A Beacon Of Light . . . Renewing Devotion To The Sacred Heart Of Jesus
By FR. RICHARD D. BRETON JR.
(Editor’s Note: Fr. Richard D. Breton Jr. is a priest of the Diocese of Norwich, Conn.)
- + + “Our business is to attain Heaven; everything else is a sheer waste of time.” These words were spoken by St. Vincent DePaul who championed renewal in priestly life and worked tirelessly to assist and help the poor and destitute. These words need to be heralded in our times. Many have forgotten that our responsibility as Catholics is to live lives worthy of the heavenly Kingdom. We might ask ourselves; how do we do this? Or even still, is it possible? The answer to these questions is yes! It is possible because the Lord Himself has given us the means to attain eternal life.
One of the ways the Lord assists us in our journey to eternal life is through the many devotions made available to us. One, in particular, is the devotion to the Sacred Heart. The Sacred Heart devotion was revealed to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque. St. Margaret Mary is perhaps the most recognized saint in the Church because of her direct involvement in this devotion.
As a Visitation Nun, St. Margaret Mary lived a cloistered religious life in the convent of Paray-le-Monial in France. It was during the years between 1673 and 1675, that the Lord Jesus Himself visited St. Margaret Mary during her Holy Hours before the Blessed Sacrament. During these visions, Jesus revealed to her the importance of the Sacred Heart. She says Jesus’ heart is engulfed in flames and surrounded by thorns. In one of the visions Jesus said: “Behold this Heart, which has loved so much, but has received nothing but coldness, indifference, and ingratitude in return.” St. Margaret Mary understood the infinite love which is symbolized in the Sacred Heart. In her understanding, she promised to “make up” for the lack of love and devotion shown to Jesus’ Sacred Heart.
During these visions, Jesus revealed twelve promises to those who would respond to the pleading of the Heart of Jesus by reciprocating His divine love. These twelve promises will help us in receiving eternal salvation and they are almost too easy to accomplish.
The first promise presents before all people the graces needed to live their state in life. This means, God will give us the graces needed to excel in our lives. Each person has a particular responsibility in life. Some are called to married life, others single, religious, and even ordained vocations. With living these states of life come much responsibility and often difficulties. This first promise enables us to use these graces in order that we might persevere in spiritual battle.
The Dignity Of The Family
The second promise is an offer of peace in our families. Today the dignity of the family is at risk. Society continues to destroy the family nucleus by inserting false claims that the family can be whatever we make it.
The continual push for acknowledging same-sex unions and transgender issues erodes the natural understanding that a family can only exist between man and woman, male and female, husband and wife united in the Sacrament of Marriage. Anything to the contrary is an abomination of family life. So, the second promise of the Sacred Heart invites us to participate in this devotion in order that the dignity of the family might be saved.
The third promise involves the consolation of Christ. Jesus said He would console us in our troubles. Our lives are filled with such confusion and so many struggles today. So often people find themselves in such dire need and there seems to be no way out. Over the last few years, especially during and after the pandemic, people have not coped well with life. Because of these struggles, so many have endured such darkness that there has been an increase of suicide.
Sadly, society has done nothing to assist so many distraught people; instead, the crazy extreme and leftist agenda has only contributed to this sense of darkness. When we feel like the darkness is surrounding us, look to the Heart of Christ to be our consolation.
The fourth promise assures us that the Heart of Jesus is a “place of refuge during life and at the hour of our death.” Living a good Christian life isn’t always easy. It involves fortitude, courage, perseverance, and strength.
Living life in this way opens us up to ridicule and oftentimes persecution. In these moments it is easy to feel like we are alone with no one on our side. We are never alone because the Heart of Jesus is our refuge. In moments like these, all we have to do is gaze upon the Heart of Jesus and we will find the strength to persevere.
