Offering my empty hands to Jesus

Bang Junghye RSCJ (KOC) shares this prayer that she has often prayed in front of the Sacred Heart of Jesus statue on the Sacred Heart Campus of the Catholic University of Korea, where she has worked throughout the COVID pandemic.

Shortly after returning from my Final Profession in 2020, I started my apostolic ministry in the Catholic University of Korea, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to the COVID pandemic, much of the university’s pastoral work has been stopped.

Along with anxiety and fear about getting infected with the virus, I often felt my own helplessness. When I felt helpless, I often visited a statue of the Sacred Heart of the Jesus located inside the Sacred Heart campus. This statue shows Jesus’s one hand pointing to his open heart, and His other hand reaching out to the world.

I often held the outstretched hand and prayed that I might understand Jesus’s heart more deeply. It was as if the unconditional love flowing from Jesus’s wounded and pierced heart was transmitted through my empty hand holding his hand.

And I realized that Jesus wants my empty hands as a channel to share His love with our blessed and broken world.