Daytime Prayer

INTRODUCTION

God, + come to my assistance.
– Lord, make haste to help me.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
– as it was in the beginning, is now, will be for ever. Amen. Alleluia.

MIDMORNING

HYMN

Breathe on me, breath of God,
Fill me with life anew,
That I may love the things you love,
And do what you would do.

Breathe on me, breath of God,
Until my heart is pure,
Until with you I have one will,
To live and to endure.

Breathe on me, breath of God,
My soul with grace refine,
Until this earthly part of me
Glows with your fire divine.

Breathe on me, breath of God,
So I shall never die,
But live with you the perfect life
In your eternity.

Melody: Yattendon 64.66.86
Music: H. E. Woodbridge, 1845-1917
Text: Edwin Hatch, 1835-1889, adapted by Anthony G. Petti

Ant. My people, what have I done to you; how have I offended you? Answer me.

Psalm 120
Longing for peace

Be patient in suffering; persevere in prayer (Romans 12:12).

To the Lord in the hour of my distress *
I call and he answers me.
“O Lord, save my soul from lying lips, *
from the tongue of the deceitful.”

What shall he pay you in return, *
O treacherous tongue?
The warrior’s arrow sharpened *
and coals, red-hot, blazing.

Alas, that I abide a stranger in Meshech, *
dwell among the tents of Kedar!

Long enough have I been dwelling *
with those who hate peace.
I am for peace, but when I speak, *
they are for fighting.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.

Psalm Prayer

You declared peacemakers happy, Lord Jesus, since they will be called sons of God. Give us that peace which the world cannot give so that your Church may be freed from the schemes of arrogant men, and, devoted to works of peace, go forward joyfully to meet you, the King of Peace.

Psalm 121
Guardian of his people

Never again will they hunger and thirst, never again know scorching heat (Revelation 7:16).

I lift up my eyes to the mountains; *
from where shall come my help?
My help shall come from the Lord *
who made heaven and earth.

May he never allow you to stumble! *
Let him sleep not, your guard.
No, he sleeps not nor slumbers, *
Israel’s guard.

The Lord is your guard and your shade; *
at your right side he stands.
By day the sun shall not smite you *
nor the moon in the night.

The Lord will guard you from evil, *
he will guard your soul.
The Lord will guard your going and coming *
both now and for ever.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.

Psalm Prayer

Lord Jesus Christ, you have prepared a quiet place for us in your Father’s eternal home. Watch over our welfare on this perilous journey, shade us from the burning heat of day, and keep our lives free of evil until the end.

Psalm 122
Holy city Jerusalem

You have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, heavenly Jerusalem (Hebrews 12:22).

I rejoiced when I heard them say: *
“Let us go to God’s house.”
And now our feet are standing *
within your gates, O Jerusalem.

Jerusalem is built as a city *
strongly compact.
It is there that the tribes go up, *
the tribes of the Lord.

For Israel’s law it is, *
there to praise the Lord’s name.
There were set the thrones of judgment *
of the house of David.

For the peace of Jerusalem pray: *
“Peace be to your homes!
May peace reign in your walls, *
in your palaces, peace!”

For love of my family and friends *
I say: “Peace upon you.”
For love of the house of the Lord *
I will ask for your good.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.

Psalm Prayer

When you rose from the dead, Lord Jesus, you formed the Church into your new body, and made of it the new Jerusalem, united in your Spirit. Give us peace in our day. Make all nations come to your Church to share in your gifts in fellowship, that they may render you thanks without end and come to your eternal city.

Ant. My people, what have I done to you; how have I offended you? Answer me.

READING
Jeremiah 31:2-4a

Thus says the Lord:
The people that escaped the sword
have found favor in the desert.
As Israel comes forward to be given his rest,
the Lord appears to him from afar:
With age-old love I have loved you;
so I have kept my mercy toward you.
Again I will restore you, and you shall be rebuilt.

With joy you will draw water.
– You will drink from the springs of salvation.

CONCLUDING PRAYER

Let us pray.

Father,
we rejoice in the gifts of love
we have received from the heart of Jesus your Son.
Open our hearts to share his life
and continue to bless us with his love.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
– Amen.

Or:

Grant, we pray, almighty God,
that we, who glory in the Heart of your beloved Son
and recall the wonders of his love for us,
may be made worthy to receive
an overflowing measure of grace
from that fount of heavenly gifts.
Through Christ our Lord.
– Amen.

Or:

O God, who in the Heart of your Son,
wounded by our sins,
bestow on us in mercy
the boundless treasures of your love,
grant, we pray,
that, in paying him the homage of our devotion,
we may also offer worthy reparation.
Through Christ our Lord.
– Amen.

ACCLAMATION

Let us praise the Lord.
– And give him thanks.

MIDDAY

HYMN

Almighty Ruler, God of truth,
Who guide and master all,
The rays with which you gild the dawn
With noonday heat now fall.

O quench the fires of hatred, Lord,
Of anger and of strife;
Bring health to every mind and heart
That peace may enter life.

Most holy Father, grant our prayer
Through Christ your only Son,
That in your Spirit we may live
And praise you ever one.

Melody: Ballerma C.M.
Music: F. Barthelemon, 1774-1808
Text: Ralph Wright, O.S.B.

Ant. My heart is broken within me; all my bones tremble with fear.

Psalm 123
The Lord, unfailing hope of his people

Two blind men cried out: “Have pity on us, Lord, Son of David” (Matthew 20:30).

To you have I lifted up my eyes, *
you who dwell in the heavens:
my eyes, like the eyes of slaves *
on the hand of their lords.

Like the eyes of a servant *
on the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes are on the Lord our God *
till he show us his mercy.

Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy. †
We are filled with contempt. *
Indeed all too full in our soul
with the scorn of the rich, *
with the proud man’s disdain.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.

Psalm Prayer

Father in heaven, we lift our eyes to you and pray: confound the scorn of the proud and graciously show us your mercy.

Psalm 124
Our help is in the name of the Lord

The Lord said to Paul: “Fear not ... I am with you” (Acts 18:9-10).

“If the Lord had not been on our side,” *
this is Israel’s song.
“If the Lord had not been on our side *
when men rose against us,
then would they have swallowed us alive *
when their anger was kindled.

Then would the waters have engulfed us, *
the torrent gone over us;
over our head would have swept *
the raging waters.”

Blessed be the Lord who did not give us *
a prey to their teeth!
Our life, like a bird, has escaped *
from the snare of the fowler.

Indeed the snare has been broken *
and we have escaped.
Our help is in the name of the Lord, *
who made heaven and earth.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.

