« The Angel of the Lord appeared to Moses as a flame coming from the middle of a bush. Moses saw that the bush was on fire but that it was not burning up. « This is strange » he thought. « why isn’t the bush burning up ? I will go closer and see »… The Lord called to him from the middle of the bush. « Moses , Moses » He says, and he replied : « Here I am ». God said : « Do not come any closer. Take off your sandals because you are standing on holy ground. » And God said : « I am the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. » (Exodus 3)
With the tradition of the Church, John Paul II sees in this story of the burning bush a prophetic announcement of the mystery of the Heart of Jesus, « the burning Furnace of charity » :
« The Heart of Jesus burns with Love. « Furnace of charity »… The Heart of Jesus, the human Heart of Jesus burns with the love which spills over. And this love is the Love for the Eternal Father , and the love for mankind : for its adopted sons and daughters. As a furnace burns, it is gradually extinguished. The Heart of Jesus on the contrary is a furnace which is never extinguished. In this way it resembles this « burning bush », in the book of Exodus, in which God revealed Himself to Moses. The bush which was on fire… « was not burning up. »
Prayer :
Heart of Jesus, burning furnace of Charity, have pity on us.
