Tu es héritier… Une lecture du film Sacré-coeur (2025)

The cinema screens of the traditionally Christian world have recently been invaded by a French production that seems to deal with a theme that has very little to do with the current tastes and trends of cinematographic art. The documentary Sacred Heart. His kingdom shall have no end has even met with a certain success, sparking an interest that resulted in a negative campaign and censorship in France, a country that has declared itself secular for a century. The phenomenon then extended to cinemas in other countries, mesmerizing new segments of society, who were surprised to discover that behind the devotion to the sweet holy cards of a “handsome young man” with a burning heart, a deep spirituality and ecclesial vitality still lie hidden. This production is, in fact, part of the celebration of the recently concluded jubilee of the Great Apparitions of the Sacred Heart to Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque, which took place 350 years ago. Its message is in perfect harmony with Pope Francis’ latest encyclical on the Sacred Heart, Dilexit nos.

A spirituality that is still relevant

The Dehonian who comes into contact with this non-obvious example of cinematographic art might feel, so to speak, at home, discovering a wealth of inspiration to live out their own love for the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Moreover, it could confirm the feeling that this very spiritual intuition retains all its relevance in a world that finds it increasingly difficult to understand traditional forms of devotion. The film also offers the concrete stories of people who have been surprised by the grace of conversion in the spirit of this spirituality, exploring their lives in the light of faith. The viewer is catapulted into a world of figures that connect them to the life of Christ, to the life of the saint from Burgundy, and to that of nineteenth-century devotees: Georges Desvallières, Sister Marie-Julie Jahenny, and many others. Devotion is alive across different periods of the Church’s history and arouses the desire to draw closer to the true source of love, His Heart.

The meaning of reparation

The entire film carries with it the challenge of allowing oneself to be involved in an work so great that it is not a mere proposal of piety, but is situated at the very core of the Christian vocation. Christ did not appear to Saint Margaret Mary by chance: the experience of the 17th-century Visitandine does not represent a series of new devotional practices designed to make faith more attractive. Christ’s invitation is explained precisely by the collaboration that the tradition of devotion to the Sacred Heart calls “reparation”. But on this point, the Dehonian seems called to make a significant gloss, given the understanding of this concept presented in the film, which stands in contrast to that of Father Dehon. Its simple and accurate definition of a “surplus of love” remains nevertheless valid, understood for now as a human activity which, on its own, is called to fill what is found to be devoid of this love. The founder of the Dehonians, on the other hand, proposed that reparation be seen as the work of Christ Himself, in which one can participate thanks to the act of faith and charity accomplished in the mystical body of Christ, first and foremost in the Eucharist. In this way, the vision could recover its essential freshness and relevance, moving beyond compensatory penance and substitution in favor of the centrality of Christ, who has already saved the humanity He loves.

Heirs of a living mystery

This one-and-a-half-hour docudrama makes us, the viewers, the heirs of the mystery and the gift of the Sacred Heart in its historical dimension. It also acts upon consciences, suggesting that everyone can always set out on the same path that Saint Margaret Mary decisively mapped out, placing themselves within the history of mysticism that sought to re-read the mystery of Christ incarnate, immolated, and eucharistic. The intertwining of history, theology, and the life of the Church makes us understand its spiritual power, which is still capable today of changing the perspective of all countries.

The message of Paray-le-Monial is part of the treasure of the Church’s tradition, in which one can find the tools for conversion, communion, and hope. The Heart opened on the Cross still inspires today, not only to sacrifices, but above all to believe in this love that never leaves humanity alone.