CANFIELD — Having a renewed devotion to the “sacred heart of Jesus” is important in anyone’s life, said Bishop David Bonnar of the Diocese of Youngstown, who was the guest speaker for the October gathering of the First Friday Club at Avion on the Water Banquet Center.

He said having devotion to the sacred heart of Jesus can transform people’s hearts and give each of us a whole new lease on life, love and learning.

In August, Bonnar was the main speaker at the clergy convocation for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati and he said he challenged the priests who attended.

Bonnar said he is “a Pope Francis bishop,” leading the clergy by following what Pope Francis said, which inspired him.

“Pope Francis delivered a powerful reflection on the human heart along with a renewed look at the sacred heart of Jesus, which coincided with the 350th jubilee and the importance of entering into the heart of Christ whose spiritual love is flooded with grace and charity,” he said.

Bonnar said it is important for each person to make their heart like Jesus’ heart, including transforming our own hearts with Christ’s burning love.

He said people turn to the heart of Jesus as “a fountain for vocations” for the priesthood, religious life and married life.

Bonnar said the sacred heart is awaiting each of us and exudes a divine presence and a love that is always awaiting us, no matter our condition.

“Jesus loves us, always, anywhere, forever,” he said.

Bonnar said the word “heart” appears in the Bible about 1,000 times, especially in the Book of Psalms, which shows the connection between faith and the heart. He said Jesus repeatedly references the human heart in the gospels, such as pure hearts and stubborn hearts

“Sometimes our hearts can become too worldly to the detriment of the pursuit of heaven and that is why it is so important that we cultivate a heart-to-heart relationship with Jesus Christ,” Bonnar said.

He said Jesus also in the gospel references the heart with the phrase “Take Heart,” which he utters to people he encountered who needed help.

“In some Bibles, this phrase is translated as ‘take courage.’ With all that is taking place in the world today, we all need to take heart,” he said.

Bonnar said it is important for people to pray in order to not lose heart.

“It is tempting in life to give up and lose heart,” he said, noting it is important to come to Jesus and be touched by his heart and receive grace and blessings.

Bonnar encouraged people when they enter a church to seek out the image of the sacred heart of Jesus, which may be present in a statue, a mosaic or stained glass windows.

At the Sept. 28 Mass at St. Columba Cathedral, Bishop Bonnar blessed the refurbished Sacred Heart of Jesus wood-carved relief and the new baptismal font, which was moved from the front of the sanctuary to the side altar. The tabernacle containing the Eucharist is now on the main altar where the baptismal font was.

“We all have a heart. We need to be thinking every day of being whole hearted. Find the image of the sacred heart in your home and look at it as you pray. Dedicate your life to the sacred heart of Jesus,” Bonnar said.