Sacred Heart
The Sacred Heart of Jesus | |
---|---|
Western Orthodoxy | |
Feast | Third Friday after Pentecost |
Attributes | Burning bloodied heart, surmounted with cross and thorns |
Influenced | First Fridays Devotion |
The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus (
The devotion is especially concerned with what the church deems to be the long-suffering love and compassion of the heart of Christ towards humanity. The popularization of this devotion in its modern form is derived from a Roman Catholic
Description
The Sacred Heart is often depicted in Christian art as a flaming heart[5] shining with divine light, pierced by the lance-wound, encircled by the crown of thorns, surmounted by a cross, and bleeding. Sometimes, the image is shown shining within the bosom of Christ with his wounded hands pointing at the heart. The wounds and crown of thorns allude to the manner of Christ's passion, while the flames represent a furnace of ardent love.[6]
History of the devotion
Early devotion
Historically, the devotion to the Sacred Heart is an outgrowth of devotion to what is believed to be Christ's sacred humanity.
Devotion to the Sacred Heart developed out of the devotion to the Holy Wounds, in particular to the Sacred Wound in the side of Jesus. The first indications of devotion to the Sacred Heart are found in the eleventh and twelfth centuries in the fervent atmosphere of the
It is impossible to say with certainty what were its first texts or who were its first devotees.Bernard of Clairvaux (d. 1153) said that the piercing of Christ's side revealed his goodness and the charity of his heart for humanity. The earliest known hymn to the Sacred Heart, "Summi Regis Cor Aveto", is believed to have been written by the Norbertine Herman Joseph (d. 1241) of Cologne, Germany. The hymn begins: "I hail Thee kingly Heart most high."
From the 13th to the 16th centuries, the devotion was propagated but it did not seem to have been embellished. It was everywhere practised by individuals and by different religious congregations, such as the
Bonaventure's Opusculum 3, Lignum vitae (a part from which is the reading for the Divine Office on the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart) refers to the heart as the fountain from which God's love poured into one's life:
Take thought now, redeemed man, and consider how great and worthy is he who hangs on the cross for you. His death brings the dead to life, but at his passing heaven and earth are plunged into mourning and hard rocks are split asunder. It was a divine decree that permitted one of the soldiers to open his sacred side with a lance. This was done so that the Church might be formed from the side of Christ as he slept the sleep of death on the cross, and so that the Scripture might be fulfilled: 'They shall look on him whom they pierced'. The blood and water, which poured out at that moment, were the price of our salvation. Flowing from the secret abyss of our Lord's heart as from a fountain, this stream gave the sacraments of the Church the power to confer the life of grace, while for those already living in Christ it became a spring of living water welling up to life everlasting.[13]
Lutgarde
According to Thomas Merton,
Mechtilde
Gertrude
In the 16th century, the devotion passed from the domain of
The historical record from that time shows an early bringing to light of the devotion. Ascetic writers spoke of it, especially those of the
The first to establish the theological basis for the devotion was Polish Jesuit Kasper Drużbicki (1590–1662) in his book Meta cordium – Cor Jesu (The goal of hearts – Heart of Jesus). Not much later John Eudes wrote an office, and promoted a feast for it. John Eudes is regarded as "tireless apostle of the devotion of the Sacred Hearts",[20] entitling him as 'Father', doctor and apostle of the liturgical cult of the hearts of Jesus and Mary.[21]
Little by little, the devotion to the Sacred Hearts became distinct, and on 31 August 1670 the first feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus was celebrated in the Grand Seminary of
Margaret Mary Alacoque
The most significant source for the devotion to the Sacred Heart in the form it is known today was Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647–1690), a nun of the
- During the Claude de la Colombière, then superior of the small Jesuit house at Paray-le-Monial.
