It was to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, a humble opinion of the Order of the Visitation of Our Lady that Our Lord chose to reveal to the world His Sacred Heart, thus opening a New Era of Grace and Mercy in the history of the Church and the world.
These private revelations took place during the years 1673-1675, and are drawn from the diary of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, the witness of her fellow sisters, and that of her spiritual director, St. Claude de La Colombiere.
“Soul of Christ,
sanctify me!
Body of Christ,
save me!
Blood of Christ,
inebriate me!
Water from the side of Christ,
wash me!
Passion of Christ,
strengthen me!
O good Jesus hear me!
Within Thy wounds hide me;
Permit me not to be separated from Thee;
from the malignant enemy,
defend me;
in the hour of death,
call me and bid me come over to Thee,
that with Thy saints
I may praise Thee forever and ever, Amen
Amen.”
The First Apparition: December 27, 1673
On the Feast of St. John the Evangelist Our Lord came to St. Margaret Mary, while she was in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament, and granted her the same privilege as He had done to St. Gertrude. This is how St. Margaret Mary describes the event in her autobiography:
“One day, having a little more leisure-for occupations confided to me left me scarcely any-I was praying before the Blessed Sacrament, when I felt myself wholly penetrated with that Divine Presence, but to such a degree that I lost all thought of myself and of the place where I was, and abandoned myself to this Divine Spirit, yielding up my heart to the power of His Love.
He made me repose for a long time upon His Sacred Breast, where He disclosed to me the marvels of His Love and the inexplicable secrets of His Sacred Heart, which so far He had concealed from me.
Then it was that, for the first time, He opened to me His Divine Heart in a manner so real and sensible as to be beyond all doubt, by reason of the effects which this favor produced in me, fearful, as I always am, of deceiving myself in anything that I say of what passes in time. It seems to me that this is what took place:”
“My Divine Heart is so inflamed with love for men, and for you in particular that, being unable any longer to contain within Itself the flames of Its burning Charity, It must needs spread them abroad by your means, and manifest Itself to them (mankind) in order to enrich them with the precious graces of sanctification and salvation necessary to withdraw them from the abyss of perdition. I have chosen you as an abyss of unworthiness and ignorance for the accomplishment of this great design, in order that everything may be done by Me.”
“After this He asked me for my heart, which I begged Him to take. He did so and placed it in His own Adorable Heart where He showed it to me as a little atom which was being consumed in this great furnace, and withdrawing it thence as a burning flame in the form of a heart, He restored it to the place whence He had taken it saying to me:”
My well-beloved, I give you a precious token of My love, having enclosed within your side a little spark of its glowing flames, that is may serve you for a heart and consume you to the last moment of your life; its ardor will never be exhausted, and you will be able to find some slight relief only by bleeding.
Even this remedy I shall so mark with My Cross, that it will bring you more humiliation and suffering than alleviation.
Therefore, I will that you ask for it with simplicity, both that you may practice what is ordered you and also to give you the consolation of shedding your blood on the cross of humiliations.
As a proof that the great favor I have done to you is not imagination, and that it is the foundation of all those which I intend further to confer upon you, although I have closed the wound in your side, the pain will always remain.
If before, you have taken only the name of My slave, I now give you that of the beloved disciple of My Sacred Heart.”
“After such a signal favor which lasted for a long time, during which I knew not whether I was in heaven or on earth, I remained for several days, as it were, on fire and inebriated
(with divine love) and so completely out of myself, that I had to do myself violence in order to utter a single word.
The effort I had to make in order to join in recreation or to take food was so great that it was all I could do to overcome myself, which was a cause of considerable humiliation to me.
I was not able to sleep, because of the pain of the wound, which is so precious to me; it produces such heat within me that it burns and consumes me alive.
I also felt such a plentitude of God, that I could not explain myself to my Superioress, as I should have wished, regardless of any suffering and confusion which the recital of these favors might cause me.
I would rather have accused myself of my sins before the whole world than speak of these graces on account of my extreme unworthiness.
Our Lord makes known the Devotion of the First Fridays: June 1674
“On the First Friday of each month, the above-mentioned grace connected with the pain in my side was renewed in the following manner: the Sacred Heart was represented to me as a resplendent sun, the burning rays of which fell vertically upon my heart, which was inflamed with a fire so fervid that it seemed as if it would reduce me to ashes.
