“Learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart … and you will find rest for your soul.” – Matt. 11:29
MERRILLVILLE – Sister Solana Voegsel, OSF and her fellow Sisters of St. Francis in Perpetual Adoration spend an hour in Eucharistic Adoration each day, but their devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is so important that they double the number of adorers each hour on the Solemnity of the Feast of the Sacred Heart every year.
“The Sacred Heart has set my own heart on fire for Jesus,” she told a group of young adults on June 10 as she spoke about “The Sacred Heart: The Love That Never Gives Up on You” in the Summer Speaker Series hosted by the Diocese of Gary at Our Lady Queen of Martyrs.
Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus blossomed after Jesus appeared to French Visitation nun Sister Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647-1690) with his heart on display outside his body, wrapped in a crown of thorns.
Some of the young people at the program, which included a taco dinner and ended with a bonfire and fellowship hour, admitted they knew little about the Sacred Heart, but came to learn.
“I thought Sister Solana was one of the best speakers in last year’s series, and I plan to attend the dedication of the Diocese to the Sacred Heart (held June 12), so I was interested in hearing her tonight,” said Jacob Quasney, a St. Matthias parishioner from Crown Point.
“I attended two sessions last summer and they brought me closer to God and gave me more understanding of what he wants of me,” said Josh Znosko, a Schererville resident and St. John the Evangelist of St. John parishioner. “I feel like he’s taking me on a journey, and I’m eager to learn more about the Sacred Heart.”
Sister Solana said humility and meekness are key to receiving the heart and love of Jesus. “Humility is standing in honesty about who we are in front of God, and meekness is standing in honesty about who God is in front of the world,” she said. “We want to stand in truth about who we are and who God is. When I stand in humility, he can give me his heart.”
The Dyer resident, who serves as director of mission at Franciscan Health hospitals in northwest Indiana, allowed that she has no special expertise on the Sacred Heart, but a deep love for the image of Jesus Christ with his exposed heart.
“I am a Bride of Christ and have the honor of receiving his heart every day through the Holy Eucharist,” she noted.
“How can we tangibly and practically receive Jesus’ heart? It is found in the Eucharist,” said Sister Solana. “When St. Margaret Mary first saw Jesus’ Sacred Heart, she was in adoration and she saw the fullness of his heart in the Eucharist.
“Think about the quote ‘Learn from me…’” she urged the young adults. “I have seen the Sacred Heart of Jesus whenever I’m in adoration. He has let himself be adored by us for over 350 years in humility. No matter how I come to him, he lets me be completely who I am, whether I’m grumpy, stressed, joyful or happy, because he comes to me as he is, so I can truly stand in front of the world as his beloved.
“He comes to you with a heart full of love,” Sister Solana added before leading the gathering in praying the Litany of the Sacred Heart. “We can learn to love this place of humility because we see Christ transformed, and as the quote from Matthew ends, ‘… and you will find rest for your soul.’ When we let ourselves be transformed by Jesus’ humility, we are able to receive him and find rest. That is my prayer for you, that you find rest.”
Roberto Ruydoza, of East Chicago, found Sister Solana’s message “pretty inspiring,” especially donating at least one hour a day to Eucharistic Adoration. “We are all sinners, but knowing that Jesus has a place for us in heaven is comforting. He knows we are not perfect, even though we strive not to sin.”
Jose Sandoval, also of East Chicago, was impressed with Sister Solana’s personal story, noting that she didn’t easily find inspiration upon first hearing the story of the stigmata received by St. Francis of Assisi, an important image of humility to the members of her religious order. “But she persisted, and she finally felt Jesus’ heart come to her” when she heard from a Franciscan brother from Assisi, Italy, she said, “that Jesus wants to receive our hearts, first in our sorrows and then in our joys. He told us that the wounds of Jesus’ heart were reflections of the wounds of his body.”
“She’s relatable,” Sandoval said.
“I have to learn how to surrender,” said Patrick Seiter, a parishioner at St. Joseph in Dyer, of what he learned. “How can you receive the heart of Jesus if you are walled off to Christ?”
The Sisters of St. Francis of Perpetual Adoration, whose motherhouse is in Mishawaka, have a charism of ceaseless adoration, sisterly love and Franciscan joy, and will offer a discernment retreat on Nov. 13-15. For more information about the religious order, visit ssfpa.org.
Caption: Sister Solana Voegsel, OSF, chats with Andrea Fortier, of Merrillville, before the Sister of St. Francis of Perpetual Adoration presented a talk on the Sacred Heart of Jesus on June 10 at Fortier’s parish, Our Lady Queen of Martyrs South Campus in Merrillville. She urged the young people to find time for Eucharistic Adoration to grow closer to Jesus. (Marlene A. Zloza photo)
