Oriol Hosta, a leader-animator of Grupos Barat de los Besós in Spain,
shares about what for him is the spirit of the Sacred Heart,
and what it means to be a member of the family of the Sacred Heart.

 

The spirit of the Sacred Heart, for me, is everything that goes beyond the classrooms, the books, the lessons, the blackboards, and the walls of the school where I was educated. The essence of the Sacred Heart is to be found scattered throughout the world, in the form of imprints, passed from one heart to another.

The Sacred Heart means feeling at home: with a charism that is full of life, revolutionary, visionary, austere, enthusiastic, advocate, open-eyed, focused on the weakest. Feeling at home visiting Bantabá. Feeling at home when I see a picture of Mater. Feeling at home every time the Barat groups greet one another with embraces, pat each other on the back, or shake hands.

Following the way of the Sacred Heart means being out there on the street, allowing oneself to be devoured by the realities of the least powerful, and freely  proposing justice, kindness and social change. Being part of the Sacred Heart is being part of a family that generously gives its life in the desire to respond. A sharing family, a family that offers support and spreads out in a network woven together with humanitarian values. 

An RSCJ friend and companion once explained to me that what vulnerable people really need is dignity, and that is given with the most powerful weapon, love. A vital lesson that I received as a member of the Sacred Heart Family has been the capacity to live and bear witness to this seeming madness of using the weapon called love.

Oriol Hosta

 

^{"The Barat groups are for children and young adults, whom we accompany in faith and human development processes; thus they learn to commit themselves to work in building a better world, more just and caring, with the spirituality of the Sacred Heart as a starting point.  At the gatherings we use group dynamics, reflection and social values and skills. They have recreational activities, sports, drama, crafts, reflection, celebrations. They participate in school events and also meetings with Barat children from other schools in Spain. This is how we manage to have a space where they belong, they find connectedness and friendship among everyone, children and adults."   (From the FB page of Grupos Barat)}