Praise and Glory to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

June is the month when we honor The Sacred Heart of Jesus.  When I was in Saint Bridget's School way back in the year 1959 I won an award.  I do not remember why I won it, but it was very special indeed. It was an 8 1/2 by 11 picture of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.  It was a beautiful picture and you could look at it and see the love that Jesus had for you in the eyes.  No one ever really explained the picture to me but I remember being very impressed with it none-the-less. Since that moment, the Sacred Heart of Jesus has formed an integral part of my spiritual life.  His Heart beats with love and mercy each of us.  Not just for the Catholics, but for all of humanity.  Jesus is so much in love with us that He wanted to use the symbolism of His heart, which we traditionally consider the place where the soul resides, to express how He is on fire with love and mercy for all who desire it.  Is it idolatrous to have a devotion to a body part or the representation of one even if it is of Jesus?  The unlearned would think so.  But, in their ignorance, they forget that we are not honoring an actual heart, but rather, the love and mercy that radiates from the very soul of Jesus Christ, the Son of God and our Savior.  In order to honor the Sacred Heart, we are asked to make an effort to go to Mass on the first Friday of every month and to receive communion. Jesus communicated His desire for this practice to St. Margaret Mary and He makes these promises to those that do this in honor of 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 Fridays, 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.