It was at these times especially that my Divine Master taught me what He required of me and disclosed to me the secrets of His loving Heart.
On one occasion, while the Blessed Sacrament was exposed, feeling wholly withdrawn within myself by an extraordinary recollection of all my senses and powers, Jesus Christ, my sweet Master, presented Himself to me, all resplendent with glory, His Five Wounds shining like so many suns. Flames issued from every part of His Sacred Humanity, especially from His Adorable Breast, which resembled an open furnace and disclosed to me His most loving and most amiable Heart, which was the living source of these flames.
It was then that He made known to me the ineffable marvels of His pure love and showed me to what an excess He had loved men, from whom He received only ingratitude and contempt.
“I feel this more than all that I suffered during My Passion.
If only they would make Me some return for My Love, I should think but little of all I have done for them and would wish, were it possible, to suffer still more.
But the sole return they make for all My eagerness to do them good is to reject Me and treat Me with coldness. Do you at least console Me by supplying for their ingratitude, as far as you are able.”
“On representing to Him my inability, He replied:”
“Behold, this will supply for all that is wanting to you.”
“And at the same time His Divine Heart being opened, there issued from It a flame so ardent that I thought I should be consumed, for I was wholly penetrated with it, and being no longer able to bear it, I besought Him to have pity on my weakness.”
“I will be your strength. Fear nothing, but be attentive to My voice and to what I shall require of you that you may be in the requisite disposition for the accomplishment of My designs.
In the first place you shall receive Me in Holy Communion as often as obedience
(to your confessor and superiors) will permit you, despite the mortification and humiliation it may cause you, which you must receive as pledges of My Love.
You shalt, moreover, communicate on the First Friday of each month. Every night between the Thursday and the (first) Friday I will make you share in My mortal sadness which I was pleased to feel in the Garden of Olives, and this sadness, without you being able to understand it, shall reduce you to a kind of agony harder to endure than death itself.
And in order to bear Me company in the humble prayer that I then offered to My Father, in the midst of My anguish, you shall rise between 11 P.M. and midnight, and remain prostrate with Me for an hour, not only to appease the divine anger by begging mercy for sinners, but also to mitigate in some way the bitterness which I felt at that time on finding Myself abandoned by My Apostles, which obliged Me to reproach them for not being able to watch one hour with Me.
During that hour you shall do what I shall teach you. But listen, My daughter, believe not lightly and trust not every spirit, for Satan is enraged and will seek to deceive you.
Therefore, do nothing without the approval of those who guide you; being thus under the authority of obedience, his efforts against you will be in vain, for he has no power over the obedient.”
Our Lord Purifies His Servant
After this apparition St. Margaret began to suffer from a mystical fever. The Most Holy Trinity appeared to her on another occasion.
At the request of her religious superiors, she was asked to pray for a cure to her strange sickness.
In response the Blessed Virgin Mary came to her and granted her request. The next year (1675) Our Lord came and asked her for a bitter sacrifice to appease His justice which was aroused by the sins of a single house of religious. She accepted to make this sacrifice.
And so, on the vigil of the Presentation (February 2), for the length of one long night she suffered mystically the indescribable tortures of hell and volunteered herself for an extraordinary public penance, which in her humility she does not describe for us. The next morning, at Mass, Our Lord spoke to her:
“At last peace is restored, and My Sanctity of justice is satisfied by the sacrifice you have made in honor of that which I made at the moment of My Incarnation in the womb of My Mother.
I wished to renew and unite the merit thereof with this act of yours in order to apply it in favor of charity, as I have shown you.
Hence it is that you must no longer lay any claim to whatever you may do or suffer, either to increase your merits or to make satisfaction by penance or otherwise, since everything is sacrificed in favor of charity.
Therefore, in imitation of Me you must act and suffer in silence without any other interest than the glory of God, in the establishment of the Reign of My Sacred Heart in the hearts of men, to whom I wish to manifest It by your means.”
Thus Our Lord spoke to her, after she received Him in Holy Communion.
Our Lord Requests the Devotion of First Fridays be practiced: June 16, 1675
During the octave in preparation for the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, while St. Margaret was close to the choir grate, Our Lord appeared to her upon the Altar.
“Behold the Heart which has so loved men that it has spared nothing, even to exhausting and consuming Itself, in order to testify Its love; and in return, I receive from the greater part only ingratitude, by their irreverence and sacrilege, and by the coldness and contempt they have for Me in this Sacrament of Love.
