Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus goes back at least to the 11th century, but through the 16th century, it remained a private devotion, often tied to devotion to the Five Wounds of Christ.
Quick Facts
• Date: 19 days after Pentecost Sunday;
• Type of Feast: Solemnity
History of the Feast of the Sacred Heart
The first feast of the Sacred Heart was celebrated on August 31, 1670, in Rennes, France, through the efforts of Fr. Jean Eudes (1602-1680). From Rennes, the devotion spread, but it took the visions of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647-1690) for the devotion to become universal.
In all of these visions, in which Jesus appeared to St. Margaret Mary, the Sacred Heart of Jesus played a central role. The "great apparition," which took place on June 16, 1675, during the octave of the Feast of Corpus Christi, is the source of the modern Feast of the Sacred Heart.
In that vision, Christ asked St. Margaret Mary to request that the Feast of the Sacred Heart be celebrated on the Friday after the octave (or eighth day) of the Feast of Corpus Christi, in reparation for the ingratitude of men for the sacrifice that Christ had made for them.
The Sacred Heart of Jesus represents not simply His physical heart but His love for all mankind.
The devotion became quite popular after St. Margaret Mary's death in 1690, but, because the Church initially had doubts about the validity of St. Margaret Mary's visions, it wasn't until 1765 that the feast was celebrated officially in France.
Almost 100 years later, in 1856, Pope Pius IX, at the request of the French bishops, extended the feast to the universal Church. It is celebrated on the day requested by our Lord-the Friday after the octave of Corpus Christi, or 19 days after Pentecost Sunday.
In this prayer, written by Merry Cardinal Del Val, secretary of state under Pope Saint Pius X, we ask Christ to unite our heart to His, so that we may live our lives as He wishes us to and never forget the sacrifice that He made in dying for us. This is only one of many prayers to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, whose feast is celebrated each year 19 days after Pentecost Sunday.
Act of Love to the Sacred Heart
Reveal Thy Sacred Heart to me, O Jesus, and show me Its attractions.
Unite me to It for ever.
Grant that all my aspirations and all the beats of my heart,
which cease not even while I sleep,
may be a testimonial to Thee of my love for Thee
and may say to Thee: Yes, Lord, I am all Thine;
the pledge of my allegiance to Thee rests ever in my heart
and will never cease to be there.
Do Thou accept the slight amount of good that I do
and be graciously pleased to repair all my wrongdoing;
so that I may be able to bless Thee in time and in eternity. Amen.
Unfortunately, the religious fervour of the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s, during which the Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus was widely practiced by all Catholics in the world has been dissipated in our society by the materialistic pursuit of other than spiritual goals by the vast majority of laity, with, among other things, the consequent loss of interest in and practice of the Devotion in the Churches and by many (but not all) of the clergy.
Along with that, many of the old, most beautiful, inspiring Prayers to the Sacred Heart and Acts of Reparation to His Sacred Heart were also lost. Until now.
By what I believe was divine inspiration and the action of His Spirit, I was given, in an unusual, totally implausible way a copy of an old, out-of-print prayer book of this period. It contains many exquisitely beautiful prayers, which will fill our needs to tell Him of our love for His Heart in truly meaningful, expressive ways, Heart to Heart, from ours to His, and to console Him for the neglect and ingratitude of those who ignore His Eucharistic Presence by never visiting Him in our Churches. They are an AID, but there is much more that we can and should do to live this Devotion and to make it a part of our daily lives:
To receive the graces and blessings of His 12 Promises, which He wishes you to have, try at all times to do the following:
• LOVE HIM, fervently
• PRAY TO HIM, constantly
• TRUST HIM, in everything
• VISIT HIM, frequently
• RECEIVE HIM, as often as possible
He always keeps His Promises, if you do your part.
May the fervent and heartfelt recitation of these prayers and adoption of these practices bring a shower of graces and blessings to you and your families, and bring you ever closer to the total conversion to His Heart of Love that He wishes for us all.