De la Colombière directed her to write an account of the apparition, which he discreetly circulated in France and England. After his death on 15 February 1682, his journal of spiritual retreats was found to contain a copy in his handwriting of the account that he had requested of Margaret Mary, together with a few reflections on the usefulness of the devotion. This journal, including the account – an "offering" to the Sacred Heart in which the devotion was explained – was published at Lyon in 1684. The little book was widely read, especially at Paray-le-Monial. Margaret Mary reported feeling "dreadful confusion" over the book's contents, but resolved to make the best of it, approving of the book for the spreading of her cherished devotion. Along with the Visitandines, priests,
Promises Given to Margaret Mary Alacoque
Alacoque said that in her apparitions Jesus promised specific blessings to those who practice devotion to his Sacred Heart.
- I will give them all the graces necessary for their state of life.
- I will give peace in their families.
- I will console them in all their troubles.
- I will be their refuge in life and especially in death.
- I will abundantly bless all their undertakings.
- Sinners shall find in my Heart the source and infinite ocean of mercy.
- Tepid souls shall become fervent.
- Fervent souls shall rise speedily to great perfection.
- I will bless those places wherein the image of My Sacred Heart shall be exposed and venerated.
- I will give to priests the power to touch the most hardened hearts.
- Persons who propagate this devotion shall have their names eternally written in my Heart.
- In the excess of the mercy of my Heart, I promise you that my all powerful love will grant to all those who will receive Communion on the first Friday, for nine consecutive months, the grace of final repentance: they will not die in my displeasure, nor without receiving the sacraments; and my Heart will be their secure refuge in that last hour.
Mary of the Divine Heart
Another source for the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus was Mary of the Divine Heart (1863–1899), a religious sister from the Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd, who reported to have received several interior locutions and visions of Jesus Christ. The first interior locution Mary of the Divine Heart reported was during her youth spent with the family in the Castle of Darfeld , near Münster, Germany, and the last vision and private revelation was reported during her presence as mother superior in the Convent of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd in Porto, Portugal.
Based on the messages she said she received in her revelations of Christ, on 10 June 1898 her confessor at the Good Shepherd monastery wrote to Pope Leo XIII stating that Mary of the Divine Heart had received a message from Christ, requesting the pope to consecrate the entire world to the Sacred Heart. The pope initially attached no credence to it and took no action. However, on 6 January 1899 she sent another letter asking that in addition to the consecration, the first Fridays of the month be observed in honor of the Sacred Heart.
Mary of the Divine Heart died in her monastery in Portugal when the church was singing the first vespers of the Sacred Heart of Jesus on 8 June 1899. The following day, Pope Leo XIII consecrated the entire world to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Sr. Mary of the Divine Heart said that in her mystical experiences Jesus Christ inspired her to build a shrine dedicated to his Sacred Heart. According to the writings of Sister Mary of the Divine Heart, Jesus said: "I will make it a place of graces. I will distribute copiously graces to all who live in this house [the Convent], those who live here now, those who will live here after, and even to their relatives."[23]
She did not live to see this come to fruition. The imposing Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (also referred as Church of the Good Shepherd or Sanctuary of the Sacred Heart of Jesus) was built between 14 July 1957 and 21 April 1966, in the civil parish of Ermesinde in north Portugal, and consecrated to the Heart of Christ in fulfillment of the vow made by the nun. She is buried in the Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Ermesinde.
