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Devotion to the Sacred Heart Today
Catholic Education Resource Center ^
| 6/11/09
| Fr. John A. Hardon
Posted on 06/11/2009 2:44:48 PM PDT by bdeaner
We may say that devotion to the Sacred Heart began on Calvary. When the Heart of Christ was pierced on the Cross, it opened the door to realizing how deeply Jesus loves us.
In return, He wants nothing more than for us to love Him with all our hearts. There is nothing that God wants more than for us to love Him without reserve.
What God wants more than anything else is for us to love Him more than anyone else in the world. I like the prayer of St. Claude la Colombiere, in which he asks, "O God, what will You do to conquer the fearful hardness of our hearts? Lord, You must give us new hearts, tender hearts, sensitive hearts, to replace hearts that are made of marble and of bronze."
St. Claude goes on to ask our Lord, "You must give us Your own Heart, Jesus. Come, lovable Heart of Jesus. Place Your Heart deep in the center of our hearts and enkindle in each heart a flame of love as strong, as great, as the sum of all the reasons that I have for loving You, my God."
Colombiere closed with a prayer of petition, "O holy Heart of Jesus, dwell hidden in my heart, so that I may live only in You and only for You, so that, in the end, I may live with you eternally in heaven."
This is the sum total of our Catholic faith. We believe that God made us out of sheer love. None of us, none of us had to exist. We also believe He became man to die on the Cross out of love for us. We further believe that He is present in the Blessed Sacrament with His living Heart of flesh so that we may come to Him and tell Him how deeply we love Him.
In today's love-starving world, how we need to follow the example of Jesus Christ in His unspeakable love for us. If there is one adjective that describes the modern world, this world is a loveless world. This world is a selfish world. This world is so preoccupied with space and time that it gives almost no thought to eternity and the everlasting joys that await those who have served God faithfully here on earth.
How do we serve God faithfully? We serve Him only as faithfully as we serve Him lovingly, by giving ourselves to the needs of everyone whom God puts into our lives. No one reaches heaven automatically. Heaven must be dearly paid for. The price of reaching heaven is the practice of selfless love here on earth.
That is why God puts into our lives so many occasions for loving people who obviously do not love us, or giving ourselves to people who have never given themselves to us. How desperately we need, especially in today's world, to learn that God became man in order to suffer and die out of love for us on the Cross.
That is what devotion to the Sacred Heart is all about. It is the practice of selfless love toward selfish people.
That is what devotion to the Sacred Heart is all about. It is the practice of selfless love toward selfish people. It is giving ourselves to persons that do not give themselves to us. In all of our lives, God has placed selfish persons who may be physically close to us, but spiritually are strangers and even enemies. That is why God places unkind, unjust, even cruel people into our lives. By loving them, we show something of the kind of love that God expects of His followers.
Devotion of the Sacred Heart is the solution to the gravest problem in the modern world today. How can we give ourselves to those who do not love us, who even positively hate us? We can love them, with the help of divine grace, by following the example of Jesus Christ, who died on the Cross out of love for a sin-laden human race.
TOPICS: Catholic; Prayer; Religion & Culture; Theology
KEYWORDS: catholic; cult; jesus; love; sacredheart
Prayer to the Wounded Heart of Jesus
O my Most Loving and Gentle Jesus, I desire with all the affections of my heart, that all beings should praise Thee, honor Thee and glorify Thee eternally for that sacred wound wherewith Thy divine side was rent. I deposit, enclose, conceal in that wound and in that opening in Thy Heart, my heart and all my feelings, thoughts, desires, intentions and all the faculties of my soul. I entreat Thee, by the precious Blood and Water that flowed from Thy Most Loving Heart, to take entire possession of me, that Thou may guide me in all things. Consume me in the burning fire of thy holy Love, so that I may be so absorbed and transformed into Thee that I may no longer be but one with Thee.
Amen.
1
posted on
06/11/2009 2:44:48 PM PDT
by
bdeaner
To: bdeaner
God lead me to this statue
To: bdeaner
3
posted on
06/11/2009 3:11:56 PM PDT
by
Salvation
(With God all things are possible.)
To: bdeaner
Why devotion to just the sacred heart? Why not to
the whole Savior?
To: bdeaner
5
posted on
06/11/2009 3:35:07 PM PDT
by
diamond6
(Is SIDS preventable? www.Stopsidsnow.com)
To: aMorePerfectUnion
Why devotion to just the sacred heart? Why not to the whole Savior?
For a Catholic, "devotion" has a certain meaning that is different than the way Protestants use that word. For a Protestant, "devotion" means Bible study and prayer--which all Catholics should be doing as well. But a "devotion" is something that goes beyond that, into activities that are meant to enhance one's walk with God. Examples are the Rosary and the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. Meditation on the sacred heart of Jesus is another example. They are not necessary to do as a Catholic -- they are optional, special meditations one can choose to get closer to God.
In any case, of course implied by meditation on the sacred heart of Jesus is prayer and communion with the whole of Jesus Christ. That is a given, and a requirements for all Catholics. But not all Catholics meditate on, or have a special "devotion" to the sacred heart--and that's okay if you don't.
Hopefully that is more clarifying than confusing. God bless.
6
posted on
06/11/2009 3:40:19 PM PDT
by
bdeaner
(The bread which we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? (1 Cor. 10:16))
To: aMorePerfectUnion
Why devotion to just the sacred heart? Why not to
the whole Savior?
Catholics do.
Each aspect of the Savior is a meditation and prayer. Meditate upon his Holy Face. Meditate upon his crown of thornes and it’s relationship to you, the world, salvation, everything.
Meditate upon the wounds in His hands and feet. The wound to His side.
Meditate upon every aspect of His life and His mission. Every moment of Christ’s life is a single meditation that can take a lifetime.
I have a devotion to His Sacred Heart and by meditating upon this, it adds to my understanding (slim as I am poor and very human, as it may be) of Christ and His great gift.
Devotion to an attribute of Jesus is not singular or divorced from complete Adoration of the Trinity. It is simply discovering within that devotion many spiritual truths that lead to others as you continue to pray and meditate upon Christ.
7
posted on
06/11/2009 3:56:38 PM PDT
by
OpusatFR
(Those embryos are little humans in progress. Using them for profit is slavery.)
To: aMorePerfectUnion
This is actually one of my favorite devotions. In this case, Christ’s heart is His love. Learning to love Christ, a historical figure that we living now trust is our savior, can be a stretch. This devotion makes it very real, His love for us.
8
posted on
06/11/2009 6:08:52 PM PDT
by
Desdemona
(Tolerance of grave evil is NOT a Christian virtue. http://www.thekingsmen.us/)
To: Salvation
9
posted on
05/09/2011 4:06:12 PM PDT
by
diamond6
(Check out: http://www.biblechristiansociety.com/home.php and learn about the faith.)
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