“The spirit of reparation...is most fittingly promoted by devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.”⁸

How can we console the Heart of Jesus? Primarily through acts of love, frequent reception of the Eucharist, Eucharistic adoration, and a life patterned after His own virtues — meekness, humility, sacrifice. St. Margaret Mary was told by Our Lord:

“Behold this Heart, which has so loved men...and for the most part receives nothing but ingratitude.” 

The Eucharist is the Heart of Christ offered again and again to the world; each act of reverent adoration is a balm to His wounds.

The Sacred Heart and the Church

The Sacred Heart is not only a personal devotion — it is a devotion for the entire Church. Pope Leo XIII consecrated the entire human race to the Sacred Heart in 1899, calling it “the most important act of my pontificate.” In doing so, he recognized what theologians and mystics had long known: that the Sacred Heart is the key to interpreting the entire mission of Christ, the unity of the Church, and the ultimate goal of humanity — union with God in love.

Even the Church's social doctrine finds in the Sacred Heart its anchor. As Pius XI declared in Miserentissimus Redemptor,

“The reign of the Sacred Heart will restore peace and order to society.”⁹

A society that enthrones the Sacred Heart in its homes, parishes, and public life is a society anchored in truth, mercy, and love.

Living the Devotion

Devotion to the Sacred Heart is lived most fully in the Eucharistic life. Daily Mass, frequent Communion, time spent in adoration, and spiritual reading of Sacred Scripture all bring us closer to His Heart. But even beyond liturgical acts, the Sacred Heart calls us to interior transformation. As St. John Eudes, promoter of the devotion, wrote:

“To be a Christian is to be another Christ; to be another Christ is to have the Heart of Christ.”¹⁰

This is our task: to ask Jesus to give us hearts like His, ablaze with love for the Father, compassionate to sinners, meek in affliction, and courageous in suffering. When we receive Him in the Eucharist, we receive His Heart — and He desires ours in return.

Conclusion: “Heart of Jesus, Our Life and Resurrection”

Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is not a passing piety, but a profound theological, sacramental, and mystical reality. It is the embrace of divine love made flesh, wounded for our sake, and offered daily in the Eucharist. In the Sacred Heart, all the mysteries of the Gospel converge: the Incarnation, Passion, Resurrection, and Sacramental life of the Church.

On the Friday after Corpus Christi, the Church places this devotion before us as a final jewel in the crown of Christ’s Eucharistic love. The Sacred Heart is the source of the Eucharist; the Eucharist is the presence of the Sacred Heart. Let us, then, draw water with joy from this divine fountain. Let us rest upon the Heart of our Savior. Let us offer our hearts in return, in reparation, in union, and in love.

“Heart of Jesus, burning furnace of charity, have mercy on us.”

Footnotes

1. Pius XII, Haurietis Aquas: On Devotion to the Sacred Heart (1956), §22.

2. Augustine, Tractates on the Gospel of John, 120.2.

3. John Chrysostom, Homilies on the Gospel of John, 85.3.

4. Bernard of Clairvaux, Sermons on the Song of Songs, 61.4.

5. Pius XII, Haurietis Aquas, §29.

6. Ibid., §58.

7. Bonaventure, The Tree of Life, 29.

8. Pius XII, Haurietis Aquas, §64.

9. Pius XI, Miserentissimus Redemptor (1928), §13.

10. John Eudes, The Admirable Heart of Jesus, Ch. 1.