The Immaculate Heart [of Mary]
August Devotion: The Immaculate Heart
Since the 16th century Catholic piety has assigned entire months to special devotions. The month of August is traditionally dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The physical heart of Mary is venerated (and not adored as the Sacred Heart of Jesus is) because it is united to her person: and as the seat of her love (especially for her divine Son), virtue, and inner life. Such devotion is an incentive to a similar love and virtue. This devotion has received new emphasis in this century from the visions given to Lucy Dos Santos, oldest of the visionaries of Fatima, in her convent in Tuy, in Spain, in 1925 and 1926. In the visions Our Lady asked for the practice of the Five First Saturdays to help make amends for the offenses given to her heart by the blasphemies and ingratitude of men. The practice parallels the devotion of the Nine First Fridays in honor of the Sacred Heart.
On October 31, 1942, Pope Pius XII made a solemn Act of Consecration of the Church and the whole world to the Immaculate Heart. Let us remember this devotion year-round, but particularly through the month of August.
INVOCATIONS
O heart most pure of the Blessed Virgin Mary, obtain for me from Jesus a pure and humble heart.
Sweet heart of Mary, be my salvation.
ACT OF CONSECRATION
Queen of the most holy Rosary, help of Christians, refuge of the human race, victorious in all the battles of God, we prostrate ourselves in supplication before thy throne, in the sure hope of obtaining mercy and of receiving grace and timely aid in our present calamities, not through any merits of our own, on which we do not rely, but only through the immense goodness of thy mother's heart. In thee and in thy Immaculate Heart, at this grave hour of human history, do we put our trust; to thee we consecrate ourselves, not only with all of Holy Church, which is the mystical body of thy Son Jesus, and which is suffering in so many of her members, being subjected to manifold tribulations and persecutions, but also with the whole world, torn by discords, agitated with hatred, the victim of its own iniquities. Be thou moved by the sight of such material and moral degradation, such sorrows, such anguish, so many tormented souls in danger of eternal loss! Do thou, O Mother of mercy, obtain for us from God a Christ-like reconciliation of the nations, as well as those graces which can convert the souls of men in an instant, those graces which prepare the way and make certain the long desired coming of peace on earth. O Queen of peace, pray for us, and grant peace unto the world in the truth, the justice, and the charity of Christ.
Above all, give us peace in our hearts, so that the kingdom of God may spread its borders in the tranquillity of order. Accord thy protection to unbelievers and to all those who lie within the shadow of death; cause the Sun of Truth to rise upon them; may they be enabled to join with us in repeating before the Savior of the world: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men of good will."
Give peace to the nations that are separated from us by error or discord, and in a special manner to those peoples who profess a singular devotion toward thee; bring them back to Christ's one fold, under the one true Shepherd. Obtain full freedom for the holy Church of God; defend her from her enemies; check the ever-increasing torrent of immorality; arouse in the faithful a love of purity, a practical Christian life, and an apostolic zeal, so that the multitude of those who serve God may increase in merit and in number.
Finally, even as the Church and all mankind were once consecrated to the Heart of thy Son Jesus, because He was for all those who put their hope in Him an inexhaustible source of victory and salvation, so in like manner do we consecrate ourselves forever to thee also and to thy Immaculate Heart, O Mother of us and Queen of the world; may thy love and patronage hasten the day when the kingdom of God shall be victorious and all the nations, at peace with God .and with one another, shall call thee blessed and intone with thee, from the rising of the sun to its going down, the everlasting "Magnificat" of glory, of love, of gratitude to the Heart of Jesus, in which alone we can find truth, life, and peace. — Pope Pius XII
IN HONOR OF THE IMMACULATE HEART
O heart of Mary, mother of God, and our mother; heart most worthy of love, in which the adorable Trinity is ever well-pleased, worthy of the veneration and love of all the angels and of all men; heart most like to the Heart of Jesus, of which thou art the perfect image; heart, full of goodness, ever compassionate toward our miseries; deign to melt our icy hearts and grant that they may be wholly changed into the likeness of the Heart of Jesus, our divine Savior. Pour into them the love of thy virtues, enkindle in them that divine fire with which thou thyself dost ever burn. In thee let Holy Church find a safe shelter; protect her and be her dearest refuge, her tower of strength, impregnable against every assault of her enemies. Be thou the way which leads to Jesus, and the channel, through which we receive all the graces needful for our salvation. Be our refuge in time of trouble, our solace in the midst of trial, our strength against temptation, our haven in persecution, our present help in every danger, and especially) at the hour of death, when all hell shall let loose against u its legions to snatch away our souls, at that dread moment; that hour so full of fear, whereon our eternity depends. An,; then most tender virgin, make us to feel the sweetness of thy motherly heart, and the might of thine intercession with Jesus, and open to us a safe refuge in that very fountain of mercy, whence we may come to praise Him with thee in paradise, world without end. Amen.
