THIS IS THE HEART THAT HAS LOVED SO GREATLY
48. Devotion to the heart of Christ is not the veneration of a single organ apart from the Person of Jesus. What we contemplate and adore is the whole Jesus Christ, the Son of God made man, represented by an image that accentuates his heart. That heart of flesh is seen as the privileged sign of the inmost being of the incarnate Son and his love, both divine and human. More than any other part of his body, the heart of Jesus is “the natural sign and symbol of his boundless love.”
DILEXIT NOS
(24 October 2024)
On June 3, 2026, a Novena will begin across the United States as part of the preparation to Consecrate our Country to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, as we look forward to the celebration of the 250th anniversary of our nation’s independence (on July 4). If you are reading this column on June 4 or 5, or any time before or on June 12, you still “have time” to participate in the consecration that will take place on June 11 and 12, the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.
The Novena begins on June 3, but you can “join” any time over the course of the nine days. You can find all the information you need to participate in the novena by going to the USCCB website.
You will see that there is a theme for each day of the novena and a brief section each day with ways that you can “Pray,” “Learn,” and “Act.”
Another way to participate in the Novena is to take some time, each day or as often as possible, to pray the “Litany of the Sacred Heart of Jesus” during the days of the Novena. For those who may not be familiar with the “Litany,” in general, as a form of prayer or the Litany of the Sacred Heart, in particular, you can find more information here.
There are many ways to participate and many resources available for those who may want to learn more about the history and development of devotion to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. One of the best sources is Pope Francis’s final Encyclical Letter, Dilexit Nos, quoted and cited above. The subtitle of Dilexit Nos (He loved us) is: “On the Human and Divine Love of the Heart of Jesus Christ.” The Encyclical is neither brief nor “light reading,” but it is a beautiful invitation to reflect on the relevance of this devotion in our lives today, as Pope Francis writes in the beginning of Chapter One:
THE IMPORTANCE OF THE HEART
2. The symbol of the heart has often been used to express the love of Jesus Christ. Some have questioned whether this symbol is still meaningful today. Yet living as we do in an age of superficiality, rushing frenetically from one thing to another without really knowing why, and ending up as insatiable consumers and slaves to the mechanisms of a market unconcerned about the deeper meaning of our lives, all of us need to rediscover the importance of the heart.
In Chapters 3 and 4, Pope Francis offers an excellent summary of the development of the Devotion to the Sacred Heart, from the Scriptures and Teaching of the Church (Magisterium). He also describes the history of the development of the spirituality of the devotion in the life of the Church and through the lives of the saints, such as St. John Eudes, St. Francis de Sales, St. Margaret Mary Alocoque, St. Claude de la Colombiere, St. Charles de Foucauld, St. Therese of the Child Jesus, and others. Taking the time to prayerfully read all or parts of Dilexit Nos would be a wonderful way of preparing for the consecration.
Two other resources I would like to offer are:
- The Lives of the Saints: Take some time to Google any of the Saints mentioned above or read the section on them in Dilexit Nos. I have shared before that I have found Franciscan Media’s (Catholic) “Saint of the Day” to be a very good resource for concise, brief, and insightful summaries on the Lives of the Saints. Here are links to a few:
- The “Sacred Heart Enthronement Network”: As I wrote this column, I found the website of the “Sacred Heart Enthronement Network” where you can find an excellent “Brief History of the Sacred Heart Devotion” and this reminder:
In 1899, Pope Leo XIII consecrated the world to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Since then, his successors have exhorted the faithful to turn to the Sacred Heart and make acts of personal consecration. They have also begged the faithful to offer prayers and penances to the Sacred Heart in reparation for the many sins of the world. The Sacred Heart Enthronement Network desires to follow in the footsteps of Saints who came before and hold true to the basic request of Jesus to St. Margaret Mary, “I will bless the home in which the Image of My Sacred Heart shall be exposed and honored.”
In November of last year, Pope Leo XIV declared St. John Henry Newman a doctor of the Church. A “doctor” of the Church is someone who gives us special insight into God’s life and Divine Revelation through their words and example. Newman’s motto is Cor ad cor loquitur – Heart speaks to heart. The Holy Father noted that Newman teaches us that, “Beyond all our thoughts and ideas, the Lord saves us by speaking to our hearts from his Sacred Heart.”
As we approach the 250th anniversary of our independence, it is a fitting moment to examine how deeply our own hearts receive the loving message of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Do we express openness to our brothers and sisters who seek the American dream of freedom and security? In our contributions to the fabric of our country, do we foster dialogue and respectful reception of ideas that we might not share? Is the memory of those who have laid down their lives so that freedom is preserved and human rights protected honored through our words and actions as responsible citizens? The Sacred Heart of Jesus himself gives us the resolve to answer those questions in the affirmative, but our hearts must be open to the wonders of his love to access that grace. We pray that we actively open our hearts to the Sacred Heart and ask him to speak to us as we pray, “Heart of Jesus, in whom there are all treasures of wisdom and knowledge, have mercy on us.”
