WITH GREAT JOY

Some years ago, one of my theology professors approached a shepherd to ask him this question: “If you lost one sheep, would you leave the whole herd in the desert to go in its search, and when you found it, would put it on your shoulders with great joy?” He simply answered, “No shepherd in his right mind would ever do that.”

The Cistercian way is the way of the heart. Our first Cistercians Fathers and Mothers realized that we need to cultivate our minds, but our reason can only take us so far when we are trying to penetrate the mysteries of God. No one in his or her right mind would do what Christ has done for us. As we celebrate his Sacred Heart, may he grant us entering into the depths of his love, a love that “bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (Cor 13:7). Then we will be filled with great joy.