12 Promises
Listed below are the “12 Promises” of the Sacred Heart of Jesus to St. Margaret Mary to encourage all Catholics to know and understand the benefit of practicing the Devotion and to encourage all to take up its immediate practice.
1. I will give them all the graces necessary in their state of life.
2. I will give peace in their families and will unite families that are divided.
3. I will console them in all their troubles.
4. I will be their refuge during life and above all in death.
5. I will bestow the blessings of Heaven on all their enterprises.
6. Sinners shall find in my Heart the source and infinite ocean of mercy.
7. Tepid souls shall become fervent.
8. Fervent souls shall rise quickly to great perfection.
9. I will bless those places wherein the image of My Heart shall be exposed and honored and will imprint My love on the hearts of those who would wear this image on their person. I will also destroy in them all disordered movements.
10. I will give to priests who are animated by a tender devotion to my Divine Heart the gift of touching the most hardened hearts.
11. Those who promote this devotion shall have their names written in my Heart, never to be effaced.
12. I promise you in the excessive mercy of my Heart that my all-powerful love will grant to all those who communicate on the First Friday in nine consecutive months, the grace of final penitence: they will not die in my disgrace, nor without receiving their Sacraments. My Divine Heart shall be their safe refuge in this last moment.
(The Nine Fridays must be made in honour of His Sacred Heart, meaning, practicing the devotion and having a great love of His Sacred Heart. They must be on the first Friday of the month for nine consecutive months, and Communion must be received.)
I have been thinking a great deal about my experience at Reconciliation this past Saturday. I felt an intense and unexplainable urge to go and confess my sins when I woke up that morning. I try to go every six weeks or so, but this was no routine visit to the priest for me. I needed to unburden myself of the numerous venial sins I had committed since I last participated in this Sacrament.
Purest Gold: God's Refining Fire in our Lives »
After salvation, many young Christians wonder if there's anything more to their newfound faith than just the security blanket of "being a Christian." Time and time again, God shows himself as a "refiner," and our lives are as gold. God started leading me in this study to understand what He was doing in my life, as well as in the lives of others.
Picking up my pen to write this column, I couldn’t imagine how time flies. Since the last publication of this column I have gone through a lot, especially the loss of my dear mother to whom I dedicate this article. Not only her, but seems I lost a whole generation of my close family.
How to Achieve Business Excellence »
“Do you see a man who excels in his work? He will stand before Kings; He will not stand before unknown men.” Proverbs 22:29
Spiritual Development for our Youth »
Most of us youth in today's fast moving world are easily thrown off by difficulties and worries.
The theme of conversion is a thread that runs all through Lent, but conversion takes on different aspects throughout the phases of Lent. The first two and a half weeks focused on the interior turning of hearts; the liturgy urges the faithful to reflect and examine consciences thoroughly.
Saint Josephine Bakhita »
Feast Day: February 8
Patron Saint Of: Sudan
Saint Josephine Margaret Bakhita was born around 1869 in the village of Olgossa in the Darfur region of Sudan. She was a member of the Daju people and her uncle was a tribal chief. Due to her family lineage, she grew up happy and relatively prosperous, saying that as a child, she did not know suffering.
Catholics Must Fast More Intensely This Lent»
The Norbertine Canons of St. Michael's Abbey have created this digital Lenten retreat so that you can journey through this holy season alongside them. If you want to have one of your best Lenten seasons yet, join us in our Lenten Program "The Great Fast" - https://theabbotscircle.com/the-great-fast-join
When Your Faith Is Put to the Test - Bishop Barron's Sunday Sermon»
Friends, we come now to the Second Sunday of Lent, and we’re on both dangerous and very holy ground with the first reading from the twenty-second chapter of Genesis. The ancient Israelites referred to it as the “Akedah,” which means the “binding”: Abraham binds and is ready to sacrifice Isaac at God’s command.
Copyright © 2002-2024 THE BEACON INTERNATIONAL CATHOLIC MAGAZINE. All rights reserved.
another mc.rufus interactive web design