June has long been recognized in our Catholic tradition as the month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. This devotion has roots in Sacred Scripture and gained prominence in the 17th century, inspired by the visions of Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque. In June 1675, 350 years ago, Christ appeared to this humble religious sister and asked her to spread devotion to His Sacred Heart. The Church officially recognized these apparitions in 1765, and in 1965, the Second Vatican Council elevated the feast of the Sacred Heart to a solemnity, celebrated each year 19 days after Pentecost. This year, it falls on Friday, June 27.
In Pope Francis’s last encyclical, “Dilexit Nos” – which means “He loved us” – the Pope invited the faithful to rediscover this powerful devotion. “We must rediscover the importance of the heart,” he wrote, “as it best expresses the divine love of Christ, united inseparably with His human love.”
Pope Francis believed that devotion to the Sacred Heart can serve as a remedy for many of today’s spiritual and societal ills. Saddened by so many wars in the world today, Pope Francis was afraid that the world had lost its heart and called for an authentic renewal of devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Among this year’s celebrations, Archbishop Eamon Martin, the Primate of All Ireland, consecrated the country of Ireland to the Sacred Heart of Jesus at the Our Lady of Knock Shrine on June 22. In Rome, Pope Leo XIV will celebrate a Mass on the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart in St. Peter’s Square. Here in Camden at Sacred Heart Parish, all three church communities will gather for a multicultural liturgy June 29, followed by a parish celebration of food and fellowship. During Mass, will we pray a special prayer of consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and pray that the love of Christ can transform our families, our neighborhood, our city and our world.
I encourage all to rediscover this important devotion, including families. I remember how my parents always had an image of the Sacred Heart near the front door in our row home in Philadelphia. My parents would remind us to ask Jesus to bless both our leaving and our coming home. I pray that the 350th anniversary of the apparitions to Saint Margaret Mary may be a catalyst for all families to renew their devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Key aspects of devotion to the Sacred Heart for families include the following:
• Have an image of the Sacred Heart displayed in your home for all to see;
• Consecrate your family to the Sacred Heart with the traditional Consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus Prayer, or the prayer written by Pope Leo XIV;
• Attend First Friday Mass, monthly Confession, and if possible, spend time in Eucharistic Adoration during the week;
• Throughout the day, pray: “Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on me; Sacred Heart of Jesus, I trust in you.”
We live in a world consumed with war and violence, and we often seek to satisfy our hungry hearts with passing pleasures, unconcerned with the true meaning of our lives. We have restless hearts, as Saint Augustine wrote: “For you have made us for yourself, and our hearts our restless until they find their rest in you.”
On this great Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, pray for the grace to conform your heart to the Heart of Jesus, a heart of love, mercy and compassion. Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on yes. Sacred Heart of Jesus, I trust in you.
Father Vincent Guest is pastor of Sacred Heart Parish, Camden, and coordinator of the Diocese’s Black Catholic Ministry Commission. For those interested in going to the June 29 celebration at Sacred Heart Parish, the church is located at 1739 Ferry Ave., Camden.
Pope Leo XIV’s Prayer to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Lord, I come to your tender heart today,
to you who have words that set my heart ablaze,
to you who pour out compassion on the little ones and the poor,
on those who suffer, and on all human miseries.
I desire to know you more, to contemplate you in the Gospel,
to be with you and learn from you
and from the charity with which you allowed yourself
to be touched by all forms of poverty.
You showed us the Father’s love by loving us without measure
with your divine and human heart.
Grant all your children the grace of encountering you.
Change, shape, and transform our plans,
so that we seek only you in every circumstance:
in prayer, in work, in encounters, and in our daily routine.
From this encounter, send us out on mission,
a mission of compassion for the world
in which you are the source from which all consolation flows.
Amen.
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