Today is also the Optional Memoria of St Nicholas, Bishop, and a First Friday.

The love of God poured out in the mystery of the Sacred Heart, which we remember particularly on a First Friday, and that of the love of God in His Coming in the Incarnation, are profoundly linked. It belongs to love to give freely of itself to the Beloved, and this Divine Self-giving is at the heart of both mysteries.

We are that beloved – yes! – and so let us pray today that we may receive that mercy, fully and profoundly. May God bless you in this prayer and in all that you do for Him.