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enjoys it in silence%u201d.[35][5]58. At the same time, we must never forget that the image of the heart speaks to us of the fleshand of earthly realities. In this way, it points us to the God who wished to become one of us, a partof our history, and a companion on our earthly journey. A more abstract or stylized form ofdevotion would not necessarily be more faithful to the Gospel, for in this eloquent and tangible signwe see how God willed to reveal himself and to draw close to us.A LOVE THAT IS TANGIBLE59. On the other hand, love and the human heart do not always go together, since hatred,indifference and selfishness can also reign in our hearts. Yet we cannot attain our fulfilment ashuman beings unless we open our hearts to others; only through love do we become fullyourselves. The deepest part of us, created for love, will fulfil God%u2019s plan only if we learn to love.And the heart is the symbol of that love.60. The eternal Son of God, in his utter transcendence, chose to love each of us with a humanheart. His human emotions became the sacrament of that infinite and endless love. His heart,then, is not merely a symbol for some disembodied spiritual truth. In gazing upon the Lord%u2019s heart,we contemplate a physical reality, his human flesh, which enables him to possess genuine humanemotions and feelings, like ourselves, albeit fully transformed by his divine love. Our devotion mustascend to the infinite love of the Person of the Son of God, yet we need to keep in mind that hisdivine love is inseparable from his human love. The image of his heart of flesh helps us to doprecisely this.61. Since the heart continues to be seen in the popular mind as the affective centre of eachhuman being, it remains the best means of signifying the divine love of Christ, united forever andinseparably to his wholly human love. Pius XII observed that the Gospel, in referring to the love ofChrist%u2019s heart, speaks %u201cnot only of divine charity but also human affection%u201d. Indeed, %u201cthe heart ofJesus Christ, hypostatically united to the divine Person of the Word, beyond doubt throbbed withlove and every other tender affection%u201d.[36][6]62. The Fathers of the Church, opposing those who denied or downplayed the true humanity ofChrist, insisted on the concrete and tangible reality of the Lord%u2019s human affections. Saint Basilemphasized that the Lord%u2019s incarnation was not something fanciful, and that %u201cthe Lord possessedour natural affections%u201d.[37][7] Saint John Chrysostom pointed to an example: %u201cHad he notpossessed our nature, he would not have experienced sadness from time to time%u201d.[38][8] SaintAmbrose stated that %u201cin taking a soul, he took on the passions of the soul%u201d.[39][9] For SaintAugustine, our human affections, which Christ assumed, are now open to the life of grace: %u201cTheLord Jesus assumed these affections of our human weakness, as he did the flesh of our humanweakness, not out of necessity, but consciously and freely... lest any who feel grief and sorrow14