The Sacred heart of Jesus

Our tradition is so very rich with spiritual and mystical writings. Two of my favourites are Mary of Agreda (The mystical city of God) and Anne Catheine Emmerich.

They were separated by about a century and very different in style. Anne Catheine Emmerich brings you into the feeling, or the emotion. Her writings and experiences of the passion of Christ will never leave you unmoved. Mary of Agreda had more theological visions.

As we end the month of May, dedicated to our Blessed Mary, we now are in the month of June. Dedicated to the sacred heart of Jesus. It is also the month where we see the odious and blasphemous pride flag, displayed everywhere even in ‘ Catholic schools!’ Where the traditional Catholic flag for the sacred heart shows the wounded but compassionate heart of Jesus, the pride flag is a confused riot of bands and colours. The devil, is of course, master of chaos and ambiguity, I digress!

Pope Pius XII noted that the heart of Jesus is the chief sign and symbol of the threefold love with which the Divine Redeemer continually loves His Eternal Father and all mankind.

As today is the feast of the Holy Trinity, I thought it appropriate.

The main themes during this month are:

1) Christ’s sacrifice for us

2) His pierced and torn heart

3) His mercy for and love for us

4) His continuing Eucharistic presense.

I often refer to Eucharistic miracles when speaking with Protestants. In particular ,the many where the consecrated host begins to beat, and when analyzed is found to be living heart tissue from a 32 year old man, dying in agony. His sacred heart. The bread on Protestant altars or tables, remains bread! It is not living and remains as I say ‘baguettes!’

I also speak of St. Phillip Neery, whose heart expanded such that when he died, the doctors noted some of his ribs moved to give place to his enlarged heart (united with that ot our Lord).

The images, the symbolism and the reality of the sacred heart loom large for us Catholics. The image is a reminder to us, as are our crucifixes, of the immense and unfathomable love that God has for us.

Mary Agreda noted that the terrible suffering of Christ for us has infinite value as it proceeds from perfect charity. He is the second person of the Trinity, and God. God is love and mercy itself and all of Jesus’ actions can be understood as actions that proceed from perfect charity, as that and perfect love are the very nature of God.

The Passion for Mary of Agreda is not only about God’s justice, but His Heart and Passion were enitirely consumed in divine love and charity. The Passion is the ultimate image of divine mercy.

If Mary of Agreda makes us think, Anne Catherine Emmerich makes us feel. She is the ‘method actress’ of mystics.

Anne Catherine Emmerich points to Christ as supremely loving and compassionate. Some of her visions reveal this. He feels the suffering of the poor, the faith of the humble and the sorrow of His Blessed Mother. As the sacred heart of Jesus and the immaculate heart of Mary are actually united in the Trinity, He felt all that she felt, and she participated and felt all of his sorrows and blows (Although to a lesser extent as she was fully human) Her visions are very close to the modern day Sacred Heart devotion which stressed Christ’s desire to save souls and communicate grace. I would also add, it is close to the Divine Mercy chaplet!

Anne Catherine Emmerich wrote a book on the Doloris Passions of our Lord Jesus Christ. In that book, she gives fantastic details on the first Eucharist.

Take and Eat, this is my Body which is given for you.

He stretched forth his right hand as to bless, and, when He did , a brilliant light came from Him, His words were luminous, the bread entered the mouths of the Apostles as a brilliant substance and light seemed to penetrate and surround them all.

She presents harrowing images of the agony in the garden:

Alas this small cavern appeared to contain the awful picture of all the sings which had been or were to be committed since the Fall of Adam. He fell on His face, overwhelmed with unspeakable sorrow, and all the sins of the world displayed themselves before him, under countless forms and in all their real deformity. He took them all upon Himself. He heard “takest though even this sin upon thyself? Art thou willing to bear its penality? Art thou prepared to satisfy for all these sins?”

She then saw a long ray of light as Angels in a long procession came to Jesus and strengthened Him.

The Passion reveals the Sacred Heart. Not only because it was physically torn open after His death, but also because of the unfathomable depth of mercy and compassion.

Our devotions, during this month of June, are best served if we seek to

1) Console the suffering saviour. We do this in periods of adoration and prayer. I find having an image of the face on the shroud of Turin a very real reminder of the love and infinite mercy God has for us.

2) Pray for reparation. There are so many sins, blasphemies against the love and mercy of God. Our Blessed Mother warned the children at Fatima to pray for reparation and to pray the rosary for sinners.

3) We console the sacred heart the most, when we unite our sufferings to His, not because we want anything, but rather like Veronica, we wish to wipe His Holy Face.

4) Spend time in adoration. I recommend adoration to most, if not all of my clients. I urge them to sit in silence. They experience tremendous graces and even healings.

In a world filled with such hardness and cruelty, our spending time simply

consoling Jesus is very important. Do we console His sacred heart, and by extension that of our Lady or do we pridefully doubt His mercy.

Devotions we can do this month:

1 ) spend more time in adoration

2) Pray the 15 decades of the rosary every day, to aid the sorrowful heart of Mary

3)Read the works of Anne Catherine Emmerich and Mary of Agreda on the sacred heart of Jesus

4)Refuse to fly, support or display the blasphemous pride flag.

In one of my workplaces I returned to see pride flags decorating my office, I took them down and bringing them to my coworker, I took out a pocket knife and shredded them in peices explaining my displeasure. Use your voice, do not give in as that would further wound our Lord’s sacred heart. I never saw any more pride flags in our office after that!