Abstract

Johannes Nebel:
The Sacred Heart of Jesus as Core Aspect of the Christian Relation to the Word
(FKTh 2018-1, p. 28–51)

Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is nowadays mostly associated with private piety. However, the present study intends to open up its objective value. Inspired by arguments of Rudolf Gräber, it examines the magisterial teaching ofthe Church asformed before the Second Vatican Council in view of the significance of the Sacred Heart to the world in our time. Afterwards the Council's references to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and their influence in the teaching of Paul VI, John Paul II and Benedict XVI are pointed out. This shows a paradigmatic shift: The emphasis of an objective ecclesial value of the devotion to the Sacred Heart as cultus and devotio has changed to a focus on the spiritual and anthropological dimension of a pium exercitium.