Antiphona 3

This antiphon combines Jeremiah 31:3 ('In caritate perpetua dilexit nos Deus') with John 12:32 ('exaltatus a terra, attraxit nos'). The 'caritas perpetua' (everlasting love) establishes that Sacred Heart devotion is not sentimental but covenantal - God's love for Israel extended through Christ to all nations. The verb 'attraxit' (he drew us) indicates that salvation is not human achievement but divine attraction: we do not climb to God but are drawn by His wounded Heart. The phrase 'ad Cor suum' specifies the destination of this drawing - not merely to heaven but to intimate union with Christ's own Heart. At Lauds, this antiphon situates the day's labors within the gravitational pull of divine mercy.