June 2024

Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

by Fr Richard Heilman Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus goes back at least to the 11th century, but through the 16th century, it remained a private devotion, often tied to devotion to the Five Wounds of Christ. The first feast of the Sacred Heart was celebrated on August 31, 1670, in Rennes, France, through the efforts of Fr. Jean Eudes (1602-1680). From Rennes, the devotion spread, but it took the visions of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647-1690) for the devotion to become universal. In all of these visions, in which Jesus appeared to St. Margaret Mary, the Sacred Read More»

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June is the Month of the Sacred Heart

in recognition of Jesus’ apparitions starting in 1673 to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647-1690), a member of the Visitation Sisters, through whom He asked for devotion to His Sacred Heart. In that first apparition, Jesus enveloped St. Margaret Mary in a mystical experience of His love. She reported that Jesus allowed her “to recline for a long time on His divine breast, where He disclosed to me the marvels of His love and the unutterable secrets of His Sacred Heart.” In His second apparition to her, a First Friday in 1674, Jesus showed St. Margaret His Heart, “more dazzling than Read More»

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