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150. The enduring relevance of devotion to the heart of Christ is especially evident in the work ofevangelization and education carried out by the numerous male and female religiouscongregations whose origins were marked by this profoundly Christological devotion. Mentioningall of them by name would be an endless undertaking. Let us simply consider two examples takenat random: %u201cThe Founder [Saint Daniel Comboni] discovered in the mystery of the heart of Jesusthe source of strength for his missionary commitment%u201d. [154] %u201cCaught up as we are in the desiresof the heart of Jesus, we want people to grow in dignity, as human beings and as children of God.Our starting point is the Gospel, with all that it demands from us of love, forgiveness and justice,and of solidarity with those who are poor and rejected by the world%u201d. [155] So too, the manyshrines worldwide that are consecrated to the heart of Christ continue to be an impressive sourceof renewal in prayer and spiritual fervour. To all those who in any way are associated with thesespaces of faith and charity I send my paternal blessing.THE DEVOTION OF CONSOLATION151. The wound in Christ%u2019s side, the wellspring of living water, remains open in the risen body ofthe Saviour. The deep wound inflicted by the lance and the wounds of the crown of thorns thatcustomarily appear in representations of the Sacred Heart are an inseparable part of this devotion,in which we contemplate the love of Christ who offered himself in sacrifice to the very end. Theheart of the risen Lord preserves the signs of that complete self-surrender, which entailed intensesufferings for our sake. It is natural, then, that the faithful should wish to respond not only to thisimmense outpouring of love, but also to the suffering that the Lord chose to endure for the sake ofthat love.With Jesus on the cross152. It is fitting to recover one particular aspect of the spirituality that has accompanied devotion tothe heart of Christ, namely, the interior desire to offer consolation to that heart. Here I will notdiscuss the practice of %u201creparation%u201d, which I deem better suited to the social dimension of thisdevotion to be discussed in the next chapter. I would like instead to concentrate on the desireoften felt in the hearts of the faithful who lovingly contemplate the mystery of Christ%u2019s passion andexperience it as a mystery which is not only recollected but becomes present to us by grace, orbetter, allows us to be mystically present at the moment of our redemption. If we truly love theLord, how could we not desire to console him?153. Pope Pius XI wished to ground this particular devotion in the realization that the mystery ofour redemption by Christ%u2019s passion transcends, by God%u2019s grace, all boundaries of time and space.On the cross, Jesus offered himself for all sins, including those yet to be committed, including ourown sins. In the same way, the acts we now offer for his consolation, also transcending time,touch his wounded heart. %u201cIf, because of our sins too, as yet in the future but already foreseen, thesoul of Jesus became sorrowful unto death, it cannot be doubted that at the same time he derived35