Unveiling the Devotion to the Sacred Heart

In Christian antiquity, there was a consistent and prevailing message preached by the Apostles that was handed down to the presbyters, Popes, and future Bishops and Priests that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, loved us infinitely and demonstrated His love in death. The importance of handing on how Christ died for our sins and rose from the dead was to ensure God’s infinite love and mercy through the death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ. The idea that God would sacrifice His only-begotten Son to save a humanity He had created that chose to reject His love appears foolish. However, God, not bound by the actions of man, chose to become a man through the free will act of Mary, the Mother of God, who humbly submitted herself to be the Mother of Jesus, the Word made flesh.

It is fair to say that Jesus’ love for us was fully revealed through the pain, suffering, and agony he endured during his scourging and eventual death on the Cross. The reality of His passion was that He died for us. His strategic target was our sins, that sin may no longer have a permanent hold on us, and thus receive His love and mercy through His death. In his letter to the Galatians, St. Paul reminds us that he has been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself up for me.[1]

St. Paul's words serve as an appropriate introduction to understanding the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The origin of the devotion is attributed to the visions of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque between 1673 and 1675, with official devotion approved by Clement XIII in 1765 and 1899. Pope Leo XIII consecrated the whole world to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus can be understood as the union between the humanity and divinity of Jesus Christ as revealed in the Incarnation. Our response to this union is the exercise of proper worship to the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who died for the sins of humanity. It is the heart of Christ that provides us with the gateway of unconditional love received through his passion and death.

Pope Leo XIII, in his Encyclical Annum Sacrum on the Consecration to the Sacred Heart, describes the purpose and meaning of consecrating ourselves to the Sacred Heart,

To this twofold ground of His power and domination, He graciously allows us, if we think fit, to add voluntary consecration. Jesus Christ, our God and our Redeemer, is rich in the fullest and perfect possession of all things: we, on the other hand, are so poor and needy that we have nothing of our own to offer Him as a gift. But yet, in His infinite goodness and love, He in no way objects to our giving and consecrating to Him what is already His, as if it were really our own; nay, far from refusing such an offering, He positively desires it and asks for it: "My son, give me thy heart." We are, therefore, able to be pleasing to Him by the goodwill and the affection of our soul. For by consecrating ourselves to Him, we not only declare our open and free acknowledgment and acceptance of His authority over us, but we also testify that if what we offer as a gift were really our own, we would still offer it with our whole heart. We also beg of Him that He would vouchsafe to receive it from us, though clearly His own. Such is the efficacy of the act of which We speak, such is the meaning underlying Our words.[2]

Pope Leo XIII reminds us that Jesus not only gave his life for us, but he also gave us his human heart. He continuously and without reservation revealed His love for us even unto death on a cross. There was no exception for his love for us; a devotion to His Sacred Heart should impel us to reciprocate that love with no exception, as expressed through the piercing of his side.[3] What does having a Devotion to the Sacred Heart do for the nourishment of the soul? It reminds us of the reality of the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who died for our sins to save. It reveals his unconditional love without exception and calls us to do the same for our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. It reminds us of the necessity to properly worship the Son of God in the holiest of celebrations revealed in the Mass of the Lord’s Supper. And finally, it leads us to focus on others before ourselves, acting as servants to the Word of God to direct everyone toward an embrace of a life devoted to the Sacred Heart of Christ.