Our Lady of Guadalupe

Date: June, 12

We celebrate the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus on the Friday after the Corpus Christi octave.

St. John Paul II, a great devotee of the Sacred Heart, said, “It reminds us of the mystery of the love of God for the people of all times.”

The Heart is the symbol of human love. This Catholic devotion honors the Sacred Heart of Our Lord, through which was manifested to us God’s eternal love for everyone.

“God is Love” (1 John 4:8), and so in honoring the human expression of that Love, especially on the Cross, we honor Its Divine Source.

Saint John Paul II said, “The Sacred Heart has given us everything — redemption, salvation, sanctification.” The Sacred Heart is the actual heart of Christ and also indicates His love for humanity.

• “In the Sacred Heart every treasure of wisdom and knowledge is hidden. In that Divine Heart beats God’s infinite love for everyone, for each one of us individually.”
  – Saint John Paul II
• “If I cannot see the brilliance of your Face or hear your sweet voice, O my God, I can live by your grace, I can rest on your Sacred Heart!”
  – Saint Thérèse of Lisieux

The central message of the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is the infinite and compassionate love exploding from the Heart of Jesus for all mankind. It emphasizes our Lord’s sacred Sacrifice for our salvation and invites us to respond to His love. The Sacred Heart also calls us to make reparation for sins, especially human indifference and ingratitude toward Him.

The nature of our Lord’s love is that it cannot be contained within His Heart and necessarily bursts forth. When His love is received, He is consoled. When it is ignored, the love in His Heart expands and waits to gush forth in superabundance upon anyone who is willing to receive it.

As we honor the Sacred Heart of Jesus, ponder the fact that Jesus’ love must pour forth from His Heart. He needs willing recipients to receive that love. Console His heart by being one of those recipients and by loving Him in return. Doing so will win countless graces for you and for the whole world.

PRAYER

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, I love You, adore You, and desire to lay my head upon Your Sacred Heart so that the outpouring of Your love will be received and You will be loved all the more. I beg pardon for every sacrilege, indifference, and rejection You encounter and pray that I can make reparation to You. Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, I especially beg pardon for my sins and pray that my sins all be consumed by the fire of Your love. Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, I trust in You.