But what I feel most keenly is that it is hearts which are consecrated to Me, that treat Me thus.
Therefore, I ask of you that the Friday after the Octave of Corpus Christi be set apart for a special Feast to honor My Heart, by communicating on that day, and making reparation to It by a solemn act, in order to make amends for the indignities which It has received during the time It has been exposed on the altars.
I promise you that My Heart shall expand Itself to shed in abundance the influence of Its Divine Love upon those who shall thus honor It, and cause It to be honored.”
The Devotion is Made Known to the World
Our Lord had St. Margaret ask that a Feast in honor of His Heart be offered Him by the Church on the Friday after the Solemnity of His Body and Blood (Corpus Christi), that such homage be paid to Himself by the King of France, and that the mission of propagating this devotion was to be entrusted to the Order of the Visitation Sisters and to the priests of the Society of Jesus.
After St. Margaret made this known to her spiritual director, the future St. Claude de la Colombiere. He consecrated himself to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and began to spread the devotion.
From Paray-le-Monial, her convent, this devotion spread rapidly, under the care of the Jesuits, to the entire Church.
Today, just out side of Paris, France, you can visit the Basilica built as a Act of National Reparation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which commemorates the Apparitions of the Sacred Heart to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque.
She is buried at Paray-le-Monial, which is between Lyons and Paris. Her feast day is October 16.
This item 5796 digitally provided courtesy of CatholicCulture.org
On May 8th, 1928 Pope Pius XI issued an encyclical entitled Miserentissimus Redemptor. In this encyclical, the Catholic Church established the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Pope Pius XI states in this encyclical that Jesus Christ had “manifested Himself” to Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque and had “promised her that all those who render this honor to His Sacred Heart would be endowed with an abundance of heavenly graces.”
Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque was a French Carmelite Roman Catholic nun and mystic who promoted this devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. From the time she was twenty she experienced visions of Christ.
On December 27th, 1673 she began a series of revelations over the next year and a half that consisted of several promises that Jesus had made to her.
The following are the twelve promises given to Saint Margaret Mary by Jesus.
1. “I will give them all the graces necessary for their state in life.”
2. “I will establish peace in their families.”
3. “I will comfort them in their trials.”
4. “I will be their secure refuge during life, and, above all, in death.”
5. “I will shed abundant blessings on all their undertakings.”
6. “Sinners will find in My Heart an infinite ocean of mercy.”
7. “Lukewarm souls will become fervent.”
8. “Fervent souls will rapidly grow in holiness and perfection.”
9. “I will bless every place where an image of My Heart shall be exposed and honored.”
10. “I will give to priests the gift of touching the most hardened hearts.”
11. “The names of those who promote this devotion will be written in My Heart, never to be blotted out.”
12. “I promise thee, in the excessive mercy of My Heart, that My all-powerful love will grant to all those who receive Holy Communion on the First Friday of nine consecutive months, the grace of final penitence; they shall not die in My disgrace nor without receiving their Sacraments; My Divine Heart shall be their safe refuge in this last moment.”
For the past three years I have had a personal devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. I spend a majority of my personal time in prayer contemplating the image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and what it means to me. Coincidentally, I think I have been blessed more abundantly with more spiritual gifts from God over that time frame than any other time in my life.
I thank God every day for the blessings he has placed upon me.
I encourage everyone to spend time in prayer this week contemplating what the Sacred Heart means to you.
Jesus wants to give us so much more than what we ourselves ask for.
There is an abundance of grace being concealed within Jesus’ Sacred Heart. It pains him that we don’t ask for more than we do.
There is so much more that he wants to give us.
All we have to do is ask and those graces will be given.
If we knock, the door will be opened. I don’t know about you, but after reading #11, I would love to have my name written on Jesus’ heart never to be blotted out.
Pray to Jesus especially this Friday, June 23rd on this special feast day that the floodgates of his Sacred Heart be opened to us and our loved ones
Prayers
Devotional Prayers
♥ Prayer to the Sacred Heart
O most holy Heart of Jesus, fountain of every blessing,
I adore you, I love you and will a lively sorrow for my sins.
I offer you this poor heart of mine.
Make me humble, patient, pure, and wholly obedient to your will.
Grant, good Jesus, that I may live in you and for you.
Protect me in the midst of danger; comfort me in my afflictions;
give me health of body, assistance in my temporal needs,
your blessings on all that I do, and the grace of a holy death.