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Preparing for Consecration to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus: The Novena, the Litany, and Dilexit Nos #Catholic –
THIS IS THE HEART THAT HAS LOVED SO GREATLY
48. Devotion to the heart of Christ is not the veneration of a single organ apart from the Person of Jesus. What we contemplate and adore is the whole Jesus Christ, the Son of God made man, represented by an image that accentuates his heart. That heart of flesh is seen as the privileged sign of the inmost being of the incarnate Son and his love, both divine and human. More than any other part of his body, the heart of Jesus is “the natural sign and symbol of his boundless love.”
DILEXIT NOS
(24 October 2024)
On June 3, 2026, a Novena will begin across the United States as part of the preparation to Consecrate our Country to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, as we look forward to the celebration of the 250th anniversary of our nation’s independence (on July 4). If you are reading this column on June 4 or 5, or any time before or on June 12, you still “have time” to participate in the consecration that will take place on June 11 and 12, the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.
The Novena begins on June 3, but you can “join” any time over the course of the nine days. You can find all the information you need to participate in the novena by going to the USCCB website.
You will see that there is a theme for each day of the novena and a brief section each day with ways that you can “Pray,” “Learn,” and “Act.”
Another way to participate in the Novena is to take some time, each day or as often as possible, to pray the “Litany of the Sacred Heart of Jesus” during the days of the Novena. For those who may not be familiar with the “Litany,” in general, as a form of prayer or the Litany of the Sacred Heart, in particular, you can find more information here.
There are many ways to participate and many resources available for those who may want to learn more about the history and development of devotion to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. One of the best sources is Pope Francis’s final Encyclical Letter, Dilexit Nos, quoted and cited above. The subtitle of Dilexit Nos (He loved us) is: “On the Human and Divine Love of the Heart of Jesus Christ.” The Encyclical is neither brief nor “light reading,” but it is a beautiful invitation to reflect on the relevance of this devotion in our lives today, as Pope Francis writes in the beginning of Chapter One:
THE IMPORTANCE OF THE HEART
2. The symbol of the heart has often been used to express the love of Jesus Christ. Some have questioned whether this symbol is still meaningful today. Yet living as we do in an age of superficiality, rushing frenetically from one thing to another without really knowing why, and ending up as insatiable consumers and slaves to the mechanisms of a market unconcerned about the deeper meaning of our lives, all of us need to rediscover the importance of the heart.
In Chapters 3 and 4, Pope Francis offers an excellent summary of the development of the Devotion to the Sacred Heart, from the Scriptures and Teaching of the Church (Magisterium). He also describes the history of the development of the spirituality of the devotion in the life of the Church and through the lives of the saints, such as St. John Eudes, St. Francis de Sales, St. Margaret Mary Alocoque, St. Claude de la Colombiere, St. Charles de Foucauld, St. Therese of the Child Jesus, and others. Taking the time to prayerfully read all or parts of Dilexit Nos would be a wonderful way of preparing for the consecration.
Two other resources I would like to offer are:
- The Lives of the Saints: Take some time to Google any of the Saints mentioned above or read the section on them in Dilexit Nos. I have shared before that I have found Franciscan Media’s (Catholic) “Saint of the Day” to be a very good resource for concise, brief, and insightful summaries on the Lives of the Saints. Here are links to a few:
- The “Sacred Heart Enthronement Network”: As I wrote this column, I found the website of the “Sacred Heart Enthronement Network” where you can find an excellent “Brief History of the Sacred Heart Devotion” and this reminder:
In 1899, Pope Leo XIII consecrated the world to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Since then, his successors have exhorted the faithful to turn to the Sacred Heart and make acts of personal consecration. They have also begged the faithful to offer prayers and penances to the Sacred Heart in reparation for the many sins of the world. The Sacred Heart Enthronement Network desires to follow in the footsteps of Saints who came before and hold true to the basic request of Jesus to St. Margaret Mary, “I will bless the home in which the Image of My Sacred Heart shall be exposed and honored.”
In November of last year, Pope Leo XIV declared St. John Henry Newman a doctor of the Church. A “doctor” of the Church is someone who gives us special insight into God’s life and Divine Revelation through their words and example. Newman’s motto is Cor ad cor loquitur – Heart speaks to heart. The Holy Father noted that Newman teaches us that, “Beyond all our thoughts and ideas, the Lord saves us by speaking to our hearts from his Sacred Heart.”
As we approach the 250th anniversary of our independence, it is a fitting moment to examine how deeply our own hearts receive the loving message of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Do we express openness to our brothers and sisters who seek the American dream of freedom and security? In our contributions to the fabric of our country, do we foster dialogue and respectful reception of ideas that we might not share? Is the memory of those who have laid down their lives so that freedom is preserved and human rights protected honored through our words and actions as responsible citizens? The Sacred Heart of Jesus himself gives us the resolve to answer those questions in the affirmative, but our hearts must be open to the wonders of his love to access that grace. We pray that we actively open our hearts to the Sacred Heart and ask him to speak to us as we pray, “Heart of Jesus, in whom there are all treasures of wisdom and knowledge, have mercy on us.”
Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.