Papal approval
In 1353, Pope Innocent VI instituted a Mass honoring the mystery of the Sacred Heart.[22]
In 1693 the
After Pope Leo XIII received correspondence from Mary of the Divine Heart asking him to consecrate the entire world to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, he commissioned a group of theologians to examine the petition on the basis of revelation and sacred tradition. The outcome of this investigation was positive, and in 1899 he decreed that the consecration of the entire human race to the Sacred Heart of Jesus should take place on 11 June 1899. The encyclical letter also encouraged the entire Roman Catholic episcopate to promote the
Pope Pius X decreed that the consecration of the human race performed by Leo XIII be renewed each year. Pius XI affirmed the church's position with respect to Margaret Mary Alacoque's visions of Jesus Christ by stating that Jesus had "manifested Himself" to Alacoque and had "promised her that all those who rendered this honor to his Heart would be endowed with an abundance of heavenly graces."[25] The encyclical reaffirmed the importance of consecration and reparation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Pope Pius X also granted a Pontifical decree for the imposition of a golden crown to the lowly foot of a statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in the
Pope Pius XII, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Pius IX's institution of the feast, instructed the entire Latin Church at length on the devotion to the Sacred Heart in his encyclical letter Haurietis aquas of 15 May 1956. On 15 May 2006, Pope Benedict XVI sent a letter to Peter Hans Kolvenbach, the Superior General of the Society of Jesus, on the 50th anniversary of the encyclica. In his letter to Kolvenbach, Pope Benedict XVI reaffirmed the importance of the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Encyclicals
- Annum sacrum, 1899
- Miserentissimus Redemptor, 1928
- Haurietis aquas, 1956
Worship and devotion
Worship of the Sacred Heart mainly consists of several
Since c. 1850, groups, congregations, and countries have consecrated themselves to the Sacred Heart. In 1873, by petition of president Gabriel García Moreno, Ecuador was the first country in the world to be consecrated to the Sacred Heart.[26]
By a law voted on 24 July 1873, the
In the
Feast day
The
Month of the Sacred Heart
The month of June is traditionally devoted in a special way to the veneration of the Sacred Heart.[30][31][32] Masses, novenas, and the recitation of devotional prayers in honor of the Sacred Heart are traditionally observed.
Scapular of the Sacred Heart
The Scapular of the Sacred Heart and the Scapular of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary are devotional articles worn by some Catholics.[33]
An early form of the Scapular of the Sacred Heart were cloth badges bearing an image of the Heart of Jesus. made and distributed by Margaret Mary Alacoque.[33] Following the claims by Estelle Faguette that the Virgin Mary had appeared to her at Pellevoisin in 1876 and requested a scapular of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, a scapular of the proposed design was approved by the Congregation of Rites in 1900. It bears the representation of the Sacred Heart of Jesus on one side and that of the Virgin Mary under the title of Mother of Mercy on the other side.[34]
Prayers
Both Alacoque and Droste zu Vischering composed Acts of Consecration to the Sacred Heart. Common traditional practices include a Holy Hour on the Thursday before the First Friday, and the First Fridays Devotion.
- Litany of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. is common in Roman Catholic services and occasionally is found in Anglican services.
- Morning offering
Enthronement of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
The Act of enthroning the Sacred Heart entails placing an image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in a place of honor in the home after a time of prayerful preparation.[35] Many families will also place an image of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in tandem with the Sacred Heart image.[36] (Enthroning the Sacred Heart in a home should not be confused with the practice of having a priest bless a home, which is customarily done when a family first occupies a new home.)[37] The presence of a priest is not required for an Enthronement.[38]
The practice of the home enthronement of the Sacred Heart was started by R. Mateo Crawley-Boevey, a priest of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, in 1907, having visited the apparition chapel in Paray-le-Monial.[39]
Enthronement of the Sacred Heart is promoted by the National Enthronement Center in Fairhaven, Massachusetts,[40] the Sacred Heart Apostolate of Knoxville, Tennessee, Sacred Heart Columbus in Columbus, Ohio,[41] and the Sacred Heart Enthronement Network, a 501(c)(3) located in Columbus, Ohio.[42] It is also endorsed by the World Apostolate of Fátima.
Alliance with the Immaculate Heart
The "Alliance of the Hearts of Jesus and Mary" is a phrase coined by
It was not until the seventeenth century when devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary was popularized by John Eudes. Although Eudes always associated the two Hearts, he began his devotional teachings with the Heart of Mary, and then extended it to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.[45]
In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries both devotions grew, particularly through the popularity of the Miraculous Medal, depicting the Heart of Jesus thorn-crowned and the Heart of Mary pierced with a sword.[46] The devotions and associated prayers grew into the twentieth century through the reported messages of Our Lady of Fátima saying that the Heart of Jesus wishes to be honored together with the Heart of Mary.[47] In the 1956 encyclical Haurietis aquas, Pope Pius XII encouraged both devotions.
