THE SACRED HEART OF THE WORLD renews our devotion to the Sacred Heart by attending to its scriptural and mystical origins, and expanding our spirituality to embrace universal compassion. It is the first book to tackle the issue of devotedness to the Heart of Jesus that is intelligible and appealing to people of the twenty-first century. Based on a combination of extensive research and the author's own personal devotion to the Sacred Heart-a lost treasure from our Catholic past-and his interest in mysticism, THE SACRED HEART OF THE WORLD unlocks a new future of vibrant and conscious faith. The book has a threefold purpose: * to inspire devotion to the Sacred Heart, * to rekindle spiritual devotion, and * to center the Sacred Heart into the new cosmological realizations that will appeal both to Catholics and people from a variety of religious traditions. The book explores the symbolism of the heart in world religious traditions, and then traces the historical thread of the devotion into modern times. It draws significant links to the philosophy and theology of Teilhard de Chardin and Karl Rahner and their links with Ignatian spirituality. The prayers and meditations at the end of each section provide spiritual bonuses that will continue to benefit the reader after reading the book.