Prayer Source: Prayer Book, The by Reverend John P. O'Connell, M.A., S.T.D. and Jex Martin, M.A., The Catholic Press, Inc., Chicago, Illinois, 1954
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Sacred Heart Of Jesus
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Immaculate Heart of Mary
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The History of Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary (Catholic Caucus)
Homilies preached by Father Robert Altier on the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary
Marian Associations Unite to Celebrate Immaculate Heart
Solemnity Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and Immaculate Heart of Mary
FEAST OF THE IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY, AUGUST 22ND
Devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary
From: Leviticus 23:1, 4-11, 15-16, 27, 34b-37
Celebration of the Sabbath
[1] The Lord said to Moses, [4] “These are the appointed feasts of the Lord,
the holy convocations, which you shall proclaim at the time appointed for
them.”
Celebration of the Passover and the Feast of the Unleavened Bread
[5] “In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month in the evening,
is the Lord’s passover. [6] And on the fifteenth day of the same month is
the feast of unleavened bread to the Lord; seven days you shall eat
unleavened bread. [7] 0n the first day you shall have a holy convocation;
you shall do no laborious work. [8] But you shall present an offering by
fire to the Lord seven days; on the seventh day is a holy convocation; you
shall do no laborious work.”
Celebration of the First Fruits
[9] And the Lord said to Moses, [10] “Say to the people of Israel, When you
come into the land which I give you and reap its harvest, you shall bring
the sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest to the priest; [11] and he
shall wave the sheaf before the Lord, that you may find acceptance; on the
morrow after the sabbath the priest shall wave it.”
Celebration of the Feast of Weeks
[15] “And you shall count from the morrow after the sabbath, from the day
that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven full weeks shall they
be, [16] counting fifty days to the morrow after the seventh sabbath; then
you shall present a cereal offering of new grain to the Lord.”
Celebration of the Day of Atonement
[27] “On the tenth day of this seventh month is the day of atonement; it
shall be for you a time of holy convocation, and you shall afflict
yourselves and present an offering by fire to the Lord.”
Celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles
[34b] “On the fifteenth day of this seventh month and for seven days is the
feast of booths to the Lord. [35] On the first day shall be a holy
convocation; you shall do no laborious work. [36] Seven days you shall
present offerings by fire to the Lord; on the eighth day you shall hold a
holy convocation and present an offering by fire to the LORD; it is a solemn
assembly; you shall do no laborious work.”
[37] “These are the appointed feasts of the Lord, which you shall proclaim
as times of holy convocation, for presenting to the Lord offerings by fire,
burnt offerings and cereal offerings, sacrifices and drink offerings, each
on its proper day.”
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Commentary:
23:1-4. Some of the feats mentioned in this calendar are also to be found in
other books (cf. Ex 23:14-19; 34:18-26; Deut 16:1). It deals first with the
sabbath, which becomes the paradigm for all the other feasts, especially as
far as rest is concerned. Such importance was given to what could or could
not be done on the sabbath that all sorts of absurd and formalistic
exaggerations developed. More than once Jesus criticized the severe
interpretations devised by the scribes—a complicated and intolerable
casuistry (cf. Mt 15:1-9; 23:41 Acts 15:10).
23:5-8. The Passover is also dealt with in Exodus 12:1-14:21-28 and 13:3-10.
The first month was called Nisan; earlier on it was called Abib, “spring” or
“ears (of grain)”. The feast began at sundown. Here it is depicted as a
preparation for the feast of the unleavened bread, which began the following
day, 15 Nisan, and lasted seven days, during which bread was eaten
unleavened. The religious assembly took place on the first day and the last.
During these assemblies various sacrifices were offered and a sacred meal
took place. We recall that it was during this feast that Jesus instituted
the Eucharist, doing so in the context of the passover supper. And it was
during the Passover that Jesus was sacrificed on the altar of the cross. St
John tells us that the sacrifice of Christ began at the sixth hour on the
day of Preparation, the exact time that the passover lambs were sacrificed.
