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The Divine Savior, Jesus Christ, willed the devotion to Sacred Heart be promulgated throughout the world and especially for France. Jesus revealed this Devotion to Saint Margaret Alacoque in the 17th Century.
The desire of Our Lord to have devotion to His Sacred Heart is to show His love to all mankind. The vision of Jesus Sacred heart surrounded by the crown of thorns and the pierced wounds, shows how much Our Lord is wounded by the ingratitude and coldness of mankind. The devotion took root in the 19th Century and was elevated by the Church in 1856 as a feast Day of the Sacred Heart and on the day after the feast of Corpus Christi, in the month of June.
The devotion to the Sacred Heart can be traced back to the Middle Ages and as early as the 12th Century and seems to have sprung from the Wound in the Side of Jesus. However, the devotion was popularized through Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque in the 17th Century.
Who is Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque?
Margaret Mary was born on July 22, 1647, to Claude Alacoque and Philiberte Lamyn, at Hautecour, in the province of Burgundy, France.
Her father was a royal notary and judge.
At the age of eight, shortly after the deaths of both her godmother and of her father, Margaret Mary was sent to a convent of Urbanist nuns, also called the Poor Clares, at Charolles.
Margaret Mary was a pious and devout child, she was allowed to make her first communion at age nine, earlier than the usual age for the reception of First Holy Communion.
The devout Margaret Mary took the vow of virginity as a young child, and desired to live a life pleasing to God and showed a devotion to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.
Margaret Mary’s Mother intended that all her children to marry and Margaret Mary commenced attending social gatherings. However, her desire for the religious life led her to enter the Convent of the Visitation Nuns at Paray-le-Monial as a postulant on June 20, 1671.
Two months later, she was admitted into the novitiate.
Sister Margaret Mary stood out from the other nuns as she was extremely devoted to continual prayer before the Blessed Sacrament.
She was then admitted to vows as a fully professed nun,
Sister Margaret Mary entered eternal life on October 17, 1690.
Sister Margaret Mary Alacoque was pronounced Venerable by Leo XII in 1824 and was honored with the title of Blessed by Pius IX in 1864.
She was raised to the alter as a Saint by Pope Benedict XV in 1920. Her feast day is October 17.
What role does Blessed Margaret Mary Alacoque play in the Devotion to the Sacred Heart?
A humble and holy French nun, the Blessed Margaret Mary Alacoque, became the apostle of the beautiful and now universal worship of the loving Heart of our Blessed Saviour.
Our Lord responding to her devotion appeared to the Nun on several occasions in 1672.
In one of these graced visions, Our Lord, showed her His Heart, pierced with a wound, encircled with a crown of thorns, surrounded by flames, and surmounted by a cross.
“In the year 1675, whilst she was one day in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament, our Lord appeared to her, and pointing to His heart which He showed to her, surrounded with flames, surmounted by the Cross, enriched with a crown of thorns, and pierced with a gaping wound, He said to her:
“Behold this heart which has loved mankind so much, and which receives only ingratitude and coldness in return for its love.
My desire is that you should make reparation to My heart for this ingratitude, and induce others also to make reparation.”
(Thein, J. (1900). In Ecclesiastical Dictionary: Containing, in Concise Form, Information upon Ecclesiastical, Biblical, Archæological, and Historical Subjects (p. 328). Benziger Brothers.)
Jesus commanded Sister Margaret Mary to practice and to teach others the devotion to His Sacred Heart, because of His ardent desire to be loved by men and His wish to give to all mankind the treasures of His love and mercy.
The devotion began to grow and although met with some opposition, in 1794, Pius VI issued a decree approving the devotion to the Sacred Heart and granting indulgences to those who practice it.
Sixteen months prior to entering to eternal life, Sister Margaret Mary was assigned a task for the King of France, King Louis XIV (known as Louis the Great or the Sun King) (1638-1715).
On June 17, 1689, Jesus showed His Sacred Heart to Sister Margaret Mary and requested that the King Consecrate France to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
This request was unfortunately ignored and one hundred years to the date, in 1789, during the French Revolution, the King of France was stripped of his legislative authority.