Psalm Prayer

Lord Jesus, you foretold that your disciples would be despised on account of your name, but that not a hair of their heads is ever forgotten. In times of persecution, defend and revive us by the power and comfort of the Holy Spirit, so that we can be freed from our enemies and praise your saving help.

Psalm 125
The Lord, guardian of his people

Peace to God’s true Israel (Galatians 6:16).

Those who put their trust in the Lord †
are like Mount Zion, that cannot be shaken, *
that stands for ever.

Jerusalem! The mountains surround her, †
so the Lord surrounds his people *
both now and for ever.

For the scepter of the wicked shall not rest *
over the land of the just
for fear that the hands of the just *
should turn to evil.

Do good, Lord, to those who are good, *
to the upright of heart;
but the crooked and those who do evil, *
drive them away!

On Israel, peace!

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.

Psalm Prayer

Surround your people, Lord, within the safety of your Church, which you preserve on its rock foundation. Do not let us stretch out our hands to evil deeds, nor be destroyed by the insidious snares of the enemy, but bring us to share the lot of the saints in light.

Ant. My heart is broken within me; all my bones tremble with fear.

READING
Jeremiah 32:40

I will make with them an eternal covenant, never to cease doing good to them; into their hearts I will put the fear of me, that they may never depart from me.

I looked for one to grieve with me, but there was none.
– I sought someone to comfort me, but I found none.

CONCLUDING PRAYER

Let us pray.

Father,
we rejoice in the gifts of love
we have received from the heart of Jesus your Son.
Open our hearts to share his life
and continue to bless us with his love.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
– Amen.

Or:

Grant, we pray, almighty God,
that we, who glory in the Heart of your beloved Son
and recall the wonders of his love for us,
may be made worthy to receive
an overflowing measure of grace
from that fount of heavenly gifts.
Through Christ our Lord.
– Amen.

Or:

O God, who in the Heart of your Son,
wounded by our sins,
bestow on us in mercy
the boundless treasures of your love,
grant, we pray,
that, in paying him the homage of our devotion,
we may also offer worthy reparation.
Through Christ our Lord.
– Amen.

ACCLAMATION

Let us praise the Lord.
– And give him thanks.

MIDAFTERNOON

HYMN

Lord God and Maker of all things,
Creation is upheld by you.
While all must change and know decay,
You are unchanging, always new.

You are man’s solace and his shield
His rock secure on which to build;
You are the spirit’s tranquil home;
In you alone is hope fulfilled.

To God the Father, and the Son
And Holy Spirit render praise,
Blest Trinity, from age to age
The strength of all our living days.

Melody: Auctoritate Saeculi L.M.
Music: Poitiers Antiphoner, 1746
Text: © Stanbrook Abbey, used with permission.

Ant. One of the soldiers pierced the side of Jesus with a lance, and immediately blood and water flowed out.

Psalm 126
Joyful hope in God

Just as you share in sufferings so you will share in the divine glory (2 Corinthians 1:7).

When the Lord delivered Zion from bondage, *
it seemed like a dream.
Then was our mouth filled with laughter, *
on our lips there were songs.

The heathens themselves said: “What marvels *
the Lord worked for them!”
What marvels the Lord worked for us! *
Indeed we were glad.

Deliver us, O Lord, from our bondage *
as streams in dry land.
Those who are sowing in tears *
will sing when they reap.

They go out, they go out, full of tears, *
carrying seed for the sowing;
they come back, they come back, full of song, *
carrying their sheaves.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.

Psalm Prayer

Lord, you have raised us from the earth; may you let the seeds of justice, which we have sown in tears, grow and increase in your sight. May we reap in joy the harvest we hope for patiently.

Psalm 127
Apart from God our labors are worthless

You are God’s building (1 Corinthians 3:9).

If the Lord does not build the house, *
in vain do its builders labor;
if the Lord does not watch over the city, *
in vain do the watchers keep vigil.

In vain is your earlier rising, *
your going later to rest,
you who toil for the bread you eat: *
when he pours gifts on his beloved while they slumber.

Truly sons are a gift from the Lord, *
a blessing, the fruit of the womb.
Indeed the sons of youth *
are like arrows in the hand of a warrior.

O the happiness of the man *
who has filled his quiver with these arrows!
He will have no cause for shame *
when he disputes with his foes in the gateways.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.

Psalm Prayer

You command the seed to rise, Lord God, though the farmer is unaware. Grant that those who labor for you may trust not in their own work but in your help. Remembering that the land is brought to flower not with human tears but with those of your Son, may the Church rely only upon your gifts.

Psalm 128
Happiness of family life rooted in God

“May the Lord bless you from Zion” refers to the Church (Arnobius).

O blessed are you those fear the Lord *
and walk in his ways!

By the labor of your hands you shall eat. *
You will be happy and prosper;
your wife like a fruitful vine *
in the heart of your house;
your children like shoots of the olive, *
around your table.

Indeed thus shall be blessed *
the man who fears the Lord.
May the Lord bless you from Zion *
all the days of your life!
May you see your children’s children *
in a happy Jerusalem!

On Israel, peace!

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.

Psalm Prayer

Give lasting happiness, Lord, to those who reverence your name, so that our life and work may be such as to deserve your commendation, and bring us, laden with good fruit, to our everlasting home.

Ant. One of the soldiers pierced the side of Jesus with a lance, and immediately blood and water flowed out.

READING
Romans 5:8-9

God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us. How much more then, since we are now justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from the wrath of God.

He was pierced through for our offenses.
– By his wounds we are healed.

CONCLUDING PRAYER

Let us pray.

Father,
we rejoice in the gifts of love
we have received from the heart of Jesus your Son.
Open our hearts to share his life
and continue to bless us with his love.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
– Amen.

Or:

Grant, we pray, almighty God,
that we, who glory in the Heart of your beloved Son
and recall the wonders of his love for us,
may be made worthy to receive
an overflowing measure of grace
from that fount of heavenly gifts.
Through Christ our Lord.
– Amen.

Or:

O God, who in the Heart of your Son,
wounded by our sins,
bestow on us in mercy
the boundless treasures of your love,
grant, we pray,
that, in paying him the homage of our devotion,
we may also offer worthy reparation.
Through Christ our Lord.
– Amen.

ACCLAMATION

Let us praise the Lord.
– And give him thanks.

In the Congregation of Jesus and Mary, the following is used instead:

INTRODUCTION

God, + come to my assistance.
– Lord, make haste to help me.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
– as it was in the beginning, is now, will be for ever. Amen. Alleluia.

MIDMORNING

HYMN

Breathe on me, breath of God,
Fill me with life anew,
That I may love the things you love,
And do what you would do.

