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June Devotion: The Sacred Heart

Since the 16th century Catholic piety has assigned entire months to special devotions. The month of June is set apart for devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. "From among all the proofs of the infinite goodness of our Savior none stands out more prominently than the fact that, as the love of the faithful grew cold, He, Divine Love Itself, gave Himself to us to be honored by a very special devotion and that the rich treasury of the Church was thrown wide open in the interests of that devotion." These words of Pope Pius XI refer to the Sacred Heart Devotion, which in its present form dates from the revelations given to Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque in 1673-75.

The devotion consists in the divine worship of the human heart of Christ, which is united to His divinity and which is a symbol of His love for us. The aim of the devotion is to make our Lord king over our hearts by prompting them to return love to Him (especially through an act of consecration by which we offer to the Heart of Jesus both ourselves and all that belongs to us) and to make reparation for our ingratitude to God.

INVOCATION

O Heart of love, I put all my trust in Thee; for I fear all things from my own weakness, but I hope for all things from Thy goodness.
Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque

PRAYER TO THE SACRED HEART

Devotion to the Sacred Heart was the characteristic note of the piety of Saint Gertrude the Great (1256-1302), Benedictine nun and renowned mystic. She was, in fact, the first great exponent of devotion to the Sacred Heart. In our efforts to honor the Heart of Jesus we have this prayer as a model for our own:
Hail! O Sacred Heart of Jesus, living and quickening source of eternal life, infinite treasure of the Divinity, and burning furnace of divine love. Thou art my refuge and my sanctuary, 0 my amiable Savior. Consume my heart with that burning fire with which Thine is ever inflamed. Pour down on my soul those graces which flow from Thy love, and let my heart be so united with Thine, that our wills may be one, and mine in all things be conformed to Thine. May Thy divine will be equally the standard and rule of all my desires and of all my actions. Amen.
Saint Gertrude

FOR THE CHURCH

O most holy Heart of Jesus, shower Thy blessings in abundant measure upon Thy holy Church, upon the Supreme Pontiff and upon all the clergy; to the just grant perseverance; convert sinners; enlighten unbelievers; bless our relations, friends and benefactors; assist the dying; deliver the holy souls in purgatory; and extend over all hearts the sweet empire of Thy love. Amen.

A PRAYER OF TRUST

O God, who didst in wondrous manner reveal to the virgin, Margaret Mary, the unsearchable riches of Thy Heart, grant that loving Thee, after her example, in all things and above all things, we may in Thy Heart find our abiding home.
Roman Missal

ACT OF LOVE

Reveal Thy Sacred Heart to me, O Jesus, and show me Its attractions. Unite me to It for ever. Grant that all my aspirations and all the beats of my heart, which cease not even while I sleep, may be a testimonial to Thee of my love for Thee and may say to Thee: Yes, Lord, I am all Thine;
pledge of my allegiance to Thee rests ever in my heart will never cease to be there. Do Thou accept the slight amount of good that I do and be graciously pleased to repair all m] wrong-doing; so that I may be able to bless Thee in time and in eternity. Amen.
Cardinal Merry del Val

MEMORARE TO THE SACRED HEART
Remember, O most sweet Jesus, that no one who has had recourse to Thy Sacred Heart, implored its help, or sought it mercy was ever abandoned. Encouraged with confidence, O tenderest of hearts, we present ourselves before Thee, crushes beneath the weight of our sins. In our misery, O Sacred Hear. of Jesus, despise not our simple prayers, but mercifully grant our requests.

Prayer Source: Prayer Book, The by Reverend John P. O'Connell, M.A., S.T.D. and Jex Martin, M.A., The Catholic Press, Inc., Chicago, Illinois, 1954

June Devotion: The Sacred Heart

Sacred Heart Of Jesus

Efficacious Novena to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

The Heart of the World (On the Sacred Heart of Jesus) (Catholic Caucus)

From: Genesis 14:18-20

[18] And Melchizekek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was
priest of God Most High. [19] And he blessed him and said,

“”Blessed be Abram by God Most High,
maker of heaven and earth;
[20] and blessed be God Most High,
who has delivered your enemies into your hand!”

And Abram gave him a tenth of everything.

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Commentary:

14:18-20. After the account of Abraham’s victory over the kings of the North,
there is this little insertion, apparently, that records a piece of tradition which
shows Abraham’s connexion with Jerusalem and its king. In the context of the
story of the patriarchs, this episode implies recognition by the local nations
(Salem, Sodom) of the blessing they receive through Abraham (cf. 12:3). In the
specific case of Salem, we get a glimpse of the fact that the true God, the
Creator of heaven and earth, was worshipped there, under the name of El-Elyon,
or God Most High, and also that he is acknowledged by Abraham as the Lord
himself, “maker of heaven and earth” (cf. 14:22). The bread and wine are first-
fruits of the land, offered in sacrifice as a sign of recognition of the Creator. In
the name of El-Elyon Abraham receives Melchizedek’s blessing, thereby making
Jerusalem the place from where the Lord imparts his blessing (cf. Ps 134:3). It
is also significant that Abraham gives the king of Jerusalem a tenth of everything,
implying that he had a right to receive it.

In Jewish tradition the city of Salem and the figure of Melchizedek acquired a
special meaning. It identifies Salem with Jerusalem or Zion, where the Lord
dwells: “His abode has been established in Salem, his dwelling place in Zion,”
Psalm 76:3 acclaims. Melchizedek is regarded as having a priesthood earlier and
greater than that of Aaron; cf. when the King Messiah is praised: “You are a
priest for ever, after the order of Melchizedek” (Ps 110:4). In the New Testament,
the mysterious priestly figure of Melchizedek is portrayed as a type of the priest-
hood of Christ, for Christ is truly the eternal priest even though he (like
Melchizedek) does not belong to the priesthood of Aaron. “For this Melchizedek,
king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham returning from the
slaughter of the kings and blessed him; and to him apportioned a tenth part of
everything. He is first, by translation of his name, king of righteousness, and
then he is also king of Salem, that is, king of peace. He is without father or
mother or genealogy, and has neither beginning of days nor end of life, but
resembling the Son of God he continues a priest forever” (Heb 7:1-3).

In the light of all this, Christian liturgy has seen a prefiguring of the Eucharist in
the bread and wine offered by Melchizedek (cf. Roman Missal, Eucharistic
Prayer I); tradition sees him as a figure of priests of the New Law.

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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.