Four years later, 1973, King Louis XVI was guillotined.There is a lesson to be learned, that disobedience to a request made by the Son of God, God Himself, has consequences.
When was the Feast of the Sacred Heart established?
The Feast of the Sacred Heart.
In 1856 the feast Day of the Sacred Heart was fixed on the day after the festival of Corpus Christi, in the month of June.
In 1889, under Leo XIII, raised the Feast of the Sacred Heart day was raised to a higher rank in the Church’s calendar, and all mankind was solemnly consecrated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Because of the importance of this great June festival, the whole month of June is considered as being specially devoted to the worship of the Sacred Heart.
What is the First Friday devotion?
The First Fridays. One of the greatest factors not only in making the worship of the Sacred Heart known but in distributing its spiritual benefits is the:
“Devotion of the First Fridays.”
The faithful are exhorted to receive Holy Communion on the first Friday of each month for nine months in succession, by which they may gain a plenary indulgence; and in many churches and chapels the exposition of the Blessed Sacrament takes place, either during the whole day or in the evening, and special services are held in honor of our Eucharistic Lord and especially of His Sacred Heart, the symbol of His unutterable love for us whom He died to save.
The Devotion to the Sacred Heart is our direct connection to the very Heart of that Flaming Heart of Jesus that burns with love and mercy for us.
CONDITIONS TO FULFILL THE FIRST FRIDAY DEVOTION
The specific conditions to receive the Great Promise of the Sacred Heart of Jesus are:
1. Receive Holy Communion on nine consecutive first Fridays of the month (this assumes that the person is in a state of grace, having made a sacramental confession for any mortal sins prior to receiving communion).
2. Having the intention, at least implicitly, of making reparation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus for all the sinfulness and ingratitude of men.
The Devotion as Requested by Our Lord
Jesus asked that all people go to Confession and receive Holy Communion often, especially on the First Friday of each month, and that reparation be made for sins committed against His Sacred Heart and the Holy Eucharist.
He also requested that the Church observe a feast day specifically for the purpose of this reparation.
In 1856, the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart was officially added to the liturgical calendar.
You can have a devotion to the Sacred Heart by doing as Our Lord asked, by receiving Holy Communion frequently (especially on the first Friday of each month), monthly confession, veneration of an image of His Sacred Heart, and prayers and sacrifices offered out of love for Him and for the conversion of sinners.
Jesus also gave us, through St. Margaret Mary, special promises for those who keep a loving devotion to the attribute of His infinite love for mankind as represented in His Most Sacred Heart.
What are the promises associated with the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus?
There are 12 promises to those who devoutly practice the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
1. I will give them all the graces necessary in their state of life.
2. I will establish peace in their homes.
3. I will comfort them in all their afflictions.
4. I will be their secure refuge during life, and above all, in death.
5. I will bestow abundant blessings upon all their undertakings.
6. Sinners will find in my Heart the source and infinite ocean of mercy.
7. Lukewarm souls shall become fervent.
8. Fervent souls shall quickly mount to high perfection.
9. I will bless every place in which an image of my Heart is exposed and honored.
10. I will give to priests the gift of touching the most hardened hearts.
11. Those who shall promote this devotion shall have their names written in my Heart.
12. I promise you in the excessive mercy of my Heart that my all-powerful love will grant to all those who receive Holy Communion on the First Fridays in nine consecutive months the grace of final perseverance; they shall not die in my disgrace, nor without receiving their sacraments. My divine Heart shall be their safe refuge in this last moment.
Another great and powerful devotion and to the Saviour of the World, Who He, Himself has requested.
I pray you take this devotion seriously and spread it to those you know and may God reward.
Remember Our Lord’s words that:
“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away” (St Luke 21:33)
Our Lord’s promises and words are true and trustworthy.
Will you place your trust in Him and gain for yourself and others these promises?
Our Lord never breaks them, will you?
Sacred Heart of Jesus,
Have Mercy on us.