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"A home for the Sacred Heart" by Fr. Willy Raymond, C.S.C. (CatholicMom.com) By Tangopaso (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons[/caption] On a trip to Kerala, India this January, as we were graciously escorted through the front door of the first home we visited, the first object I noticed right there on the wall facing us was the image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus enthroned in the living room. Following a splendid meal, we were gently invited to join the whole household in the living room for the family’s evening devotions. All was in Malayalam but for a decade or two of the Rosary in English. We prayed the Angelus, the Litany of Loreto, the entire five decades of the Rosary in soothing chant, and reflected on a reading from scripture. Kerala is the Ireland of India I like to say. Now I know why the families of Kerala produce so many religious vocations, not to mention the incredibly faithful and faith-filled families among whom divorce is almost unheard of. Not only did this first home have the Sacred Heart enthroned in the living room, every single home we visited, and there were many, had the same rich devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and often to the Immaculate Heart of Mary on display in the living room. It struck me that every home we entered was a temple, a domestic Church with Christ in the center. In this Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus cleanses the temple in Jerusalem of the impurities and abuses that corrupted the house of his Father. “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up,” he says. In our homes, is it possible that the Sacred Heart of Jesus could be enthroned and honored in all our living rooms? Would this not cleanse the houses, the temples of our homes, of so many distractions that keep our families from praying, from growing in faith, from producing disciples of the Lord on fire with the Joy of the Gospel? Is it not possible that the same Jesus who Rose from the dead after three days could renew our homes and our families so they begin producing faith-filled disciples. I believe the Risen Lord is just waiting to be invited into our homes again. Each weekday, the homily from Daily Mass at Holy Cross Family Ministries is shared online. Visit Family Rosary: World at Prayer and sign up to receive notifications of each day's homily.
Copyright 2018 Fr. Willy Raymond, C.S.C.

About the Author

Father Willy Raymond, C.S.C.

Father Willy Raymond, C.S.C.

Father Wilfred J. Raymond, C.S.C. (Father Willy), a native of Old Town, Maine, is the eighth of 12 children. He joined the Congregation of Holy Cross in 1964 and was ordained to the priesthood in 1971. He earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Stonehill College in 1967 and a master’s in Theology from the University of Notre Dame in 1971. He served in ministry at Stonehill College (1979-1992), Holy Cross leadership (1994-2000), National Director of Family Theater Productions, Hollywood (2000-2014), and President of Holy Cross Family Ministries (2014-2022). In addition to English, he is conversant in French and Spanish. He remains a diehard fan of the Boston Red Sox, even though he has served as Chaplain for the Los Angeles Dodgers.