Breathe on me, breath of God,
Until my heart is pure,
Until with you I have one will,
To live and to endure.

Breathe on me, breath of God,
My soul with grace refine,
Until this earthly part of me
Glows with your fire divine.

Breathe on me, breath of God,
So I shall never die,
But live with you the perfect life
In your eternity.

Melody: Yattendon 64.66.86
Music: H. E. Woodbridge, 1845-1917
Text: Edwin Hatch, 1835-1889 adapted by Anthony G. Petti

Ant. He gave us his flesh as food and his blood as drink, ransom and bath, because of his great love for us.

Psalm 120
Longing for peace

Be patient in suffering; persevere in prayer (Romans 12:12).

To the Lord in the hour of my distress *
I call and he answers me.
“O Lord, save my soul from lying lips, *
from the tongue of the deceitful.”

What shall he pay you in return, *
O treacherous tongue?
The warrior’s arrow sharpened *
and coals, red-hot, blazing.

Alas, that I abide a stranger in Meshech, *
dwell among the tents of Kedar!

Long enough have I been dwelling *
with those who hate peace.
I am for peace, but when I speak, *
they are for fighting.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.

Psalm Prayer

You declared peacemakers happy, Lord Jesus, since they will be called sons of God. Give us that peace which the world cannot give so that your Church may be freed from the schemes of arrogant men, and, devoted to works of peace, go forward joyfully to meet you, the King of Peace.

Psalm 121
Guardian of his people

Never again will they hunger and thirst, never again know scorching heat (Revelation 7:16).

I lift up my eyes to the mountains; *
from where shall come my help?
My help shall come from the Lord *
who made heaven and earth.

May he never allow you to stumble! *
Let him sleep not, your guard.
No, he sleeps not nor slumbers, *
Israel’s guard.

The Lord is your guard and your shade; *
at your right side he stands.
By day the sun shall not smite you *
nor the moon in the night.

The Lord will guard you from evil, *
he will guard your soul.
The Lord will guard your going and coming *
both now and for ever.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.

Psalm Prayer

Lord Jesus Christ, you have prepared a quiet place for us in your Father’s eternal home. Watch over our welfare on this perilous journey, shade us from the burning heat of day, and keep our lives free of evil until the end.

Psalm 122
Holy city Jerusalem

You have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, heavenly Jerusalem (Hebrews 12:22).

I rejoiced when I heard them say: *
“Let us go to God’s house.”
And now our feet are standing *
within your gates, O Jerusalem.

Jerusalem is built as a city *
strongly compact.
It is there that the tribes go up, *
the tribes of the Lord.

For Israel’s law it is, *
there to praise the Lord’s name.
There were set the thrones of judgment *
of the house of David.

For the peace of Jerusalem pray: *
“Peace be to your homes!
May peace reign in your walls, *
in your palaces, peace!”

For love of my family and friends *
I say: “Peace upon you.”
For love of the house of the Lord *
I will ask for your good.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.

Psalm Prayer

When you rose from the dead, Lord Jesus, you formed the Church into your new body, and made of it the new Jerusalem, united in your Spirit. Give us peace in our day. Make all nations come to your Church to share in your gifts in fellowship, that they may render you thanks without end and come to your eternal city.

Ant. He gave us his flesh as food and his blood as drink, ransom and bath, because of his great love for us.

READING
Romans 8:31b-35a

If God is for us, who can be against us? Is it possible that he who did not spare his own Son but handed him over for the sake of us all will not grant us all things besides? Who shall bring a charge against God’s chosen ones? God, who justifies? Who shall condemn them? Christ Jesus, who died or rather was raised up, who is at the right hand of God and who intercedes for us? Who will separate us from the love of Christ?

My heart is ready, O God, my heart is ready.
– I will sing, I will sing your praise.

CONCLUDING PRAYER

Let us pray.

God, Father of mercies,
with ineffable goodness you gave us the loving Heart of your Son.
Grant, we pray,
that our hearts be united as one with the Heart of Jesus to love you perfectly.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
– Amen.

ACCLAMATION

Let us praise the Lord.
– And give him thanks.

MIDDAY

HYMN

Almighty Ruler, God of truth,
Who guide and master all,
The rays with which you gild the dawn
With noonday heat now fall.

O quench the fires of hatred, Lord,
Of anger and of strife;
Bring health to every mind and heart
That peace may enter life.

Most holy Father, grant our prayer
Through Christ your only Son,
That in your Spirit we may live
And praise you ever one.

Melody: Ballerma C.M.
Music: F. Barthelemon, 1774-1808
Text: Ralph Wright, O.S.B.

Ant. Do not be afraid, little children—even if a mother could forget her child, I would never forget you.

Psalm 123
The Lord, unfailing hope of his people

Two blind men cried out: “Have pity on us, Lord, Son of David” (Matthew 20:30).

To you have I lifted up my eyes, *
you who dwell in the heavens:
my eyes, like the eyes of slaves *
on the hand of their lords.

Like the eyes of a servant *
on the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes are on the Lord our God *
till he show us his mercy.

Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy. †
We are filled with contempt. *
Indeed all too full in our soul
with the scorn of the rich, *
the proud man’s disdain.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.

Psalm Prayer

Father in heaven, we lift our eyes to you and pray: confound the scorn of the proud and graciously show us your mercy.

Psalm 124
Our help is in the name of the Lord

The Lord said to Paul: “Fear not ... I am with you” (Acts 18:9-10).

“If the Lord had not been on our side,” *
this is Israel’s song.
“If the Lord had not been on our side *
when men rose against us,
then would they have swallowed us alive *
when their anger was kindled.

Then would the waters have engulfed us, *
the torrent gone over us;
over our head would have swept *
the raging waters.”

Blessed be the Lord who did not give us *
a prey to their teeth!
Our life, like a bird, has escaped *
from the snare of the fowler.

Indeed the snare has been broken *
and we have escaped.
Our help is in the name of the Lord, *
who made heaven and earth.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.

Psalm Prayer

Lord Jesus, you foretold that your disciples would be despised on account of your name, but that not a hair of their heads is ever forgotten. In times of persecution, defend and revive us by the power and comfort of the Holy Spirit, so that we can be freed from our enemies and praise your saving help.

Psalm 125
The Lord, guardian of his people

Peace to God’s true Israel (Galatians 6:16).

Those who put their trust in the Lord †
are like Mount Zion, that cannot be shaken, *
that stands for ever.

Jerusalem! The mountains surround her, †
so the Lord surrounds his people *
both now and for ever.

