Embrace the Sacred Heart in June

It’s well known that the month of May is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, but in the month of June we honor the Sacred Heart of Jesus. At St. Patrick Church in Norristown, the majestic statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and a beautiful mosaic behind it to the left of the grand altar greet all who enter.

The mosaic tells the story of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, a Visitation nun whose visions of Christ in a convent in Paray-le-Monial, France helped spread the devotion to the Sacred Heart throughout the world. The “Sacred Heart of Jesus,” in fact, encompasses all of the mysteries of Christ, his whole being and his person as the Son of God who has infinite love for his Father and for all of his brothers and sisters.

For us today and especially during this pandemic the words of St. John Paul II are important to remember: “The Heart of Jesus must be recognized as the heart of the Church. He who calls us to conversion, health of body and soul and reconciliation. He enables us to adhere to the Good News and to accept the promise of eternal life in the face of problems and challenges. He sends us out on a mission with courage to preach the Word of God. The heart-to-heart with Jesus broadens the human heart on a global scale.”

Jesus teaches us to live in communion with family and others. He, in turn, reveals himself as “meek and humble of heart” (Mt 11:29). St. Augustine wrote about the Sacred Heart in this manner, “The gaze of all on the side of Christ who was pierced by a lance and from which flowed blood and water, symbols of the wondrous sacraments of the Church, show us the love of God. From his Sacred Heart we find our purification is in the water and our redemption is in the blood.”

The Gospel of John recounts the showing of the Lord’s hands and his side to the disciples (John 20:20) and his invitation to Thomas to put his hand into his side (John 20:27) to learn about his Sacred Heart. These events had a powerful influence on the origin and development of the Church’s devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

However, the devotion greatly increased by the visions of Sister Margaret Mary Alacoque. During one apparition, Jesus allowed her to rest her head up on his heart and disclosed to her the wonders of his love, telling her that he desired her to make known “his promises” for the devotion to his Sacred Heart. The future saint stated that Jesus had promised her that “in the excessive mercy of my heart, that with my all powerful love I 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 or without receiving their sacraments. My Divine Heart shall be their safe refuge in the last moment.”

Therefore, the devotion of the Sacred Heart of Jesus now emphasizes in a very particular way a deeper love, veneration and participation in the great sacrament of the Eucharist, especially with the external manifestations of this devotion i.e., the Holy Hours, Benediction, First Fridays give evidence to this truth.

Sister Margaret Mary Alacoque experienced several private revelations regarding the gratitude due to Jesus

on the part of humanity, but the superior of the convent dismissed all of this as a delusion. The dismissal was a terrible disappointment to the nun and her health began to suffer. She almost died because of this crushing blow. However, a Jesuit priest, Father Claude de la Colombiere, became Margaret’s spiritual director and not only believed her testimony, but chronicled it in writing. Fr. de la Colombiere, who later became a saint, left to become a missionary. By the time he returned, Margaret had made peace with the sisters in the convent and even made peace with herself, no longer concerning herself with the hostility and disbelief in her community in the convent. However, those who doubted soon became convinced as the Church investigated and approved her apparitions. St. Margaret Mary would write later that “I only wished to lose myself in the Sacred Heart of Jesus.” She died on October 17, 1690, and was canonized in 1920 by Pope Benedict XV.

I personally have a special devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and ask for the intercession of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque and St. Claude de la Colombiere to become closer to Jesus Christ, our Savior, since I visited the little town of Parayle-Monial in France and celebrated Mass in the convent of the Visitation nuns where the apparition of the Sacred Heart of Jesus occurred. Afterwards, I walked down the street to the Church where St Claude de la Colombiere lived. It was great to walk and see the place where the Divine Presence of God was. During our trying days now, it is consoling to know that the Sacred Heart of Jesus is pouring out flames of love to help us survive this terrible pandemic. Christ, our Lord, presenting his most Sacred Heart, wishes us in a very extraordinary way to contemplate and meditate on the mystery of God’s merciful love for the human race especially during these difficult days. There is no doubt that the Sacred Heart of Jesus is undeniably connected to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, our Mother. So, we can now see a light shining brightly— the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary intertwined —- as the Churches are reopening and the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary continue to be our fountains of hope!!!

Prayer to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

O Most Holy Heart of Jesus, the source of every blessing. I adore you, I love you, and with lively sorrow for my sins 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, our blessing on all that I do, and the grace of a holy death. Amen.

The Rev. Gus Puleo is pastor of St. Patrick Church in Norristown and served as an adjunct professor of Spanish at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia. He is a graduate of Norristown High School and attended Georgetown University, where he received B.A. and B.S. in Spanish and linguistics. He has master’s degrees in Spanish, linguistics and divinity from Middlebury College, Georgetown University and St. Charles Borromeo Seminary. He holds a Ph.D. in Spanish from the University of Pennsylvania.