My son completed his Valentine cards yesterday for all his Kindergarten classmates. He brought the whole pile of 20 students. He said they were all ready to hand out on Friday! A cherished memory for his first Valentine Day experience at school.

When we give our hearts on Valentine’s Day, do we give only our hearts to others or our whole person? In the Old Testament, the heart was the source of deep emotion, personality, and soul.

The third chapter of Delexit nos opens with this understanding that the heart is the whole person. Pope Francis opens with these words:

Devotion to the heart of Christ is not the veneration of a single organ apart from the Person of Jesus. What we contemplate and adore is the whole Jesus Christ, the Son of God made man, represented by an image that accentuates his heart. That heart of flesh is seen as the privileged sign of the inmost being of the incarnate Son and his love, both divine and human. More than any other part of his body, the heart of Jesus is “the natural sign and symbol of his boundless love”.

We adore the living heart of Christ, risen from the dead. We worship Christ in his fully humanity and person who calls us into his intimate friendship.

Today, is February 11. It is also a day of love as we commemorate the Memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes.

In Lourdes, the Mother of Jesus revealed herself as the Immaculate Conception. In this way, she told the world she was the Mother of God. She pointed to a spring where the sick would find the healing of God.

Sometimes it is hard to believe that we once visited this holy place where Our Lady appeared to Bernadette Soubirous. She became the forerunner for her message of healing.

I will always treasure in my heart, the moment I bathed in the healing waters of Lourdes. I looked upon the crucifix and recognized Jesus’ love for me.

Lourdes is God’s way of revealing his closeness to us. The event at Lourdes expresses our need for the same motherly care Jesus received from the Virgin Mary. This event leads us to love. This event leads us to Jesus whose heart burns for us.

As Friday rolls around, let Jesus be the first one whom we offer our hearts to with tenderness and love. We are made to love and receive his love.