Tag Archives: Sacred Heart

Liturgical Year

Journal of a Soul

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Today, the Church remembers Pope John XXIII who died on this date in 1963.  For a man who was devoted to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, it is a wonderful coincidence that this year the date of his death falls during the week when the Church celebrates the Feast of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. This feast day is always celebrated 19 days after Pentecost, hence, it always falls on a Friday.This year it is celebrated on June 7th.

“It is to the Heart of Jesus that I dare go for the solution of all my problems.”

– Pope John XXIII in Journal of a Soul

The Holy Father had another devotion that was near and dear to his heart. Pope John wrote in an Apostolic Letter that his family used to recite the Litany in Honor of Jesus in His Most Precious Blood every day in July. On February 24, 1960, this devotion was promulgated by him for use by the whole Church. With this devotion, the bishops of the Church and all people are asked by St. Paul to remember: “Keep watch, then, over yourselves, and over God’s Church, in which the Holy Spirit has made you bishops; you are to be the shepherds of that flock which He won for Himself at the price of His own Blood” (Acts 20:28). It is appropriate to recite this devotion on Corpus Christi and/or any other day when one would like to meditate on the Blood shed by Our Lord as the price for our salvation. It is fitting that we pray this Litany during the week following Corpus Christi and prior to the Sacred Heart. Both feasts are a vivid reminder of Who we are receiving into our hearts during Holy Communion.

On his deathbed, the Holy Father, Bl. Pope John XXIII was heard to whisper these words of Peter twice: “Lord, you know that I love you.”

Let us love Him too with our whole hearts.

 

Liturgical Year

The Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Eucharist

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The IRL is consecrated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Our founder, Servant of God, Fr. John A. Hardon, SJ, wrote that it is a remarkable fact that “all of Christ’s appearances to St. Margaret Mary were when she knelt before the Eucharist. He would literally replace the Sacrament on the altar when He showed His physical heart to this devoted mystic, as much to say, ‘When you see the Eucharist, you see Me; and when you see Me, you behold My Sacred Heart.'”

Devotion to the Sacred Heart has waned in recent times eclipsed by devotion to Divine Mercy. However, Divine Mercy flows from the Sacred Heart of Jesus as evidenced by the picture commissioned by St. Faustina. In any event, June which is dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is a good time to pray a novena to the Sacred Heart for some special intention. Click here for the novena that Padre Pio prayed every day for those who requested for his prayers.

Dear Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in Thee.

Reflection

Recognizing the Kingship of Christ

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I encourage our readers to check out this article by Msgr. John Esseff over at Catholic Lane on the enthronement of the Sacred Heart of Jesus as the antidote to the culture of death.

Interestingly, Msgr. Esseff is a retired exorcist and was a retreat director for Blessed Teresa of Calcutta and many of her sisters around the world.

Msgr. Esseff offers an engaging summary of the history of devotion to the Sacred Heart, including the origins of the concept and practice of “enthronement,” which clearly has implications for vocations. After all, when we acknowledge Christ as Lord of all, vocations happen.

Monsignor’s article contains a beautiful reflection on the call to love and serve the Lord with an undivided heart, and the consequences of settling for less:

“When we choose something less, we become broken. When my heart does not choose the more for which it was made, it is not satisfied; there is always something lacking. The words of St. Augustine explain this: ‘Our hearts are made for you, oh Lord, and they shall not rest until they rest in you.’  Every human heart was made for Jesus and his civilization of love.”

For more on devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, including information on the first Sacred Heart World Congress this October, click here.