My heart is overwhelmed, my pity is stirred. I will not give vent to my blazing anger,.. For I am God and not a man, the Holy One present among you; I will not come in wrath. (Hosea 11:8b-9)

Today the Church celebrates the solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. The devotion was fostered by Carthusian and Jesuit priests and promoted by St. Francis de Sales and became especially popular following the disclosure of private revelations to a French Visitandine nun, St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, in the late 17th century. Among the words spoken to her, she heard Jesus make 12 promises to those who would respond to the pleading of His Heart and make an effort to return His love. St. Margaret Mary once said, “I do not know of any other exercise in the spiritual life that is more calculated to raise a soul in a short amount of time to the height of perfection and to make it taste the true sweetness to be found in the service of Jesus Christ.”

1.  I will give them all the graces necessary in their state of life.

2. I will establish peace in their homes.

3. I will comfort them in all their afflictions.

4. I will be their secure refuge during life, and above all, in death.

5. I will bestow abundant blessings upon all their undertakings.

6. Sinners will find in My Heart the source and infinite ocean of mercy.

7. Lukewarm souls shall become fervent.

8. Fervent souls shall quickly mount to high perfection.

9. I will bless every place in which an image of My Heart is exposed

and honored.

10. I will give to priests the gift of touching the most hardened hearts.

11. Those who shall promote this devotion shall have their names

written in My Heart.

12. I promise you in the excessive mercy of My Heart that My all powerful love will grant to all those who receive Holy Communion on the First Fridays in nine consecutive months the grace of final perseverance; they shall not die in My disgrace, nor without receiving their sacraments. My divine Heart shall be their safe refuge in this last moment.

The heart of this devotion reminds us of the depth of God's love for us, symbolized so perfectly by the heart of Jesus. When we think of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, let us recall that God humbled himself to take on our humanity, to live through a finite body, to share our frailties, all to show us his love. Let us honor Christ's Sacred Heart in a special way today showing love to those we might otherwise ignore or find fault. Let us try especially hard today to live as Jesus taught, loving one another as he has loved us.

O most holy Heart of Jesus, fountain of every blessing, I adore you, I love you and with a lively sorrow for my sins. I offer you this poor heart of mine. Make me humble, patient, pure, and wholly obedient to your will. Grant, good Jesus, that I may live in you and for you. Protect me in the midst of danger; comfort me in my afflictions; give me health of body, assistance in my temporal needs, your blessings on all that I do, and the grace of a holy death. Within your heart I place my every care. In every need let me come to you with humble trust saying, Heart of Jesus, help me. Amen. (Franciscan Media)

Peace in Christ,

Father Vincent-Vuong Nguyen

St. Clare of Assisi

Houston, TX