Franciscan Penance Library

The Sacred Heart of Jesus 

 

 DEVOTION TO THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS

The Sacred Heart of Jesus is a pictorial symbol of Jesus's love for us.  The image shows Our Lord's Divine Heart, pierced with a sword and surrounded with a crown of thorns.  A cross, engulfed in flames, extends upward from the Heart while the Heart itself is aglow.  The image represents the burning love of Christ for us, a love so infinite in its intensity that it led Our Lord to His Passion and Crucifixion.  Jesus points out His Heart as if to say, "Contemplate this and know how very much I have loved you."

SAINTS OF THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS

The principal saints promoting devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus were Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque and Saint Claude de la Colombiere.

Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647-1690) was a nun of the Order of the Visitation of Mary at Paray-Le-Monial, France, when Jesus appeared to her over an eighteen month period, requesting devotion to His Sacred Heart.  She met with resistance to this request, even to the point of being considered deluded, until the Lord sent the young, popular Jesuit preacher Saint Claude de la Colombiere (1641-1682) to the monastery in 1675 to be its superior.  Believing the revelations, Father Claude gained credibility for Sister Margaret Mary, but the following year he was sent to England as chaplain to the Duchess of York.  Falsely accused of being implicated in the Titus Oates plot to assassinate the King, Father Claude was imprisoned and then banished, arriving in France in 1679, ill from the prison abuse.  The year after his death in 1682, Sister Margaret Mary was given positions of authority in her community and was able to spread devotion to the Sacred Heart.

PRAYER OF CONSECRATION TO THE SACRED HEART

The following is a prayer of St. Margaret Mary's Consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus:

"O Sacred Heart of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, 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 inconstancy, the reparation for all the defects of my life, and my secure refuge at the hour of my death. . . I fear all from my own weakness and malice, but placing my entire confidence in Thee, O Heart of Love, I hope for 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 on 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.
(All quotations above are taken from the "Autobiography of St. Margaret Mary" and "Thoughts and Sayings of St. Margaret Mary.")

TWELVE PROMISES

The Twelve Promises of Our Blessed Lord to St. Margaret Mary for those who are devoted to His Sacred Heart (taken from her autobiography and letters)

1. I will give them all the graces necessary for their state of life.
2. I will give 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 death.
5. I will pour abundant blessings on all their undertakings.
6. Sinners shall find in my Heart the source and 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 in which the image of my Sacred Heart shall be exposed and honored.
10. I will give to priests the power to touch the most hardened hearts.
11. Those who propagate this devotion shall have their name written in my Heart and it shall never 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 the Sacraments; my Heart shall be their assured refuge at that last hour. 
 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Much additional information on the Sacred Heart, including enthronement in the home, prayers, background is on this link.

Prayers, chaplet, litany, novena to the Sacred Heart on this link.

Pope Pius XII's Document on the Sacred Heart of Jesus on this link.