JUNE is Dedicated

to the SACRED HEART of JESUS

 

 The Sacred Heart of Jesus is a profound and enduring symbol within the Catholic Church, representing the immense love and mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ. Devotion to the Sacred Heart is a special form of devotion to Jesus—the focus being his Heart, which exemplifies our Lord’s redemptive suffering for the whole world. Understood in the light of the Scriptures, the term "Sacred Heart of Jesus" denotes the entire mystery of Christ, the totality of his being, and his person considered in its most intimate essential: Son of God, uncreated wisdom; infinite charity, principal of the salvation and sanctification of mankind. The "Sacred Heart" is Christ, the Word Incarnate, Savior, intrinsically containing, in the Spirit, an infinite divine-human love for the Father and for humanity.

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 Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus began in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, but became more prominent through our Lord’s private revelations to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque in the seventeenth century. Between 1673 and 1675, St. Margaret Mary, a nun in the Visitation Convent at Paray-le-Monial, France, received several visions of Jesus. In these visions, Christ revealed his Heart as a symbol of his boundless love for humanity and emphasized the need for people to return his love through devotion and prayer. The feast of the Sacred Heart was approved for specified dioceses by Clement XIII in 1765, and extended to the whole Church by Pius IX in 1856. In 1889 Pope Leo XIII elevated it to the rank of first class, and through an encyclical letter in 1899 dedicated the whole Catholic world to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

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 Devotion to the Sacred Heart is a wonderful historical expression of the Church's piety for Christ, her Spouse and Lord: it calls for a fundamental attitude of conversion and reparation, of love and gratitude, apostolic commitment and dedication to Christ and his saving work. Devotions to the Sacred Heart of Jesus are numerous. Some have been explicitly approved and frequently recommended by the Apostolic See. Among these is the FIRST FRIDAY devotion, which derives from the "great promises" made by Jesus to St. Margaret Mary. At a time when sacramental communion was very rare among the faithful, the first Friday devotion contributed significantly to a renewed use of the Sacraments of Penance and of the Holy Eucharist. In the apparitions to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, Jesus gives these twelve promises for those who are devoted to His Sacred Heart:

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1. I will give them all the graces necessary for their state of life.

2. I will establish peace in their families.

3. I will console them in all their troubles.

4. They shall find in My Heart an assured refuge during life and especially at the hour of their death.

5. I will pour abundant blessings on all their undertakings.

6. Sinners shall find in My Heart the source of an infinite ocean of mercy.

7. Tepid souls shall become fervent.

8. Fervent souls shall speedily rise to great perfection.

9. I will bless the homes where an image of My Heart shall be exposed and honored.

10. I will give to priests the power of touching the most hardened hearts.

11. Those who propagate this devotion shall have their names written in My Heart, never to be effaced.

12. The all-powerful love of My Heart will grant to all those who shall receive Communion on the First Friday of nine consecutive months the grace of final repentance; they shall not die under my displeasure, nor without receiving their Sacraments; My heart shall be their assured refuge at that last hour.

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 May this month be for us an opportunity for deepening our love for the Lord and for one another as we open our own hearts to receive the graces of His Most Sacred Heart. 'O Jesus, gentle and humble of heart, touch our hearts and make them like Your own!'

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Oremvs Pro Invicem!

Father Albert Beltz, KHS, Pastor​​