The fifth promise pertains to our undertakings. Jesus promised that He would “pour out abundant blessings on all our undertakings.” Everything we do in life is for the glory of God. Unfortunately, however, many have forgotten this, and everything is now for the glory of ourselves. We have become the center of the world, instead of God. Because of this self-centeredness, it is hard for us to recognize the good that we do. In this promise, Jesus reminds us that if we are devoted to the Sacred Heart, He will give us the graces needed to persevere in our undertakings.
The sixth promise reminds us that the Sacred Heart is where we shall find “the source and infinite ocean of Mercy.” Over the last 25 years, there has been an increase in the amount of reality television where people publicly reveal their struggles in life. In many of these shows, there has always been a moment of forgiveness. This kind of forgiveness, however, is finite. When we speak about the “infinite” mercy found in the Heart of Jesus, it is ever flowing, always there to be given with unconditional love.
The seventh promise gives us courage. Courage, because it calls the “tepid souls” to Christ. It is very easy for us to become lukewarm in our faith. Life, in general, is the cause of this but Jesus has the power to assist those in need. Oftentimes, our experiences in daily life can weigh us down. In other ways, the confusion and ambiguity we experience in the Church can cause us to grow lukewarm or tepid in living our faith. The seventh promise invites us, who venerate the devotion to the Sacred Heart, and transforms our tepidness into fruitfulness.
Great Perfection
The eighth promise deals with the “perfection of fervent souls.” This promise alludes to a desire to speedily rise to great perfection. What did Jesus mean by this? Simply that each person who participates in this devotion will grow in perfection in the state of life Jesus has called them to. Each of us have been given gifts and talents that are unique to our abilities. In this way, if we are open to God’s grace, Jesus will provide us all we need to perfect the gifts and abilities He has given.
An example could be, if a deaf person has a unique musical ability, as did Beethoven, Jesus will give them the ability to perfect that ability in their lives. This, however, must always be done for the everlasting glory of God.
The ninth promise encourages the image of the Sacred Heart to be enthroned and honored in our homes. Jesus was very concerned with this and wanted to remind us that the King must retain a place of honor and majesty in our homes. Jesus Christ is the King, and we are His servants. We must honor and revere the King of Heaven and Earth by enshrining the image of His Sacred Heart in our homes. This image is not a decoration, but a little sanctuary where we go each day to pray and spend time with our King.
In fact, I have throughout my priestly ministry had the privilege of celebrating the Enthronement of the Sacred Heart in the homes of many.
The tenth promise pertains only to priests. This promise allows the priests to receive the power to touch the most hardened souls. Christ has given all priests the ability to forgive sins in His name. In fact, priests who celebrate and promote this devotion have the ability to break hearts of stone and replace them with hearts of love. Imagine, Jesus so wants all hearts to be united in His love, that He has given priests the authority to do what only God can do. Why? Because He wants to save every soul.
The eleventh promise inscribes our names within the Heart of Jesus. If we pray this devotion Jesus will inscribe forever in His heart our names. There is an interesting story regarding the statue of Christ the Redeemer that hovers over the city of Rio De Janeiro, Brazil high atop the mountain.
This is the biggest statue of Christ in the world. When it was built, the local bishop had the image of the Sacred Heart carved into this massive statue. And since the eleventh promise reminds us that the names of devotees are inscribed on the Heart of Jesus, the local bishop had the names of all who built the massive statue put in a metal box and placed inside the statue behind the carved heart.
The twelfth promise invites all who are devoted to this devotion, and who receive Holy Communion on nine consecutive months, the grace of final repentance and will not die under displeasure, nor without receiving their sacraments. The Heart of Jesus will be our refuge at the hour of our death. Thinking about death can be a bit troubling for us, but why should it be? In this promise, Jesus has offered to hold our hand at the hour of our death and make sure we receive the sacraments needed to open for us the path to Heaven.
Imagine, our Lord will make sure a priest is present to give us the final Sacraments at the moment of our death. This is another sign of the great love Jesus has for us.
What do we do now? The answer is very simple. We must all begin praying and participating in this devotion by going to Confession and going to nine consecutive First Friday Masses. Our souls and eternal life depend upon this.