On the Feast of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

The feast of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque traditionally is celebrated on October 17. As a child, St. Margaret Mary endured many hardships, but she remained devout in her faith and kind to everyone. At the age of twenty-two, St. Margaret Mary made her profession at the convent of the Visitation at Paray-le-Monial. The nuns of the Order of the Visitation, which was founded by St. Francis de Sales, were widely known for their humility and charity, both virtues of which St. Margaret Mary generously possessed. She also practiced severe penances throughout her life as a nun. After a few quiet years in the convent, St. Margaret Mary began receiving revelations from Our Lord Who informed her of His great desire to be loved by all men. He also wanted devotion to His Sacred Heart to be spread, making twelve promises to those who practiced a true devotion to his Sacred Heart. Through these revelations and her zeal and love for Our Lord, devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus spread throughout the world. 

+

St. Margaret Mary spoke of the Heart of our Lord, saying
"The Sacred Heart of Christ is an inexhaustible fountain and its sole desire is to pour itself out into the hearts of the humble so as to free them and prepare them to lead lives according to His good pleasure.
From this divine heart three streams flow endlessly. The first is the stream of mercy for sinners; it pours into their hearts sentiments of contrition and repentance. The second is the stream of charity, which helps all in need and especially aids those seeking perfection in order to find the means of surmounting their difficulties. From the third stream flow love and light for the benefit of His friends who have attained perfection; these He wishes to unite to Himself so that they may share His knowledge and commandments and, in their individual ways, devote themselves wholly to advancing His glory.
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."

+

May we, like St. Margaret Mary, hold a place of honor for the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus in our hearts, striving to love our Lord with our whole beings and to give our entire selves to Him.  A wonderful practice honoring the Sacred Heart of Jesus is the devotion of the First Fridays.  You can read more about this devotion in this post.

+               +               +               +               +

Prayer to the Sacred Heart of our Lord Jesus Christ

Place me, O my sweet Savior, in Thy Sacred Side, and in Thy adorable Heart which is a burning Furnace of pure love, and I shall be in safety. I hope, O my Jesus, My Sovereign Good, that Thou wilt bring me in thither, since I love Thee, not for the recompenses which Thou dost promise to those who love Thee, but purely for the love of Thyself. I love Thee above all things lovable, above everything good, above everything beautiful, above every pleasure, and in fine, above myself and everything that is outside of Thee, and I protest in the presence of Heaven and earth that I wish to live and die in Thy holy love, purely and simply, and that even if to love Thee in this manner, I must suffer persecution and torments and even endure death, I am quite content, and will say with St. Paul: "No creature shall ever be able to separate me from the love of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, whom I love and wish to love eternally."

O most amiable Heart, Thou art my strength, my support, my recompense, my safety, my refuge, my love and my all. O most holy Heart of Jesus, Heart most august, Master of all hearts, I love Thee, I adore Thee, I praise Thee; I thank Thee, I wish to be all Thine. O Heart of love, dwell with me and in me; govern me, save me, change me entirely into Thee. O most excellent and most Sacred Heart, the eternal enjoyment of which will be, without surfeit, the Source of enjoyment and the Recompense of the blessed, how desirable, how lovable Thou art! O Divine Heart, come to me, or draw me to Thee. O Heart most sublime, the Delight of Divinity! I salute Thee from exile where I am; I invoke Thee in my sorrow; I call on Thee as the remedy for my frailty. Oh! most merciful Heart, compassionate and generous Heart of my Father and my Savior, do not refuse Thy help to my unworthy heart, destroy in me the reign of sin and establish in me that of virtue in order that Thy image may be completely perfected in me and that it may one day be an ornament in Thy Heavenly palace. Amen.

--by St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

God bless!

+JMJ+

Prayer to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Holy Mother Church devotes the month of June to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, with a specific feast day celebrating the Sacred Heart of Jesus on the Friday following the second Sunday after Pentecost, this year June 12th. The Church has many devotions specifically for honoring the Sacred Heart. One practice is the First Friday devotion, which Jesus revealed to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque. He revealed to her that it was His desire that the first Friday of each month be consecrated to the devotion and adoration of His most Sacred Heart. He made twelve promises for those who sincerely practiced this devotion.

From the writings of St. Margaret Mary, we learn of a few of them as she states, "On Friday during Holy Communion, He said these words to His unworthy slave, if I mistake not: I promise you in the excessive mercy of my Heart that its all-powerful love will grant to all those who receive Holy Communion on nine first Fridays of consecutive months the grace of final repentance; they will not die under my displeasure or without receiving their sacraments, my divine Heart making itself their assured refuge at the last moment."

In order to make this devotion of the nine first Fridays well, we should make a worthy confession and receive Holy Communion, offering our entire selves to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Throughout this month of June, dedicated to Our Lord's most Sacred Heart, and each time we venerate His Sacred Heart, we should remember Jesus' great love for us, flowing forth from His Heart, and in return we should strive to express our love and devotion to Him through acts of adoration and repentance.

Prayer to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Hail! O Sacred Heart of Jesus, living and quickening source of eternal life, infinite treasure of the Divinity, and burning furnace of divine love. Thou art my refuge and my sanctuary, O my amiable Savior. Consume my heart with that burning fire with which Thine is ever inflamed. Pour down on my soul those graces which flow from Thy love, and let my heart be so united with Thine, that our wills may be one, and mine in all things, conformed to Thine. May Thy divine will be equally the standard and rule of all my desires and of all my actions. Amen.

God bless!

+JMJ+