Sacred Heart imagery
The Sacred Heart crowned with thorns is depicted on the reverse side of the Miraculous Medal, [48]
The Carillon-Sacré-Coeur flag has been adopted by the
Religious imagery depicting the Sacred Heart is frequently featured in homes. Ireland was consecrated to the Sacred Heart on Passion Sunday 1873 by the bishops of Ireland, which led to the Sacred Heart lamp becoming a common devotional object in Irish homes.[49] Sometimes the image is part of a set, along with the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
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The Carillon-Sacré-Coeur: flag waved by French Canadian Catholics until the 1950s.
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Traditional Irish sacred heart lamp, Tipperary.
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Sacred Heart lamp in County Carlow
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Sacred Heart patch of the FrenchCatholic and Royal Army
Institutions
Sacred Heart is a name used for many Catholic institutions, including schools, colleges, and hospitals in many countries. It is also the name of many Catholic parishes, and religious congregations.
Clelia Merloni from Forlì (Italy) founded the Congregation of the Apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Viareggio, Italy, on 30 May 1894.[51]
Gallery
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The Estrela Basilica, situated in Lisbon, Portugal, was the first church in the world dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
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Flags of the Sacred Heart in the Heiho Niten Ichi Ryu Memorial
-
TheAlmada, Portugal, a monument dedicated to the Sacred Heart
In Eastern Catholicism
Devotion to the Sacred Heart may be found in some Eastern Catholic Churches, particularly the Ukrainian.[52] Others see it as an example of liturgical Latinisation. Many Eastern churches observe a comparable feast of "Jesus, Lover of Mankind" celebrated on July 17.
See also
- Apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
- Immaculate Heart of Mary
- Our Lady of Pellevoisin
- Prayer of Consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
References
- ^ "Opening for the Year of Priest on the 150th Anniversary of John Mary Vianney". vatican.va. Jun 19, 2009. Archived from the original on December 24, 2017.
- ^ "Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus". Archived from the original on August 29, 2018.
- ISBN 2-85268-118-8
- ^ Bainvel 1910, II. Historical Ideas on the Development of the Devotion, para (3–4).
- Universita di Bari Aldo Moro.
- ^ Saint John Eudes:The sacred heart of Jesus
- ^ Hardon, John. Modern Catholic Dictionary
- ^ Bainvel 1910, II. Historical Ideas on the Development of the Devotion, para (1).
- ^ Holweck, Frederick. "The Five Sacred Wounds." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 15. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. 1 Jun. 2013
- ^ "Heart of Jesus, Symbol of Love", Sisters of Carmel, Colorado Springs, CO
- ^ "The Franciscans in Nebraska". www.usgennet.org.
- ^ "Mendés SFO, Patrick. "Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus"" (PDF).
- ^ "Call Includes Consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus". Franciscan Sisters. 2022-06-23. Retrieved 2022-06-24.
- ^ Merton, Thomas. What are These Wounds? the Life of a Cistercian Mystic, Saint Lutgarde of Aywieres, Clonmore and Reynolds Ltd., Dublin, 1948
- ^ Kirby, Dom Mark Daniel. "Draw Me to Thy Piercèd Side", June 15, 2008, Silverstream Priory, Stamullen, County Meath, Ireland Archived October 1, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Bergström-Allen, T.O.C., Johan. "Carmelites and the Sacred Heart"" (PDF).
- ^ Croiset, S. J., John. The Devotion to the Sacred Heart, 1691
- ^ "St. Gertrude The Great". www.catholicnewsagency.com. Archived from the original on 2017-02-18. Retrieved 2013-06-08.
- ^ Jenkins, Eve B., "St Gertrude's Synecdoche: The Problem of Writing the Sacred Heart", Essays in Medieval Studies, Vol. 14, 1997, Illinois Medieval Association
- ^ "General Audience of 19 August 2009: Saint John Eudes and the formation of the diocesan clergy | BENEDICT XVI".
- ^ "Why John Eudes is Doctor of the Church?". www.cjm-eudistes.org. Archived from the original on 2022-01-14.