Within your heart I place my every care.
In every need let me come to you with humble trust saying,
Heart of Jesus, help me.
Amen.
♥ Daily Offering
O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer you all my prayers, works, joys, and sufferings of this day, for all the intentions of your Sacred Heart, in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world, in reparation for my sins, for the intentions of all my relatives and friends, and in particular for the intentions of the Holy Father.
♥ Efficacious Novena to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
This nine-day prayer is often said prior to the Feast of the Sacred Heart but can be said anytime. The “Our Father,” “Hail, Mary,” Glory Be,” and “Hail, Holy Queen” are traditional Catholic prayers associated with the Rosary, and may be readily found online or in most Catholic prayer books. There are other versions of the novena; this is the one that Saint Margaret Mary offered.
O my Jesus, you have said: “Truly I say to you, ask and you will receive, seek and you will find, knock and it will be opened to you.” Behold, I knock, I seek, and ask for the grace of (name your request). Our Father… Hail Mary… Glory be to the Father…
♥ Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in you.
O Sacred Heart of Jesus, for whom it is impossible not to have compassion on the afflicted, have pity on us miserable sinners and grant us the grace which we ask of you, through the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary, your tender mother and ours.
Say the Hail, Holy Queen and add: “Saint Joseph, foster father of Jesus, pray for us.”
—Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque
Prayers for Special Circumstances
♥ Prayer of Trust to the Sacred Heart (in Times of Stress)
Holy Heart of Jesus, Sweet Sanctuary of rest,
bring peace to my soul and settle my spirit,
especially in the matter of_________________.
I vow to place all of my worries and fears
into the wound of your Sacred Heart,
there to be tended to in accordance with your perfect will,
which desires only the best and highest good.
Your love alone is enough, and I surrender to it;
clinging to the hope of a swift resolution
and trusting with confidence in all of your promises.
Amen.
♥ Prayer to the Sacred Heart in Times of Loss or Betrayal
Sweet Jesus, your heart beats for the brokenhearted,
and you know their pain.
You experienced loss when your friend Lazarus died,
and betrayal when your friends abandoned and rejected you in
your darkest hours.
I ask you for relief and release right now in this time of grief.
I cry out to your heart, seeking comfort and consolation.
Take this present heartache and unite it to your own for the good of others,
especially _____________________.
Ease my sorrow,
and fill my heart with hope and light to face another day.
Amen.
♥ Prayer to the Sacred Heart for Help to Forgive
Lord Jesus,
my heart feels like an impenetrable stone as I am struggling to forgive_____________.
Please trade my hardened heart for one that flows with mercy like your own.
Give me the grace to let go of bitterness, a desire for revenge, and the need for an apology.
Set me free from the captivity of my unforgiving heart and fill me with your healing love.
Amen.
♥ Prayer to the Sacred Heart for Someone Who Is Addicted
Lord, my heart is filled with concern for____________, who is addicted.
You know and see the disorder and chaos that the addiction is causing,
and your heart grieves over the distortion of personality and danger to the soul
that results when someone is in the throes of addiction.
I pray that you will please give me the wisdom and spiritual
fortitude to detach with love and trust in your tender mercies
and that you will give _______________ the humility and strength to seek recovery.
I ask this through the saving grace of your Sacred Heart.
Amen.
♥ Prayer to the Sacred Heart When Health Is Failing
♥ Prayer of Thanksgiving and Praise to the Sacred Heart
Sweet Heart of Jesus,
my health is failing, and I am hurting.
Thank you for my body, which is a great and marvelous gift
and a temple where the Holy Spirit chooses to dwell.
I offer up my current suffering for ____________,
accepting whatever you permit to happen to me.
I believe in your healing power and claim your promises of peace,
help in all my afflictions, and the grace of final perseverance.
Help me to resist all fear, and hide me, Lord,
in the haven of your precious heart.
Give me the strength to accept this current state of my health with joy,
holy resignation, and lively hope for the future.
Amen.
Lord, you deserve all honor and praise,
because your love is perfect and your heart sublime.
My heart is filled to overflowing with gratitude
for the many blessings and graces you have bestowed upon me and those
whom I love.
Forever undeserving, may I always be attentive
and never take for granted the gifts of mercy and love
that flow so freely and generously from your Sacred Heart.
Heart of Jesus, I adore you.
Heart of Jesus, I praise you.
