Devotions/The Sacred Heart

Devotions/The Sacred Heart

 

Faith involves using both the head and the heart. Catholic devotions and traditions nurture our Catholic faith, touching our hearts and allowing us to express our love of God.

 

One of the popular devotions is a devotion to the Sacred Heart. How many of you have the picture of the Sacred Heart in your homes with the burning lamp? How many remember it as part of your childhood, a feature in the homes of your grandparents or parents? These may be memories of old Ireland but this is a devotion that is as popular as ever.

 

Our heart pumps about one hundred thousand times a day to keep our life flowing. The heart is a symbol for love also. God, who always speaks to us using our own experiences, has chosen the symbol of our heart to represent Jesus. The heart of Jesus was a human heart like ours. The physical heart of Jesus is the symbol of the total love of God, divine and human.

 

In art, the Sacred Heart is pierced, surmounted by a cross, and encircled with thorns. Light radiates from it to show that it is a burning fire of love.

 

Devotion to the Sacred Heart began in the twelfth century. Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque, a sister in France, who promoted devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus (with the support of St Claude de la Colombiere, SJ). She had visions of the Sacred Heart from 1673 to 1675. In 1675 on the Feast of Corpus Christi (the Body and Blood of Christ) Christ showed her his wounded heart. He said, ‘Behold this heart burning with so great a love for men.’ In 1856 a feast in honour of the Sacred Heart was set for the Friday after the Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ. In 1899, Pope Leo XIII dedicated the world to the Sacred Heart.

In St Margaret Mary’s visions, Christ requested that a communion of reparation be made on the first Friday of every month. We pray that our hearts may become like the heart of Christ.

 

† Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place my trust in you! †

Source- https://www.loyolapress.com/catholic-resources/scripture-and-tradition/devotions/the-sacred-heart/

 

Visit Veritas online to see our selections of Sacred Heart pictures and products:

https://www.veritasbooksonline.com/sacred-heart-picture-framed-45-x-35cm-p11094-4585/