This makes the beginning of a new Passover, in which a new victim is
sacrificed, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (cf. Jn
1:29, 36; 19:14).
23:9-14. The feast of the first fruits, although the date is not a fixed
one, is connected with the Passover. In the Jordan valley grain was already
ripe for harvest by this time (cf. Num 28:26-31). The offering of first
fruits is based on the conviction that everything comes from God. In
recognition of that divine sovereignty the first sheaf to ripen was offered
in sacrifice—a tradition which developed to the point that no one could eat
the crop without first making this offering to God. The “morrow” after the
sabbath was thought by some to have been the first sabbath after 14 Nisan.
Other scholars think that the sabbath was 15 Nisan and then the offering of
the first fruits took place on 16 Nisan. The “morrow” was the base day for
reckoning the start of feast of Pentecost, seven weeks later. The offering
of the first sheaves was accompanied by the sacrifice of a year-old lamb and
two tenths of an ephah of flour (cf. the note on Ex 29:38-46) that is,
approximately 4.2 liters, and a quarter of a hin of wine (approximately one
litre or two pints).
23:15-22. This feast, too, has elements connected with the grain harvest.
Later on it became linked with the giving the Law at Sinai. It was called
Pentecost because it came fifty days after Passover. In Hebrew it was called
Aseret, the “great convocation” or assembly. Another name for it is the
feast of Weeks (a reference to the seven weeks which had passed since the
Passover). The offering of the loaves of bread made from the first sheaf
expressed thanksgiving and joy for the harvest recently completed. The
various sacrifices were offered as a sign of repentance for and as an act of
adoration for the greatness of God who had blessed the work of his people.
From a Christian point of view, it is interesting that it was on the feast
of Pentecost that the Holy Spirit came down on the apostles. For one thing,
that Pentecost marked the start of a new stage with another Law, a much more
perfect one, written not on stones but in the depths of men’s hearts (cf. 2
Cor 3:3). For another, because it also seems significant that it was at the
moment when the fruits of the earth were being harvested that the Church
should receive the most precious fruit of Christ’s death on the cross, the
strength of the Spirit who purifies and sanctities men with his divine
grace.
23:23-44. In the Bible the number seven had a sacred character; symbolizing
in some way the perfection of God. Therefore the seventh month, as also the
seventh year, had special significance in Israel. Thus, in the seventh month
(in Hebrew, Tishre) three feasts were held. The first was the feast of
Trumpets, which took place on the seventh day. It began with the sounding
of trumpets; hence its name. Trumpets were also used to greet the appearance
of the new moon. These details probably reflect traces of astral cults;
however, by becoming incorporated into the liturgy, they became purified and
raised to a new plane, to express at different times and different ways a
deep feeling of attachment to the Creator of heaven and earth.
On the tenth of the same month the day of atonement was celebrated—Yom
Kippur. It was a day of penance and expiation. It began at sundown, with the
start of the sabbath rest. The grave penalties imposed for transgressions
show the importance this day had, and still has today, in Jewish liturgy.
The other great feast is that of Tabernacles, celebrated over seven days,
beginning on 15 Tisre. In the Code of the Covenant it is called the feast of
ingathering (cf. Ex 23:16). The last of the harvest was saved around this
time, particularly the grape harvest. The feast marked the close of the
agricultural year; it was a most joyful least. It was also regarded as
preparation for the new period which would start immediately with the new
sowing. Prayers were offered for early rains, which were so crucial to
starting the work. This was why the rite of water was so much to the fore.
Water was borne in procession from the pool of Siloe and then poured round
the altar of the temple. In Jesus’ time a bunch of myrtle and acacia
branches (from trees growing on the river bank) was shaken during the
procession, thereby invoking the divine blessing of rain. In the times of
Ezra and Nehemiah. in the middle of the 5th century BC, huts made from
branches of trees were set up on the terfaces of houses or in the
countryside, and the people camped in them over the days of the feast, in
memory of the pilgrimage of the people of Israel in the desert, when they
lived in tents. This custom still survives in the Jewish religion.
The Gospel of St John has much to say about this feast and about Jesus’
activity in connection with it (cf. Jn 7:2ff), including the, important
revelations our Lord made apropos of its rites: it was on this feast that
Jesus proclaimed that from his heart rivers of living water would flow, a
reference to “the Spirit, which those who believed in him were to receive”
(Jn 7:39).
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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.
