4 Things Catholics Should Know About Devotion To the Sacred Heart of Jesus

For each month of the year, the Catholic Church has assigned a particular devotion for the faithful to contemplate. This hearkens back to the Middle Ages, a time when most people couldn’t read. Instead, they learned the faith through the images on stained glass windows and by practicing particular devotions.

Not only is the feast of the Sacred Heart celebrated in June, the entire month is dedicated to that devotion. Here are four things Catholics should know about devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus:

1. Catholics Celebrate the Sacred Heart of Jesus as a Solemnity

Celebrations in the Catholic Church are categorized as memorials, feasts, and solemnities:

• Memorials can be obligatory or optional, and they commemorate saints. They have fixed dates, but the season of the liturgical year takes precedence.

Memorials can be unique to a particular place, region, or culture. Examples include celebrating St. Mary of the Assumption Church on August 15^th, St. Patrick for Ireland, and St. Kateri Tekakwitha of Indigenous Peoples.

• Feasts are next in importance. They, too, are celebrated on particular days in the liturgical calendar. These include special Saints (like apostles), events in Christian history (many in common with mysteries of the rosary), and the Holy Angels.

• Solemnities are the most important holy days celebrated during the liturgical year. There are 24 and they commemorate events in the life of Jesus, our Christian faith, our Blessed Mother, and some Saints. Examples include Christmas, Pentecost, the Immaculate Conception, and St. Joseph, respectively.

The Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is celebrated on the Friday after the Solemnity of Corpus Christi.

This suggests to us that the Eucharist (Corpus Christi) is none other than the Heart of Jesus himself, of the One who “takes care of us” with his “heart”. (Vatican News, 07 June 2024)

2. The Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Was Instituted After a Private Revelation To a Catholic Nun

St. Margaret Mary Alacoque became a cloistered nun of the Visitation order when she was 24 years-old. Less than three years later, she began receiving private revelations from Jesus about His Sacred Heart. They lasted about 18 months.

The content of the revelations explained the purpose of the devotion. Jesus wants to draw each of us closer to His heart. In fact, He wants us to emulate St. John, the beloved apostle, who literally rested on His Heart.

The image St. Margaret Mary beheld was the Heart of Jesus enthroned on flames. A crown of thorns surrounded it, and visible in the heart was the wound made by the centurion’s spear.

This devotion was later approved for world distribution by Pope Pius IX, and by Pope Leo XIII, who wrote the Act of Consecration.

3. Margaret Mary Alacoque Was Not the First Catholic Saint To Be Devoted To the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Vatican News has reported that this devotion began many centuries ago with early Church Fathers like St. Augustine and St. Irenaeus. The devotion was renewed in the 11^th century in Benedictine monasteries and the like. As a private devotion, it continued to spread for the next 500 years.

Interestingly, three years before St. Margaret Mary experienced the apparitions from Our Lord, St. John Eudes celebrated the first liturgical feast of the Sacred Heart.

4. Catholics Can Find Encouragement in 12 Promises Made by Jesus To Those Who Promote Devotion To His Sacred Heart

• I will give them all the graces necessary in their state of life.
• I will establish peace in their homes.
• I will comfort them in all their afflictions.
• I will be their secure refuge during life, and above all, in death.
• I will bestow abundant blessings upon all their undertakings.
• Sinners will find in my heart the source and infinite ocean of mercy.
• Lukewarm souls shall become fervent.
• Fervent souls shall quickly mount to high perfection.
• I will bless every place in which an image of my heart is exposed and honored.
• I will give to priests the gift of touching the most hardened hearts.
• Those who shall promote this devotion shall have their names written in my Heart.
• 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.

The Faithful Are Called To Lean Into Jesus’ Heart, and To Make Reparation

• Jesus asked the faithful to receive Holy Communion on nine consecutive First Fridays, a novena, of sorts. The purpose is to recall His tremendous sadness and suffering out of love for us in the Garden of Olives.

• He also asked humanity to make a Holy Hour during Eucharistic Adoration on Thursdays. This day was not only the institution of the Eucharist, but an evening when Jesus’ disciples did not keep watch with Him. Will you spend an hour with Jesus? Make reparation for the times people ignore and abandon Him.

• Jesus asked St. Margaret Mary to promote a feast that honored His Sacred Heart. You can prepare with a novena to the Sacred Heart at Pray More Novenas or ChurchPop.

• You also may wish to consecrate yourself to the Sacred Heart, or enthrone your home.

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