For the scepter of the wicked shall not rest *
over the land of the just
for fear that the hands of the just *
should turn to evil.

Do good, Lord, to those who are good, *
to the upright of heart;
but the crooked and those who do evil, *
drive them away!

On Israel, peace!

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.

Psalm Prayer

Surround your people, Lord, within the safety of your Church, which you preserve on its rock foundation. Do not let us stretch out our hands to evil deeds, nor be destroyed by the insidious snares of the enemy, but bring us to share the lot of the saints in light.

Ant. Do not be afraid, little children—even if a mother could forget her child, I would never forget you.

READING
Hosea 11:3-4

Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk, who took them in my arms; I drew them with human cords, with bands of love; I fostered them like one who raises an infant to his cheeks; yet, though I stooped to feed my child, they did not know that I was their healer.

He rejoiced like a champion to run his course.
– And nothing can escape the warmth of his love.

CONCLUDING PRAYER

Let us pray.

God, Father of mercies,
with ineffable goodness you gave us the loving Heart of your Son.
Grant, we pray,
that our hearts be united as one with the Heart of Jesus to love you perfectly.
We asks this through Christ our Lord.
– Amen.

ACCLAMATION

Let us praise the Lord.
– And give him thanks.

MIDAFTERNOON

HYMN

Lord God and Maker of all things,
Creation is upheld by you.
While all must change and know decay,
You are unchanging, always new.

You are man’s solace and his shield
His rock secure on which to build;
You are the spirit’s tranquil home;
In You alone is hope fulfilled.

To God the Father, and the Son
And Holy Spirit render praise,
Blest Trinity, from age to age
The strength of all our living days.

Melody: Auctoritate Saeculi L.M.
Music: Poitiers Antiphoner, 1746
Text: © Stanbrook Abbey, used with permission.

Ant. Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, that they may be one in us.

Psalm 126
Joyful hope in God

Just as you share in sufferings so you will share in the divine glory (2 Corinthians 1:7).

When the Lord delivered Zion from bondage, *
it seemed like a dream.
Then was our mouth filled with laughter, *
on our lips there were songs.

The heathens themselves said: “What marvels *
the Lord worked for them!”
What marvels the Lord worked for us! *
Indeed we were glad.

Deliver us, O Lord, from our bondage *
as streams in dry land.
Those who are sowing in tears *
will sing when they reap.

They go out, they go out, full of tears, *
carrying seed for the sowing;
they come back, they come back, full of song, *
carrying their sheaves.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.

Psalm Prayer

Lord, you have raised us from the earth; may you let the seeds of justice, which we have sown in tears, grow and increase in your sight. May we reap in joy the harvest we hope for patiently.

Psalm 127
Apart from God our labors are worthless

You are God’s building (1 Corinthians 3:9).

If the Lord does not build the house, *
in vain do its builders labor;
if the Lord does not watch over the city, *
in vain do the watchers keep vigil.

In vain is your earlier rising, *
your going later to rest,
you who toil for the bread you eat: *
when he pours gifts on his beloved while they slumber.

Truly sons are a gift from the Lord, *
a blessing, the fruit of the womb.
Indeed the sons of youth *
are like arrows in the hand of a warrior.

O the happiness of the man *
who has filled his quiver with these arrows!
He will have no cause for shame *
when he disputes with his foes in the gateways.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.

Psalm Prayer

You command the seed to rise, Lord God, though the farmer is unaware. Grant that those who labor for you may trust not in their own work but in your help. Remembering that the land is brought to flower not with human tears but with those of your Son, may the Church rely only upon your gifts.

Psalm 128
Happiness of family life rooted in God

“May the Lord bless you from Zion” refers to the Church (Arnobius).

O blessed are you those fear the Lord *
and walk in his ways!

By the labor of your hands you shall eat. *
You will be happy and prosper;
your wife like a fruitful vine *
in the heart of your house;
your children like shoots of the olive, *
around your table.

Indeed thus shall be blessed *
the man who fears the Lord.
May the Lord bless you from Zion *
all the days of your life!
May you see your children’s children *
in a happy Jerusalem!

On Israel, peace!

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.

Psalm Prayer

Give lasting happiness, Lord, to those who reverence your name, so that our life and work may be such as to deserve your commendation, and bring us, laden with good fruit, to our everlasting home.

Ant. Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, that they may be one in us.

READING
Ezekiel 36:24-25

For I will take you away from among the nations, gather you from all the foreign lands, and bring you back to your own land. I will sprinkle clean water upon you to cleanse you from all your impurities, and from all your idols I will cleanse you.

May he give you your heart’s desire.
– And fulfill every one of your plans.

CONCLUDING PRAYER

Let us pray.

God, Father of mercies,
with ineffable goodness you gave us the loving Heart of your Son.
Grant, we pray,
that our hearts be united as one with the Heart of Jesus to love you perfectly.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
– Amen.

ACCLAMATION

Let us praise the Lord.
– And give him thanks.

Vespers

In the Congregation of Jesus and Mary: The Office proper to the Congregation is given after the Office used in the universal Church

INTRODUCTION

God, + come to my assistance.
– Lord, make haste to help me.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
– as it was in the beginning, is now, will be for ever. Amen. Alleluia.

HYMN

Jesus, Creator of the world!
Of all mankind Redeemer blest!
True God of God in whom we see
The Father’s image clear expressed!

You, Savior, love alone constrained
To make our mortal flesh your own;
And as a second Adam come,
For the first Adam to atone.

That selfsame love that made the sky,
Which made the sea, and stars, and earth,
Took pity on our misery,
And broke the bondage of our birth.

O Jesus! in your Heart divine
May that same love forever flow,
Forever mercy to mankind
From that exhaustless fountain flow.

For this your Sacred Heart was pierced,
And both with blood and water ran;
To cleanse us from the stains of guilt,
And be the hope and strength of man.

Jesus, to you be glory giv’n,
Who from your Heart dost grace outpour,
With Father and with Holy Ghost,
Through endless ages evermore. Amen.

Melody: Rivaulx L.M. or Auctor beate saeculi, L.M.
Music: John Bacchus Dykes, 1866
Text: Anonymous, Auctor beate saeculi
Translation: © the Benedictines of Saint Cecilia’s Abbey, Ryde, UK. Used with permission.

PSALMODY

Ant. 1 Lord, rule in the midst of your enemies with your gentle yoke.

Psalm 110:1-5, 7
The Messiah, king and priest

Christ’s reign will last until all his enemies are made subject to him (1 Corinthians 15:25).

The Lord’s revelation to my Master: †
“Sit on my right: *
your foes I will put beneath your feet.”

The Lord will wield from Zion †
your scepter of power: *
rule in the midst of all your foes.

