This Friday 11 June, Catholics celebrate the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The Sacred Heart of Jesus is a symbol of the love that Christ showed by giving his life to save the world.
What is the Sacred Heart of Jesus?
Definition of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
The representation of the Sacred Heart of Jesus recalls the passion of Christ, the love of the Lord and his mercy. It symbolises his love for us. It is wisdom incarnate.
The Feast of the Sacred Heart is celebrated on the third Friday after Pentecost. The month of June is dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
The majority of statues and representations of the Sacred Heart of Jesus show Jesus Christ in the position of blessing, showing with his hand the heart crowned with thorns, surrounded by flames in the middle of his chest.
The origins of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
During the Last Supper, the last meal Jesus shared with the 12 apostles before his arrest, John placed his head against the heart of Jesus Christ. At the moment of the Passion, he saw the heart of Christ pierced. It was then that for several centuries other saints spoke of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Saint Margaret Mary, messenger of the Heart of Jesus
From her childhood, Saint Margaret Mary wanted to devote herself to God. She entered the monastery of Paray-le-Monial in 1673 and witnessed several apparitions of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Sister Marguerite-Marie Alacoque had been in the Visitation monastery for two and a half years when the first apparition of the Heart of Jesus took place on December 27, 1673, on the feast of Saint John. In this first apparition, Sister Marguerite-Marie was chosen by Jesus as "an instrument to draw hearts to his love".
The first manifestation of the Heart of Jesus to Margaret Mary was preceded by many communications between the Lord and Sister Margaret Mary. Before she entered the monastery, Jesus gave her a great love for the Eucharist and turned her away from distractions.
Once she arrived at the monastery, he invited her to live "the life of a Man of God". He clothed her in a 'robe of innocence' and taught her obedience to her superiors.
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The apparitions of Jesus to Saint Margaret Mary
The first apparition
The first apparition took place in December 1673. Christ rested his head on her breast for many minutes. It was then that he revealed to her the inexplicable secrets of his Sacred Heart: the heart shone like a sun as he bore the wound opened by the lance, which was crowned with thorns and topped by a cross. This makes us think of the Passion.
It is then that Christ says to Saint Margaret Mary: "My divine Heart is so passionate with love for men and for you in particular that, since it can no longer contain the flames of its ardent charity within itself, it must spread them through you.
The second apparition
The second apparition took place in June 1675. Christ said to her: "This is the heart that has loved men so much that it has spared nothing to show them its love, and instead of gratitude it receives only the most ingratitude, indifference, and even contempt in this sacrament of love".
The third apparition
In 1689, during the third apparition, Sister Marguerite-Marie affirmed that she had received from Jesus Christ the mission to ask King Louis XIV "to consecrate France to his Sacred Heart and to represent it on the standards of the kingdom".
The birth of the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
According to Margaret Mary, during the apparitions of Christ, he said to her "I ask you that the first Friday after the octave of the Blessed Sacrament be dedicated to a particular feast to honour my heart...". It was then that the feast spread very quickly to the Church in many countries. It is celebrated between 29 May and 2 July, depending on the date of Easter.
In one of his apparitions, Jesus Christ said to Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque: "My blessing will remain on all the homes in which the image of My heart is displayed and venerated". This is why many homes have a frame, a statue, a picture, a t-shirt or a rosary of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Prayer for the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Lord Jesus, we come to you to prostrate ourselves before your Sacred Heart.
We thank you for the infinite love you have for us that led you to give your life to save us.
We ask you to help us to love as you do, with an unconditional and merciful love.
We ask you to give us the grace to live according to the teachings of your Sacred Heart, loving God and serving our neighbours.
We ask you to protect us from all evil and to guide us on our path of life.
We thank you for all the blessings you have given us through your Sacred Heart and we entrust our lives and souls to you.
Amen
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