Dilexit Nos: the Heart of Pope Francis' Pontificate

In a two-hour Zoom session on Wednesday, 7th May, MBI is hosting a reflection on the encyclical Dilexit Nos. In this text Pope Francis offers a profound and challenging reflection on the theme of love as embodied in the Sacred Heart of Jesus. As one reads Dilexit Nos, one becomes aware that it is a synthesis of his years as pope.

Dilexit Nos, subtitled, "On the Human and Divine Love of the Heart of Jesus Christ", was published in 2024 within the last week of the second phase, the "celebratory phase", of the synod on synodality. This synod is regarded by the pope as one of the most important initiatives of his pontificate, beginning with "a listening phase" in 2021 and now beginning to move towards its third phase, "the implementation phase", due to culminate in a first-ever Ecclesial Assembly at the Vatican in 2028 - a seven-year process overall.

The phrase Dilexit Nos means He Loved Us, words that St Paul says of Christ, with the intention of making us realise that nothing could ever "separate us" from that love. Pope Francis describes the heart as "a core that lies hidden beneath all outward appearances, the symbol of love". And yet, he observes, "love and the human heart do not always go together, since hatred, indifference and selfishness can also reign in our hearts".

Francis' gives us a poignant reflection on wars and struggles that "may tempt us to conclude that our world is losing its heart. We need only to see and listen to elderly women - from both sides - who are at the mercy of these devastating conflicts. It is heart-breaking to see them mourning their murdered grandchildren … to see these elderly women weep, and not to feel that this is intolerable, is a sign of a world that has grown heartless". Every human being, declares the pope, "is created above all else for love. In the deepest fibre of our being, were made to love and be loved".

This entire encyclical, 28,000 words in length, is devoted to the theme that "the eternal Son of God, in his utter transcendence, chose to love each of us with a human heart". Moreover, it is through this love, his love, that we become capable of love. "Let us turn then", urges Francis, to the heart of Christ, that core of his being, which is a blazing furnace of divine and human love … There, in that heart, we truly come at last to know ourselves and we learn how to love".

In the presence of the heart of Christ, prays Francis, "I once more ask the Lord to have mercy on this suffering world in which he chose to dwell as one of us. May our world regain the most important and necessary thing of all: its heart".

The MBI Zoom session of 7th May, led by Dr Peter Coughlan, honorary fellow of MBI, will consist of a talk and discussion.

You can book your place by clicking on the link below:

Dilexit Nos: the Heart of Pope Francis' Pontificate Tickets, Wed 7 May 2025 at 17:00 | Eventbrite