Little Chaplet of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Jesus spoke to St. Margaret Mary, saying, "Behold this Heart, which has so loved men, as that it has spared nothing, even to the exhausting and wearing itself out, in order to show them its love; and instead of acknowledgment I receive, from the greater number, nothing but ingratitude, by their irreverences and sacrileges, and by the coldness and contempt wherewith they treat Me, in this Sacrament of love."  

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Holy Mother Church especially honors our Lord under the title of the Sacred Heart with a feast day on the Friday after the Octave of Corpus Christi, which took place last Friday.  The Sacred Heart of Jesus is also honored throughout the month of June.  With the words of our Lord to St. Margaret before us, may we strive throughout this month and always to love our Lord with our whole being, offering Him adoration and thanksgiving for His love and sacrifice for us. We can honor our Lord through prayers, enthronement of His Image in our homes, and fulfilling the First Friday devotion.  Our Lord yearns to give us His Heart, waiting in silence for us to give ourselves in return. St. Margaret Mary spoke of our Lord's Sacred Heart, saying, "This divine heart is an abyss filled with all blessings, and into it the poor should submerge all their needs. It is an abyss of joy in which all of us can immerse our sorrows. It is an abyss of lowliness to counteract our foolishness, an abyss of mercy for the wretched, an abyss of love to meet our every need."

Little Chaplet of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Composed by St. Gertrude

V. O God, come to my assistance.
R. O Lord, make haste to help me.

1. O My most loving Jesus! when I meditate upon Thy Sacred Heart, and behold it full of mercy and tenderness for us poor sinners, my own heart leaps for joy and is filled with trust and confidence that Thou wilt graciously accept it. Alas! how many and how great my sins! But I now bewail and detest them all with Peter and Magdalen, because they offend Thee, the highest good. Grant me, O grant me, a full and entire forgiveness! And this I entreat Thee, for the sake of Thy Sacred Heart. May I rather die than offend Thee again, yes, grant me rather to die than sin against Thee anymore! May I live only to return Thy love, now and forever and ever. Say one Our Father, and five Glory Be to the Fathers, then say:

Thee, Sacred Heart of Jesus, I adore.
Make me, O Lord, to love Thee more and more.

2. My Jesus, I praise and bless Thy, most humble Heart, and I thank Thee that Thou hast given it to me as a model, and that not alone Thou dost urge me by earnest pleadings to imitate it, but that by the many humiliations Thou didst Thyself undergo, Thou hast prepared and smoothed the way for me. Foolish and ungrateful that I am! I have wandered far, far away from Thee! Forgive me, sweetest Lord, only forgive me! Pride and worldly honor will never tempt me again. With an heart through the furnace of humiliation, I will follow Thee, my Jesus, and strive for peace and salvation. Strengthen Thou me, O Lord, my God, and I will praise Thy Sacred Heart forever. Say one Our Father, and five Glory Be to the Fathers, then say:

Thee, Sacred Heart of Jesus, I adore.
Make me, O Lord, to love Thee more and more.

3. My Jesus! I can but wonder at the marvelous patience of Thy Sacred Heart, and I thank Thee for the admirable examples of invincible long suffering which Thou hast set before us. I am sorry that on account of my great sensitiveness I still incur the reproach of not being able to bear the slightest pain. Ah, dear Jesus! pour into my heart an ardent and enduring love for suffering, for the cross, for mortification, for penance, that following Thee to the Mount of Calvary, I may with Thee attain to the glory and joys of Paradise. Say one Our Father, and five Glory Be to the Fathers, then say:

Thee, Sacred Heart of Jesus, I adore.
Make me, O Lord, to love Thee more and more.

4. Dearest Jesus! I shudder at my own heart, when I place it beside Thine, which is all meekness, gentleness, and love. Mine is so unlike! A shadow, a gesture, a contradictory word, can, at any time make me restless and fretful. O pardon me the outbursts of my anger and impatience, and give me the grace for the future to follow the example of Thine unvaried meekness whenever I encounter a contradiction, that so I may at length enjoy a holy, everlasting peace. Say one Our Father, and five Glory Be to the Fathers, then say:

Thee, Sacred Heart of Jesus, I adore.
Make me, O Lord, to love Thee more and more.

5. Our praises shall resound, O Jesus, to Thee, the conqueror of death and Hell! for to Thee all praise is due. I am more than ever overwhelmed with shame, when I consider my own coward heart, which dreads every untoward word or injurious taunt. It shall be so no more. Therefore, I beseech Thee, O Lord Jesus, for courage and strength, that by fighting and conquering self on earth, I may one day rejoice and triumph with Thee in Heaven. Say one Our Father, and five Glory Be to the Fathers, then say:

Thee, Sacred Heart of Jesus, I adore.
Make me, O Lord, to love Thee more and more.

Let us now turn to Mary. consecrate ourselves more and more to her, and confiding in her maternal heart, say to her:  By the high privileges of thy sweetest Heart, we beg of thee, great Mother of God, and my mother, Mary! a true and lasting devotion to the Sacred Heart of thy Son Jesus, that bound in every thought and affection to that heart, I may fulfill all the duties of my state in life and serve Jesus faithfully, but especially this day.

O Saviour Heart! burning with love for me.
Inflame my languid heart with love for Thee.

Lord, I beseech Thee, let Thy Holy Spirit kindle within my heart that fire of love which our Lord Jesus Christ sent forth from the sanctuary of His Heart upon the earth, and which He so longingly desired should burn exceedingly: Who with Thee liveth and reigneth in the unity of the same Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever. Amen.

Prayer of Saint John Eudes

Oh, how good and delightful it is to dwell in the Heart of Jesus!

Thy Heart, O good Jesus, is a precious treasure, a precious pearl

which we have found by digging the field of Thy Body.

Who will cast aside this pearl? Nay, rather I will give all I have,

I will exchange all my thoughts and desires and purchase it.

I will cast all my care on the Heart of the Lord Jesus and He will

provide for me without fail. I will adore in this temple,

this Holy of Holies, this Ark of the Testament, and I will praise the name

of the Lord, saying with David, "I have found my heart that I may pray

to my God. And I have found the heart of my King, my Brother, my Friend,

the benign Jesus, and why shall I not adore?" Assuredly I shall pray.

For His Heart is mine. I will say it boldly, for Christ is my Head,

is not what belongs to my Head mine? Therefore as the eyes of my corporal

head are truly my eyes, so is my spiritual heart my heart.

Therefore, it is well with me: truly I have but one Heart with Jesus

and what wonder that there should be but one heart with the multitude of believers.

God bless!

+JMJ+