Heart of Jesus, I thank you.
Heart of Jesus, I love you forever and always.
Amen.
Litany to Scared Heart of Jesus
| Lord, have mercy | Lord, have mercy. |
| Christ, have mercy | Christ, have mercy. |
| Lord, have mercy | Lord, have mercy. |
| Christ, hear us | Christ, hear us. |
| Christ, graciously hear us. | Christ, graciously hear us. |
| God the Father of Heaven, | have mercy on us. |
| God the Son, Redeemer of the world, | have mercy on us. |
| God, the Holy Spirit, | have mercy on us. |
| Holy Trinity, One God, | have mercy on us. |
| Heart of Jesus, Son of the Eternal Father, | have mercy on us. |
| Heart of Jesus, formed by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mother, | have mercy on us. |
| Heart of Jesus, substantially united to the Word of God, | have mercy on us. |
| Heart of Jesus, of Infinite Majesty, | have mercy on us. |
| Heart of Jesus, Sacred Temple of God, | have mercy on us. |
| Heart of Jesus, Tabernacle of the Most High, | have mercy on us. |
| Heart of Jesus, House of God and Gate of Heaven, | have mercy on us. |
| Heart of Jesus, burning furnace of charity, | have mercy on us. |
| Heart of Jesus, abode of justice and love, | have mercy on us. |
| Heart of Jesus, full of goodness and love, | have mercy on us. |
| Heart of Jesus, abyss of all virtues, | have mercy on us. |
| Heart of Jesus, most worthy of all praise, | have mercy on us. |
| Heart of Jesus, king and center of all hearts, | have mercy on us. |
| Heart of Jesus, in whom are all treasures of wisdom and knowledge, | have mercy on us. |
| Heart of Jesus, in whom dwells the fullness of divinity, | have mercy on us. |
| Heart of Jesus, in whom the Father was well pleased, | have mercy on us. |
| Heart of Jesus, of whose fullness we have all received, | have mercy on us. |
| Heart of Jesus, desire of the everlasting hills, | have mercy on us. |
| Heart of Jesus, patient and most merciful, | have mercy on us. |
| Heart of Jesus, enriching all who invoke Thee, | have mercy on us. |
| Heart of Jesus, fountain of life and holiness, | have mercy on us. |
| Heart of Jesus, propitiation for our sins, | have mercy on us. |
| Heart of Jesus, loaded down with opprobrium, | have mercy on us. |
| Heart of Jesus, bruised for our offenses, | have mercy on us. |
| Heart of Jesus, obedient to death, | have mercy on us. |
| Heart of Jesus, pierced with a lance, | have mercy on us. |
| Heart of Jesus, source of all consolation, | have mercy on us. |
| Heart of Jesus, our life and resurrection, | have mercy on us. |
| Heart of Jesus, our peace and our reconciliation, | have mercy on us. |
| Heart of Jesus, victim for our sins | have mercy on us. |
| Heart of Jesus, salvation of those who trust in Thee, | have mercy on us. |
| Heart of Jesus, hope of those who die in Thee, | have mercy on us. |
| Heart of Jesus, delight of all the Saints, | have mercy on us. |
| Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world, | spare us, O Lord. |
| Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world, | graciously hear us, O Lord. |
| Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world, | have mercy on us, O Lord. |
| V. Jesus, meek and humble of heart. | R. Make our hearts like to Thine. |
Let us pray:
Almighty and eternal God, look upon the Heart of Thy most beloved Son and upon the praises and satisfaction which He offers Thee in the name of sinners; and to those who implore Thy mercy, in Thy great goodness, grant forgiveness in the name of the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who livest and reignest with Thee forever and ever. Amen
The Movie of 16 minutes given St Margaret Mary Alocoque
Our Lord Almighty Lord Jesus to St Margaret Mary Alocoque
THE CHAPLET OF THE
SACRED HEART OF JESUS
The Chaplet of the Sacred Heart of Jesus has 33 small beads, a center piece, Crucifix and a Sacred Heart medal. One side of the medal has the Sacred Heart of Jesus; the other has the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
Begin with the following prayer on the Crucifix:
“Soul of Christ,
sanctify me!
Body of Christ,
save me!
Blood of Christ,
inebriate me!
Water from the side of Christ,
wash me!
Passion of Christ,
strengthen me!
O good Jesus hear me!