A prince from the day of your birth †
on the holy mountains; *
from the womb before the dawn I begot you.

The Lord has sworn an oath he will not change. †
“You are a priest for ever, *
a priest like Melchizedek of old.”

The Master standing at your right hand *
will shatter kings in the day of his great wrath.

He shall drink from the stream by the wayside *
and therefore he shall lift up his head.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.

Psalm Prayer

Father, we ask you to give us victory and peace. In Jesus Christ, our Lord and King, we are already seated at your right hand. We look forward to praising you in the fellowship of all your saints in our heavenly homeland.

Ant. Lord, rule in the midst of your enemies with your gentle yoke.

Ant. 2 The Lord is loving and merciful; he gives food to those who fear him.

Psalm 111
God’s marvelous works

We are lost in wonder at all that you have done for us, our Lord and mighty God (Revelation 15:3).

I will thank the Lord with all my heart *
in the meeting of the just and their assembly.
Great are the works of the Lord, *
to be pondered by all who love them.

Majestic and glorious his work, *
his justice stands firm for ever.
He makes us remember his wonders. *
The Lord is compassion and love.

He gives food to those who fear him; *
keeps his covenant ever in mind.
He has shown his might to his people *
by giving them the lands of the nations.

His works are justice and truth: *
his precepts are all of them sure,
standing firm for ever and ever: *
they are made in uprightness and truth.

He has sent deliverance to his people †
and established his covenant for ever. *
Holy his name, to be feared.

To fear the Lord is the first stage of wisdom; †
all who do so prove themselves wise. *
His praise shall last for ever!

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.

Psalm Prayer

Merciful and gentle Lord, you are the crowning glory of all the saints. Give us, your children, the gift of obedience which is the beginning of wisdom, so that we may do what you command and be filled with your mercy.

Ant. The Lord is loving and merciful; he gives food to those who fear him.

Ant. 3 This is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

Canticle: Philippians 2:6-11
Christ, God’s holy servant

Though he was in the form of God, †
Jesus did not deem equality with God *
something to be grasped at.

Rather, he emptied himself †
and took the form of a slave, *
being born in the likeness of men.

He was known to be of human estate, *
and it was thus that he humbled himself,
obediently accepting even death, *
death on a cross!

Because of this, *
God highly exalted him
and bestowed on him the name *
above every other name,

So that at Jesus’ name *
every knee must bend
in the heavens, on the earth, *
and under the earth,
and every tongue proclaim †
to the glory of God the Father: *
JESUS CHRIST IS LORD!

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.

Ant. This is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

READING
Ephesians 2:4-7

God is rich in mercy; because of his great love for us he brought us to life with Christ when we were dead in sin. By this favor you were saved. Both with and in Christ Jesus he raised us up and gave us a place in the heavens, that in the ages to come he might display the great wealth of his favor, manifested by his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.

RESPONSORY

Christ has loved us, and in his blood he has washed away our sins.
– Christ has loved us, and in his blood he has washed away our sins.

He has made us a kingdom and priests to serve God our Father.
– And in his blood he has washed away our sins.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
– Christ has loved us, and in his blood he has washed away our sins.

CANTICLE OF MARY

Ant. The Lord has lifted us up and drawn us to his heart, for he has remembered his promise of mercy, alleluia.

Luke 1:46-55
The soul rejoices in the Lord

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, †
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior *
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.

From this day all generations will call me blessed: †
the Almighty has done great things for me, *
and holy is his Name.

He has mercy on those who fear him *
in every generation.

He has shown the strength of his arm, *
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.

He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, *
and has lifted up the lowly.

He has filled the hungry with good things, *
and the rich he has sent away empty.

He has come to the help of his servant Israel *
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers, *
to Abraham and his children for ever.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.

Ant. The Lord has lifted us up and drawn us to his heart, for he has remembered his promise of mercy, alleluia.

INTERCESSIONS

Brethren, let us pray to the Lord Jesus, the refuge of our souls; let us ask him:
Most loving Lord, have mercy on us.

Jesus, whose heart when pierced by a lance poured forth blood and water and gave birth to your spouse the Church,
– cleanse and sanctify us.
Most loving Lord, have mercy on us.

Jesus, holy temple of God, slain by men and raised up again by the Father,
– make your Church the dwelling place of the Most High.
Most loving Lord, have mercy on us.

Jesus, King and center of all hearts, you love us and lead us to yourself with unending love and mercy,
– renew your covenant with all men.
Most loving Lord, have mercy on us.

Jesus, our peace and reconciliation, you unite all in the peace of the new creation and put enmity to death through the cross,
– show us the path to the Father.
Most loving Lord, have mercy on us.

Jesus, our life and resurrection, you refresh the burdened and give rest to the weary,
– draw all sinners to yourself.
Most loving Lord, have mercy on us.

Jesus, because you loved us with so great a love, you were obedient even to death on the cross,
– raise up again all who sleep in your peace.
Most loving Lord, have mercy on us.

THE LORD’S PRAYER

(Remember us, Lord, when you come into your kingdom, and teach us to pray: )

Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come;
thy will be done on earth
as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.

CONCLUDING PRAYER

Father,
we rejoice in the gifts of love
we have received from the heart of Jesus your Son.
Open our hearts to share his life
and continue to bless us with his love.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
– Amen.

Or:

Grant, we pray, almighty God,
that we, who glory in the Heart of your beloved Son
and recall the wonders of his love for us,
may be made worthy to receive
an overflowing measure of grace
from that fount of heavenly gifts.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
– Amen.

Or:

O God, who in the Heart of your Son,
wounded by our sins,
bestow on us in mercy
the boundless treasures of your love,
grant, we pray,
that, in paying him the homage of our devotion,
we may also offer worthy reparation.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
– Amen.

DISMISSAL

May the Lord + bless us,
protect us from all evil
and bring us to everlasting life.
– Amen.

In the Congregation of Jesus and Mary, the following Proper Office is said instead of the above:

INTRODUCTION

God, + come to my assistance.
– Lord, make haste to help me.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
– as it was in the beginning, is now, will be for ever. Amen. Alleluia.

HYMN

We sing the praise of Jesus’ Heart
With fire of ardent love aflame:
With joy we tell the boundless part
His love and gifts so rightly claim.

We marvel at His wondrous grace!
His Heart He gives with total love,
From bondage frees the human race
And pays our debts to heaven above.

Hail, priest of hearts and victim, hail!
Alone Thou equal art to God,
Most worthy Temple, holy Grail,
And altar, holiest to laud.

