Peter CostelloThe Living Image: Returning to the Heart,
by Anna Burke
(Messenger Publications, €9.95 / £8.95)
Turning from Jim O’Connell to Anna Burke is to encounter a very different apprehension of the human and divine; yet what she has to say seems to grow out from what he writes in a living way, underlining the connectivity of all things.
At the opening of his encyclical letter Dilexit Nos («He Loved Us»), issued in October 2024, Pope Francis wrote:
“The symbol of the heart has often been used to express the love of Jesus Christ. Some have questioned whether this symbol is still meaningful today. Yet living as we do in an age of superficiality, rushing frenetically from one thing to another without really knowing why, and ending up as insatiable consumers and slaves to the mechanisms of a market unconcerned about the deeper meaning of our lives, all of us need to rediscover the importance of the heart.”
This is very much the theme that Anna Burke explores in this little handbook of spiritual exploration inspired by the Pope’s letter. She observes that in what the Pope wrote “the image of the Sacred Heart is reborn”.
Memories
One falls back on one’s memories of the many places where one used to encounter images of the Sacred Heart as “holy pictures”. That is not often the case these days. The images, which were a symbol of an inner meaning, have disappeared; they are “old-fashioned”. It would be a pity, both the Pope and his interpreter suggest, if that inner meaning were also to be lost. The true dimension of what was intended is reflected in these pages.
The author is an Irish Sister of Mercy, whose vocation has been devoted to teaching, faith development, scripture reflection, work with young people and spiritual writing. She is the author of two previous books, so it is likely that some readers will have encountered her before.
We need to restore to our systems the images that are not reduced and falsified. We need the living image, which stands the test of time, analysis, innovation and academia
The book is divided into three parts; each with a reflection by the author, followed by a scripture reading, a demonstrative section from Dilexit Nos, and concluding with a reflection. Very much to the fore, however, is her remark that “Christian theology collapses into words and arguments when the heart is omitted”. And that I suspect is something all Christians have experienced at one time or another.
But in conclusion, she reminds her readers that “we need to restore to our systems the images that are not reduced and falsified. We need the living image, which stands the test of time, analysis, innovation and academia. We need the Living Heart.”
In that it takes us back to the actual teaching of Pope Francis this little book will serve its readers well. For encyclicals are seemingly written for the moment, but are intended to be read far beyond that immediate context. Anna Bourke will be a pathfinder for many in their efforts to understand and follow the insights of the late pope.