Within Thy wounds hide me;
Permit me not to be separated from Thee;
from the malignant enemy,
defend me;
in the hour of death,
call me and bid me come over to Thee,
that with Thy saints
I may praise Thee forever and ever,
Amen.”
On the large beads say:
“O Sweetest Heart of Jesus,
I implore that I may ever love Thee more and more.”
On the small beads beads say:
“Sweet Heart of Jesus, be my love.”
At the end of each decade, say:
“Sweet Heart of Mary,
be my salvation.”
Upon completing the Chaplet, say:
“May the Heart of Jesus
in the Most Blessed Sacrament,
be blessed, adored and praised
with grateful affection,
at every moment
in all the Tabernacles of the world,
even to the end of time.”
Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
“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” (Jesus to St. Margaret Mary).
Sixteenth century Calvinism and seventeenth century Jansenism preached a distorted Christianity that substituted for God’s love and sacrifice of His Son for all men the fearful idea that a whole section of humanity was inexorably damned.
The Church always countered this view with the infinite love of our Savior who died on the cross for all men. The institution of the feast of the Sacred Heart was soon to contribute to the creation among the faithful of a powerful current of devotion which since then has grown steadily stronger.
The first Office and Mass of the Sacred Heart were composed by St. John Eudes, but the institution of the feast was a result of the appearances of our Lord to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque in 1675. The celebration of the feast was extended to the general calendar of the Church by Pius IX in 1856.
The Heart of Jesus is the See and Throne of Divine Mercy, revealed to the world in the passion, death and resurrection of Christ.
The Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI speaking of the solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus two years ago said: “In biblical language, “heart” indicates the centre of the person where his sentiments and intentions dwell.
In the Heart of the Redeemer we adore God’s love for humanity, his will for universal salvation, his infinite mercy.
Practising devotion to the Sacred Heart of Christ therefore means adoring that Heart which, after having loved us to the end, was pierced by a spear and from high on the Cross poured out blood and water, an inexhaustible source of new life” (Benedict XVI, Angelus 5 June 2005).
The call which comes from this important feast day is first of all a call to Eucharistic adoration, because in the Sacred Host the Lord Jesus is truly present and He offers each of us His Heart, His Merciful Love.
To spend time in the Presence of the Eucharistic Lord, to adore Him, is the best expression of devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus which, as we know, spread all over the world thanks to Jesus’ revelations to Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque in the 17th century: “Behold the Heart which so loved mankind”!
As a prolongation and accomplishment of this message, the Lord appeared to another Sister in the 20th century revealing the abyss of His unfathomable mercy; she was Saint Faustina Kowalska who wrote in her Diary, now world famous, these words of Jesus:
“I have opened my Heart as a living source of Mercy, from it all souls draw life, all approach with deep confidence this sea of Mercy. Sinners will obtain justification and the just will be strengthened in goodness.
I will fill the souls of those who put their trust in My Mercy with My divine peace at the hour of their death.
My daughter, continue to spread devotion to My Mercy, in doing so you will refresh My Heart which burns with the fire of compassion for sinners.
Tell my priests that hardened sinners will be softened by their words if they speak of my boundless Mercy and of the compassion which My Heart feels for them.
I will give priests who proclaim and exalt My Mercy wondrous power, unction to their words and I will move all the hearts to which they speak” (Book 5, 21 January 1938).
The deepest longing of Christ’s Heart is that we discover how much he loves us, the extent of his tender love for creatures who, cooled by their selfishness, look only inwards at themselves, as if they were afraid to let themselves be loved unconditionally by their Creator, who asks nothing and gives all!
How society, culture, economy, politics today need this Heart! It is really true, the more man distances himself from God-Love the more he becomes ‘heartless’, agitated about a thousand things because he has mislaid the principal one: to let oneself be loved by Christ and to respond to this Love with our love.
Close to the Heart of the Son is the Heart of the Mother whom the Church celebrates the day after the solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Let it again be the Holy Father who illuminates us with regard to this mystery: “The heart that resembles that of Christ more than any other is without a doubt the Heart of Mary, his Immaculate Mother, and for this very reason the liturgy holds them up together for our veneration. Responding to the Virgin’s invitation at Fatima, let us entrust the whole world to her Immaculate Heart, which we contemplated yesterday in a special way, so that it may experience the merciful love of God and know true peace” (Benedict XVI, Angelus 5 June 2005).
Precious Blood of Jesus Christ