An altar flaming, all afire,
And always set for victims there;
Receive our hearts as victims, fire
And burn them in Thy heavenly flame.

O Love, of mercy sweet the Sire,
O Love, Redeemer of all men;
O Love, of God the grace and fire,
Forever and forever reign! Amen.

PSALMODY

Ant. 1. O admirable Heart of Jesus, which the Father made the dwelling of his love and glory, alleluia.

Psalm 110:1-5, 7
The Messiah, king and priest

Christ’s reign will last until all his enemies are made subject to him (1 Corinthians 15:25).

The Lord’s revelation to my Master: †
“Sit on my right: *
your foes I will put beneath your feet.”

The Lord will wield from Zion †
your scepter of power: *
rule in the midst of all your foes.

A prince from the day of your birth †
on the holy mountains; *
from the womb before the dawn I begot you.

The Lord has sworn an oath he will not change. †
“You are a priest for ever, *
a priest like Melchizedek of old.”

The Master standing at your right hand *
will shatter kings in the day of his great wrath.

He shall drink from the stream by the wayside *
and therefore he shall lift up his head.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.

Psalm Prayer

Father, we ask you to give us victory and peace. In Jesus Christ, our Lord and King, we are already seated at your right hand. We look forward to praising you in the fellowship of all your saints in our heavenly homeland.

Ant. O admirable Heart of Jesus, which the Father made the dwelling of his love and glory, alleluia.

Ant. 2 O incomparable love—while we were still sinners, he loved us and washed away our sins with his blood, alleluia.

Psalm 111
God’s marvelous works

We are lost in wonder at all that you have done for us, our Lord and mighty God (Revelation 15:3).

I will thank the Lord with all my heart *
in the meeting of the just and their assembly.
Great are the works of the Lord, *
to be pondered by all who love them.

Majestic and glorious his work, *
his justice stands firm for ever.
He makes us remember his wonders. *
The Lord is compassion and love.

He gives food to those who fear him; *
keeps his covenant ever in mind.
He has shown his might to his people *
by giving them the lands of the nations.

His works are justice and truth: *
his precepts are all of them sure,
standing firm for ever and ever: *
they are made in uprightness and truth.

He has sent deliverance to his people †
and established his covenant for ever. *
Holy his name, to be feared.

To fear the Lord is the first stage of wisdom; †
all who do so prove themselves wise. *
His praise shall last for ever!

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.

Psalm Prayer

Merciful and gentle Lord, you are the crowning glory of all the saints. Give us, your children, the gift of obedience which is the beginning of wisdom, so that we may do what you command and be filled with your mercy.

Ant. O incomparable love—while we were still sinners, he loved us and washed away our sins with his blood, alleluia.

Ant. 3 Little children, make my joy complete by doing everything in the love of my Heart, alleluia.

Canticle: Ephesians 1:3-10
God our Savior

Praised be the God and Father *
of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who has bestowed on us in Christ *
every spiritual blessing in the heavens.

God chose us in him *
before the world began
to be holy *
and blameless in his sight.

He predestined us *
to be his adopted sons through Jesus Christ,
such was his will and pleasure, †
that all might praise the glorious favor *
he has bestowed on us in his beloved.

In him and through his blood, we have been redeemed, *
and our sins forgiven,
so immeasurably generous *
is God’s favor to us.

God has given us the wisdom *
to understand fully the mystery,
the plan he was pleased *
to decree in Christ.

A plan to be carried out *
in Christ, in the fullness of time,
to bring all things into one in him, *
in the heavens and on earth.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.

Ant. Little children, make my joy complete by doing everything in the love of my Heart, alleluia.

READING
1 John 4:8b-10

God is love. And God’s love was revealed in our midst in this way: he sent his only Son to the world that we might have life through him. Love, then, consists in this: not that we have loved God but that he has loved us and has sent his Son as an offering for our sins.

RESPONSORY

As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you.
– As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you.

Live on in my love.
– So I have loved you.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
– As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you.

CANTICLE OF MARY

Ant. This is my commandment: love one another as I have loved you.

Luke 1:46-55
The soul rejoices in the Lord

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, †
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior *
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.

From this day all generations will call me blessed: †
the Almighty has done great things for me, *
and holy is his Name.

He has mercy on those who fear him *
in every generation.

He has shown the strength of his arm, *
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.

He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, *
and has lifted up the lowly.

He has filled the hungry with good things, *
and the rich he has sent away empty.

He has come to the help of his servant Israel *
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers, *
to Abraham and his children for ever.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.

Ant. This is my commandment: love one another as I have loved you.

INTERCESSIONS

Considering the love shown to us in the Heart of Jesus Christ, and filled with joy at being loved so much, let us say to Jesus:
Lord Jesus, possess our hearts for ever.

Jesus, beloved son of the Father, your heart lives only for him;
– kindle our hearts with your filial love.
Lord Jesus, possess our hearts for ever.

Jesus, you so loved the world that you wanted to die for us;
– grant that for your love’s sake we may lay down our lives for others.
Lord Jesus, possess our hearts for ever.

Jesus, you are the Heart of the Father;
– be the heart of our hearts, the spirit of our spirits, the life of our lives.
Lord Jesus, possess our hearts for ever.

Lord, you are the life of the world, and nothing escapes the warmth of your love;
– let all reality sing for us the power of your love.
Lord Jesus, possess our hearts forever.

Jesus, you will that we remain in you and you in us, as you are in the Father and the Father in you;
– grant that we may fulfill our communion with you in eternity.
Lord Jesus, possess our hearts for ever.

Jesus, you are the hope of those who die in you;
– grant that our departed brothers and sisters live forever with you.
Lord Jesus, possess our hearts for ever.

THE LORD’S PRAYER

(Remember us, Lord, when you come into your kingdom, and teach us to pray: )

Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come;
thy will be done on earth
as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.

CONCLUDING PRAYER

God, Father of mercies,
with ineffable goodness you gave us the loving Heart of your Son.
Grant, we pray,
that our hearts be united as one with the Heart of Jesus
to love you perfectly.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
– Amen.

DISMISSAL

May the Lord + bless us,
protect us from all evil
and bring us to everlasting life.
– Amen.

Compline

INTRODUCTION

God, + come to my assistance.
– Lord, make haste to help me.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
– as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen. Alleluia.

Examination of Conscience

A brief examination of conscience may be made. In the communal celebration of the Office, a Penitential Rite using the formulas of the Mass may be inserted here.

[I confess to almighty God
and to you, my brothers and sisters,
that I have greatly sinned,
in my thoughts and in my words,
in what I have done and in what I have failed to do,

And, striking their breast, they say:

through my fault, through my fault,
through my most grievous fault;

Then they continue:

therefore I ask blessed Mary ever-Virgin,
all the Angels and Saints,
and you, my brothers and sisters,
to pray for me to the Lord our God.

