Tuesday, June 5, 2007
The Sacred Heart of Jesus
Quia Rex Sum Ego
This month is dedicated to the Sacred Heart of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Solemnity of the Sacred Heart falls on the Friday after the Second Sunday after Pentecost. This year, the celebration of the Sacred Heart will take place on 15th June.
The Feast of the Sacred Heart was established in order that the faithful might honor with more devotion and zeal, under the symbol of the Sacred Heart, the love of Jesus Christ, which induced Him not only to suffer and to die for the redemption of mankind, but also to institute the Sacrament of His Body and Blood in commeration of His death.
"Behold this Heart which has loved men so much, and yet men do not want to love Me in return. Through you My divine Heart wishes to spread its love everywhere on earth," Jesus to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque.
Devotion to the Sacred Heart was made public by the holy Margaret Mary Alacoque of the Order of the Visitation. In the year 1690, during the Octave of Corpus Christi, our Blessed Lord appeared to His devoted handmaid, disclosing His heart to her saying, "Behold this Heart, which, notwithstanding the burning love for man with which it is consumed and exhausted, meets with no other return from the generality of Christians than sacrilege, contempt, indifference, and ingratitude. My desire is that you should make reparation to my heart for this ingratitude, and induce others also to make reparation."
In several subsequent apparitions our divine Lord repeated this injunction, and made the most unbounded promises in favor' of all who would apply themselves to this office of reparation to His Sacred Heart. The following are some of His promises;
- I will give them all the graces necessary for their state of life.
- I will establish peace in their families.
- I will console them in all their pains and trials.
- I will be their assured refuge in life, and especially in death.
- I will shed abundant blessings upon all their undertakings.
- Sinners shall find in my Heart an infinite ocean of mercy.
- Lukewarm souls will be rendered fervent.
- Fervent souls shall rise rapidly to greater perfection.
- I will bless those houses where the image of my heart shall be exposed and honored.
- I will give to priests the gift of moving the hardest hearts.
- Persons who propagate this devotion,. shall have their names inscribed on my heart, never to be effaced from it.
"The Lord retained until these late centuries the devotion to His Sacred Heart, as a last effort of His divine love," St. Gertrude
The venerable P. Simon Gourdan tells us that it is,
- The most sacred devotion, for by it man venerates the holiest sentiments and emotions of the Heart of Jesus, by which He has sanctified the Church, glorified His Heavenly Father, and presented Himself to us as the perfect model of the most exalted sanctity.
- The oldest devotion of the holy Church, which, instructed by the great St. Paul, has at all times recognized the munificence of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
- The most approved devotion, for the holy Scriptures everywhere exhort us to renew our heart by changing our lives, rendering them contrite by true penance, inflaming them with the fire of divine love, and adorning them by the exercise of all virtue. Therefore a new heart is promised on which to remodel our Heart. That Heart can be no other than the Heart of Jesus, which is given us as an example of all virtue, and which we must imitate if we wish to be saved.
- The most perfect devotion, for it is the: source of all other devotions; the Heart of Jesus is that inexhaustible treasury from which the Mother of God and all the saints have drawn their graces, their life, their virtues, and all spiritual blessings. Filled from this treasury, other servants of God have instituted different devotions.
- The most useful devotion, for in it we have the Fountain of Life itself before our eyes, from which we can draw directly, and increase in all virtue by adoring this divine Heart, meditating on its holy desires, and seeking to imitate it.
- The devotion most pleasing to Christ, for by it we honor God, as Christ requires, in spirit and in truth, because we adore the interior power of God, seeking to please His heart.
- Finally; the most necessary devotion, for its object is that we become intimately connected as members with Jesus, our Head, that we live by and according to His spirit, and have only one heart and soul with Christ.
Gospel of St. John 29. 31-35
At that time, The Jews, that the bodies might not remain upon the cross on the sabbath-day, besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. The soldiers, therefore, came, and they broke the legs of the first, and of the other that was crucified with him. But after they were come to Jesus, when they saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. But one of the soldiers with a spear opened his side, and immediately there came out blood and water. And he that saw it hath given testimony: and his testimony is true.
St. Augustine says: "The Evangelist is very careful in his expression; he does not say, the soldiers pierced or wounded His side, but he o p e n e d it, as if to open for us the door of life, from which flow the Sacraments of the Church, without which there can be no access to the true life."
"Let us remember that the Heart of Jesus has called us not only for our own sanctification, but also for that of other souls. He wants to be helped in the salvation of souls," St. Padre Pio.
Consecration to the Sacred Heart
O Sacred Heart of Jesus, to Thee I consecrate and offer up my person and my life, my actions, trials, and sufferings, that my entire being may henceforth only be employed in loving, honoring and glorifying Thee. This is my irrevocable will, to belong entirely to Thee, and to do all for Thy love, renouncing with my whole heart all that can displease Thee.
I take Thee, O Sacred Heart, for the sole object of my love, the protection of my life, the pledge of my salvation, the remedy of my frailty and insconstancy, the reparation for all the defects of my life, and my secure refuge at the hour of my death. Be Thou, O Most Merciful Heart, my justification before God Thy Father, and screen me from His anger which I have so justly merited. I fear all from my own weakness and malice, but placing my entire confidence in Thee, O Heart of Love, I hope all from Thine infinite Goodness. Annihilate in me all that can displease or resist Thee. Imprint Thy pure love so deeply in my heart that I may never forget Thee or be separated from Thee.
I beseech Thee, through Thine infinite Goodness, grant that my name be engraved upon Thy Heart, for in this I place all my happiness and all my glory, to live and to die as one of Thy devoted servants. Amen.
Documents on the Sacred Heart:
- Annum sacrum (1889) - Pope Leo XIII
- Caritate Christi Compulsi (On The Sacred Heart) - Pope Pius XI
- Miserentissimus Redemptor (On Reparation To The Sacred Heart) - Pope Pius XI
- Haurietis aquas - Pope Pius XII
- Message on the centenary of the consecration of mankind to the Sacred Heart of Jesus (1999) - Pope John Paul ll
Dear readers let us unite our hearts with that of Jesus as we pray: Dear Lord, may the precious rays of water and blood that flowed from your pierced side indue us to pray more fervently and humbly, that we may be induced to discover the treasures of Your heart. Holy Spirit, infuse into our souls the great gift of true compassion for the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. Blessed Mother pray for us and with us as we make this devout homage of affection to the Most Sacred Heart of your Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, that we may fulfill our duty of worthy satisfaction. Amen. St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, pray for us.
Acknowledgements/References:
Rev. Fr. Leonard Goffine
1962 Roman Catholic Daily Missal, Angelus Press
A Catholic Life
Miracle of the Rosary Mission
Labels: Catholic Belief, Official Documents, Prayer, Quotes, Sacred Heart of Jesus, Saints
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