- ^ a b Saunders, William. "The Sacred Heart of Jesus", The Arlington Catholic Herald, October 13, 1994
- ^ Letter from Sister Mary of the Divine Heart dated August 13, 1897, in Autobiography of Blessed Mary of the Divine Heart, Religious of the Good Shepherd. Lisbon: Edition of the Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd, 1993.
- ISBN 0-87973-910-Xpage 166
- ^ Pope Pius XI. Miserentissimus Redemptor, §21, Libreria Editrice Vaticana, May 8, 1928
- ^ Maxwell-Scott, Mary Monica, Gabriel Garcia Moreno, Regenerator of Ecuador, p. 152. London 1914
- ISBN 2-905118-79-2.
- ^ Pope Pius XII, Miserentissimus Redemptor
- ^ "Feast of the Sacred Heart or Divine Compassion".
- ^ John Paul II, Angelus address, 27 June 1982
- ^ Graves, Jim (June 4, 2021). "June Is the Month of the Sacred Heart-a Perfect Time for Enthronement". National Catholic Register.
- ^ "June is the Month of the Sacred Heart", Diocese of Rapid City
- ^ a b Hilgers, Joseph. "Scapular." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 13. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912 This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ Faguette, Estelle (1993). Pellevoisin: Estelle nous parle …: autobiographie et récit des quinze apparitions par la voyante. Monastère des dominicaines. p. 109.
- ISBN 0819805300.
- ^ Larkin 1999, p. 135
- ^ "Blessing of a New Home". 2012-06-20. Retrieved 2019-12-05.
- ^ Larkin 1999, p. 63
- ^ Karem, David (2019-01-24). "A Brief History of the Sacred Heart Devotion". Sacred Heart Enthronement Network. Retrieved 2019-11-26.
A Brief History of the Sacred Heart Devotion
- ^ "Enthronement of the Sacred Heart in the Home". National Enthronement Center. 2010-09-11. Retrieved 2019-11-27.
- ^ "Welcome to Sacred Heart Columbus!". Sacred Heart Columbus. 2013-02-17. Retrieved 2019-11-28.
- ^ "Sacred Heart Enthronement". Sacred Heart Enthronement Network. 2015-06-05. Retrieved 2019-11-29.
- ^ John Paul II, "Address, To the Participants of the International Symposium on the Alliance of the Hearts of Jesus and Mary", 26 September 1986
- ^ Scrivani, Lawrence (2016) "Emergence and Development of the Two Hearts Alliance," Marian Studies: Vol. 67, Article 7, Pages 159-192
- ISBN 1-4097-0537-4page 215
- ISBN 2-89039-183-3page 310
- ISBN 1-931709-57-2page 248
- ^ Glass, Joseph. "Miraculous Medal." The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 10. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911 This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ AMDG (2008-05-21). "Devotion to the Sacred Heart and the Irish experience". Jesuits Ireland. Retrieved 2021-02-04.
- ^ "Los Misioneros del Sagrado Corazón presentes en muchos países del mundo entero". www.mscperu.org.
- ^ "Servant of God Clelia Merloni". Santi e Beati.
- ^ Haber OSBM, Gabriel. "Feast Christ, Lover of Mankind or Sacred Heart of Jesus", Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Winnipeg, June 28, 2019
Sources
- Bainvel, Jean Vincent (1910). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 7. New York: Robert Appleton Company. . In Herbermann, Charles (ed.).
- Chasle, Louis; Sister Mary of the Divine Heart Droste zu Vischering, religious of the Good Shepherd, 1863–1899. Burns & Oates, London, 1906.
Further reading
- Bellarmine, Robert (1902). . Sermons from the Latins. Benziger Brothers.
- Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul. (1856). . St. Vincent's Manual. John Murphy & Co.
External links
- Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 23 (11th ed.). 1911. .
- The Sacred Heart of Jesus in Catholic Tradition
- The Chaplet of the Sacred Heart
- John Croiset: Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, 1863
- R.F.R. Pierik: Catechism of the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, 1874
- St. Therese of Lisieux and the Sacred Heart of Jesus
- Vitis Mystica, tr. Brownlow, W.R.Bernard. London, R.Washbourne, 1873
- Sacred Heart Altar in St Peter's Basilica