The absolution by the Priest follows:

May almighty God have mercy on us,
forgive us our sins,
and bring us to everlasting life.
– Amen.]

HYMN

God who made the earth and heaven,
    Darkness and light;
You the day for work have giv’n
    For rest the night.
May your angel guards defend us,
Slumber sweet your mercy send us,
Holy dreams and hope attend us,
    All through the night.

And when morn again shall call us
    To run life’s way,
May we still whate’er befall us,
    Your will obey.
From the pow’r of evil hide us,
In the narrow pathway guide us,
Never be your smile denied us
    All through the day.

Guard us waking, guard us sleeping,
    And, when we die,
May we in your mighty keeping
    All peaceful lie.
When the last dread call shall wake us,
Then O Lord, do not forsake us,
But to reign in glory take us
With you on high.

Melody: Ar Hyd Y Nos 84.84.88.84
Music: Welsh Carol
Text: st 1 Reginald Heber, 1783-1826; st. 2 William Mercer, 1811-1876; st. 3 Richard Whately, 1787-1863

PSALMODY

Ant. Night holds no terrors for me sleeping under God’s wings.

Psalm 91
Safe in God’s sheltering care

I have given you the power to tread upon serpents and scorpions (Luke 10:19).

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High *
and abides in the shade of the Almighty
says to the Lord: “My refuge, *
my stronghold, my God in whom I trust!”

It is he who will free you from the snare *
of the fowler who seeks to destroy you;
he will conceal you with his pinions *
and under his wings you will find refuge.

You will not fear the terror of the night *
nor the arrow that flies by day,
nor the plague that prowls in the darkness *
nor the scourge that lays waste at noon.

A thousand may fall at your side, *
ten thousand fall at your right,
you, it will never approach; *
his faithfulness is buckler and shield.

Your eyes have only to look *
to see how the wicked are repaid,
you who have said: “Lord, my refuge!” *
and have made the Most High your dwelling.

Upon you no evil shall fall, *
no plague approach where you dwell.
For you has he commanded his angels, *
to keep you in all your ways.

They shall bear you upon their hands *
lest you strike your foot against a stone.
On the lion and the viper you will tread *
and trample the young lion and the dragon.

Since he clings to me in love, I will free him; *
protect him for he knows my name.
When he calls I shall answer: “I am with you,” *
I will save him in distress and give him glory.

With length of life I will content him; *
I shall let him see my saving power.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.

Ant. Night holds no terrors for me sleeping under God’s wings.

READING
Revelation 22:4-5

They shall see the Lord face to face and bear his name on their foreheads. The night shall be no more. They will need no light from lamps or the sun, for the Lord God shall give them light, and they shall reign forever.

RESPONSORY

Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit.
– Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit.

You have redeemed us, Lord God of truth.
– I commend my spirit.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
– Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit.

GOSPEL CANTICLE

Ant. Protect us, Lord, as we stay awake; watch over us as we sleep, that awake, we may keep watch with Christ, and asleep, rest in his peace.

Luke 2:29-32
Christ is the light of the nations and the glory of Israel

Lord, + now you let your servant go in peace; *
your word has been fulfilled:

my own eyes have seen the salvation *
which you have prepared in the sight of every people:

a light to reveal you to the nations *
and the glory of your people Israel.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.

Ant. Protect us, Lord, as we stay awake; watch over us as we sleep, that awake, we may keep watch with Christ, and asleep, rest in his peace.

CONCLUDING PRAYER

Let us pray.

Lord,
we beg you to visit this house
and banish from it
all the deadly power of the enemy.
May your holy angels dwell here
to keep us in peace,
and may your blessing be upon us always.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
– Amen.

BLESSING

May the all-powerful Lord
grant us a restful night
and a peaceful death.
– Amen.

Antiphon or song in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Hail, holy Queen, mother of mercy,
our life, our sweetness, and our hope.
To you do we cry,
poor banished children of Eve.
To you do we send up our sighs
mourning and weeping in this vale of tears.
Turn then, most gracious advocate,
your eyes of mercy toward us,
and after this exile
show us the blessed fruit of your womb, Jesus.
O clement, O loving,
O sweet Virgin Mary.

Or:

Hail Mary, full of grace,
the Lord is with you!
Blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us sinners,
now and at the hour of our death.

Or:

Salve, Regina, mater misericordiae;
vita, dulcedo et spes nostra, salve,
Ad te clamamus, exsules filii Evae.
Ad te suspiramus, gementes et flentes
in hac lacrimarum valle.

Eia ergo, advocata nostra,
illos tuos misericordes occulos
ad nos converte.
Et Iesum, benedictum fructum ventris tui,
nobis post hoc exilium ostende.
O clemens, o pia, o dulcis Virgo Maria.

Or:

Loving mother of the Redeemer,
gate of heaven, star of the sea,
assist your people who have fallen yet strive to rise again.
To the wonderment of nature you bore your Creator,
yet remained a virgin after as before.
You who received Gabriel’s joyful greeting,
have pity on us poor sinners.

I had NO idea that the full prayer to St Michael was altered like that. I've been clicking and reading links for an hour at least about it. I'm amazed and shocked.

This thread is now in my FR Bookmarks, thank you (again)

(I never did like all that happened with Vatican II, it just didn't 'sound' right as to the little I heard (I was a young teen when it started). Now I know why.)

The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus
Solemnity

Friday following the Second Sunday after Pentecost

Saint Margaret Mary's Vision of the Sacred Heart from a tradional prayer card

History | Readings | Litany to the Sacred Heart | Pope John Paul II's Angelus Message 2002 | Pope Benedict XVI | Family Activities | Enthronement of the Sacred Heart | Haurietis Aquas | Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque

Back to Liturgical Calendar

Devotion to the Sacred Heart is a wonderful historical expression of the Church's piety for Christ, her Spouse and Lord: it calls for a fundamental attitude of conversion and reparation, of love and gratitude, apostolic commitment and dedication to Christ and His saving work.
Directory on Popular Piety 172 - Excerpt on Sacred Heart Devotions
"With Joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation"
Isaiah 12:3

