“Behold the heart which has so loved men that it has spared nothing, even exhausting and consuming itself in testimony of its love.”
Jesus to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque
Where can we find the greatest source of love and peace? Throughout the ages, Our Lord has revealed that it is in His Sacred Heart, where our hearts can rest in His. A pure expression of the grace, mercy, and love of God with every heartbeat, Christ exposed His Heart to visionaries throughout the ages. The revelations of His Heart are meant for us to come to know the great love and mercy He has for every single soul and His longing for each of us live in His love.
Inspired by His revelations, over the next three weeks we will be introducing three of the key visionaries that Jesus appeared to in our virtual Saints of the Sacred Heart speaker series on St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, St. Gertrude the Great, and Sr. Josefa Menendez. Watch this video for details and click the link here for Crowdcast to register for these FREE LIVE talks in June. If you’re reading this later, check out the video replays on our YouTube channel as well as here on the blog.
Coming to know the Heart of Jesus leads us deeper into loving relationship with Him. So let’s spend a little time of reflection, meditating upon the Litany of the Sacred Heart (click for your FREE download) together.
If we are the Body of Christ, then the Heart of Christ is the beating heart that sustains and operates within every one of us.
Caitlyn pszonka
Take a moment to look at an image of Our Lord’s Most Sacred Heart. Surrounded by the thorns of man’s cruelty. Crowned with the cross amid flames. Pierced open and pouring out with love for humanity. We are never closer to the Heart of Our Lord than when we are suffering. We are never closer to His love than when we enter into our wounds and find Him there.
Heart of Jesus, Son of the Eternal Father, have mercy on us.
June is the Month of the Sacred Heart, and so it begins our new editorial cycle, whose theme comes from the litany of the Sacred Heart: Heart of Jesus, Son of the Eternal Father. What I want to emphasize, though, is that the Sacred Heart is not separate from us as Christians. If we are the Body of Christ, then the Heart of Christ is the beating heart that sustains and operates within every one of us. In Christ, we are sons and daughters of the Eternal Father. In Christ, united by His Heart, we are all one.
Heart of Jesus, formed by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mother, have mercy on us.
During Mass on Pentecost Sunday, I was reflecting on how we’ve come so far since the beginning of Lent. It began with a humble reminder: “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” A reminder of what we have come from. A reminder of what we physically will be. A reminder of the danger of spiritual death if we don’t have Our Lord’s Heart beating within us.
Heart of Jesus, worthy of all praise, have mercy on us.
I am dust, animated clay, formed by the hands of a merciful God against whom I have rebelled. And God my God, I am sorry for all my sins. I wish I would obey as readily as the dust from which I came. Be merciful to me, a sinner.
Heart of Jesus, atonement for our sins, have mercy on us.
I, dust, tortured and crucified the God who made me. I spat upon Him, mocked Him, beat Him, lashed Him, rammed on His Sacred Head a crown of thorns. I, blasphemer that I am, accused Him of my sin.
Heart of Jesus, broken for our sins, have mercy on us.
He forgave me in the very act of my sin. He forgave me before I was able to see His face in those I mocked, beat, accused. Before I saw Him in myself. He, forgiving me, taught me, dust, how to ask forgiveness that I do not, cannot deserve. Because He is Mercy.
Heart of Jesus, obedient even to death, have mercy on us.
He took my heart of dust to the grave with Him and trampled death, broke the power that sin had claimed over my heart of dust. And He rose, bringing me alive to new life with Him, teaching me to rise and rise again. How to stir my dead heart to life, how to be forgiven.
Heart of Jesus, source of all consolation, have mercy on us.
He taught me, dust, how to live this new life. He walked with me, dust, and stirred my heart to fire by His words. He ascended to heaven to prepare a place and to provide an example for I who am but dust and ashes.
Heart of Jesus, our life and resurrection, have mercy on us.
And then He filled me with His Spirit. God brought me to new life with the very Life that He is. He is in me as in a temple of living stone, and He makes my heart of flesh burn with divine love. Like the burning bush, burning but never consumed. I am His, and He gives Himself to me, fully, completely, without reserve.
Heart of Jesus, our peace and reconciliation, have mercy on us.
I am a temple of the Most High God, commissioned to carry Him to the very ends of the earth, burning with His love. No longer dust, but kindling. No longer ashes, but the very Body of Christ with the Heart of Our Blessed Lord beating and burning within me. This is the work of restoration He works in each of us. This is the life He invites us to. This is the love that is waiting for each of us to accept and embrace.
Heart of Jesus, salvation of all who trust in you, have mercy on us.
This is the greatest love story that has ever been. And it’s true. And every single one of us is part of it.
Heart of Jesus, hope of all who die in you, have mercy on us.
As a special way to celebrate the Sacred Heart in this month of June, we’ll also be diving deeper into the lives of some holy women commissioned by Jesus to reveal the love of His Heart. Specifically Sr. Josefa Menendez, St. Gertrude, and St. Margaret Mary Alacoque.
Heart of Jesus, delight of all the saints, have mercy on us.
Jesus loves you. Whatever your sorrows, your sufferings, your afflictions, your brokenness, in whatever ways your heart is pierced open and bleeding out—He is with you. He doesn’t always heal us the way we’d like Him to. Not always in the way we’d expect. But He is re-forming us, reshaping us, re-making us in His image. In the image of His Heart that He commissions us to carry to the ends of the earth.
Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make my heart like unto thine.
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