History of the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Devotion to the Sacred Heart is a form of devotion to the person Jesus, and especially to His Love.
The Catholic Encyclopedia details a history of this devotion. It observed that from the time of Saint John and Saint Paul there has always been in the Church something like devotion to the love of God, Who so loved the world as to give it His only-begotten Son, and to the love of Jesus, Who has so loved us as to deliver Himself up for us. But, accurately speaking, this is not the devotion to the Sacred Heart, as it pays no homage to the Heart of Jesus as the symbol of His love for us. From the earliest centuries, Christ's open side and the mystery of blood and water were meditated upon, and the Church was beheld issuing from the side of Jesus, as Eve came forth from the side of Adam. But there is nothing to indicate that, during the first ten centuries, any worship was rendered the wounded Heart.
It is in the eleventh and twelfth centuries that we find the first unmistakable indications of devotion to the Sacred Heart. Through the wound in the side the wounded Heart was gradually reached , and the wound in the Heart symbolized the wound of Divine Love. In the Benedictine and Cistercian monasteries devotion arose, although it is impossible to say what where the first texts. Saint Gertrude (d. 1302) had a vision on the feast of John the Evangelist. She was resting her head near the wound in the Savior's side and hearing the beating of the Divine Heart. She asked Saint John if on the night of the Last Supper, he had felt these delightful pulsations, why he had never spoken of the fact. Saint John replied that this revelation had been reserved for subsequent ages when the world, having grown cold, would have need of it to rekindle its love.
From the thirteenth to the sixteeenth century, the devotion was practiced as a private, individual devotion of the mystical order. In the sixteenth century, the devotion took an onward step and passed from the domain of mysticism into that of Christian asceticism. It was constituted an objective devotion with prayers already formulated and special exercises of which the value was extolled and practice commended.
The devotion to the Sacred Heart developed further during the seventeenth century. Ascetic writers spoke of it, especially those of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), Alvarez de Paz, Luis de la Puente, Saint-Jure and Nouet and Father Druzbicki, small work "Meta Cordium, Cor Jesu".
The devotion was greatly increased by the visions Sister Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647-1690), a French Visitandine nun at the convent of Paray-le-Monial. She had a vision of Christ's Heart on the feast of Saint John that was similiar to that of Saint Gertrude. Jesus permitted her to rest her head upon His Heart, and then disclosed to her the wonders of His love, telling her that He desired to make this known to mankind and to diffuse the treasures of His goodness, and that He had chosen her for this work, (probably 1673, Dec. 27). In June or July o f 1674, Sister Margaret Mary said, Jesus asked to be honored under the figure of His Heart of Flesh and asked for a devotion of expiatory love -- frequent Communion, Communion on the first Friday of each month and the observance of Holy Hours.
In another visioin, on the feast of Corpus Christi 1675, Sister Margaret Mary reported that Jesus told her, "Behold the Heart that has so loved men...instead of gratitude I receive from the greater part (of mankind) only ingratitude..." Jesus then asked for a feast of reparation on the Friday after the octave of Corpus Christi. bidding her to consult Father de la Colombiére, then superior of the small Jesuit house at Paray. He recognized the action of the Spirit of God and consecrated himself to the Sacred Heart and directed Sister Margaret Mary to write down her account and to circulate it throughout France and England. Sister Margaret Mary Alacoque was canonized in the 20th century.
(Principal source - Catholic Encyclopedia - 1913 edition, )
Twentieth Century Popes Promote Devotion to Sacred Heart
On May 25 1899, Pope Leo XIII, in his encyclical Annum Sacrum, declared that all Catholics should consecrate themselves to the Christ's Sacred Heart, and his intention to solemnly consecrate all mankind to the Sacred Heart of Jesus -- although the Pope pointed out that this would simply be giving Christ what is already His:
"[In His infinite goodness and love, He in no way objects to our giving and consecrating to Him what is already His, as if it were really our own; nay, far from refusing such an offering, He positively desires it and asks for it: "My son, give me thy heart." We are, therefore, able to be pleasing to Him by the good will and the affection of our soul. For by consecrating ourselves to Him we not only declare our open and free acknowledgment and acceptance of His authority over us, but we also testify that if what we offer as a gift were really our own, we would still offer it with our whole heart. We also beg of Him that He would vouchsafe to receive it from us, though clearly His own. Such is the efficacy of the act of which We speak, such is the meaning underlying Our words.
"And since there is in the Sacred Heart a symbol and a sensible image of the infinite love of Jesus Christ which moves us to love one another, therefore is it fit and proper that we should consecrate ourselves to His most Sacred Heart - an act which is nothing else than an offering and a binding of oneself to Jesus Christ, seeing that whatever honor, veneration and love is given to this divine Heart is really and truly given to Christ Himself. "
(To read the complete Annum Sacrum go to the Vatican Website: http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/leo_xiii/encyclicals/documents/hf_l-xiii_enc_25051899_annum-sacrum_en.html
MISERENTISSIMUS REDEMPTOR -- Encyclical of Pope Pius XI ON REPARATION TO THE SACRED HEART, May 8, 1928 Pope Pius XI (also on the Vatican Website)
On May 15, 1956 Pope Pius XII wrote The Sacred Heart Encyclical, The Doctrinal Foundations of Devotions to the Sacred Heart in Scripture, Tradition and the Liturgy.
Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus continued to grow among pious Catholics until the early 1960s, when private devotions like this fell into sharp decline. Some believed these devotions were a distraction from the Mass.
In December 2001, the Holy See issued a Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy (complete on Vatican web site) which encourages popular devotions as an authentic means of meditation on the mysteries of the Eucharist and of drawing people to a personal understanding of Christ's love and the meaning of His sacrifice. About the Sacred Heart devotion, the Directory said, in part,

"Devotion to the Sacred Heart is a wonderful historical expression of the Church's piety for Christ, her Spouse and Lord: it calls for a fundamental attitude of conversion and reparation, of love and gratitude, apostolic commitment and dedication to Christ and his saving work." (§172)
Click HERE for a Directory excerpt on this site on the Sacred Heart and the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
Pope John Paul II Focuses on the Heart of Jesus

On Sunday, June 24, 2002 Pope John Paul II's address before he prayed the Angelus with the faithful in St. Peter's Square explained the devotion to the Sacred Heart as follows:
Dear Brothers and Sisters!
1. The month of June is singled out, in a particular way, for devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. To celebrate the Heart of Christ means to turn toward the profound center of the Person of the Savior, that center which the Bible identifies precisely as his Heart, seat of the love that has redeemed the world.
If the human heart represents an unfathomable mystery that only God knows, how much more sublime is the heart of Jesus, in which the life of the Word itself beats. In it, as suggested by the beautiful Litanies of the Sacred Heart that echo the Scriptures, are found all the treasures of wisdom and science and all the fullness of divinity.
In order to save man, victim of his own disobedience, God wished to give him a "new heart," faithful to his will of love (see Jeremiah 31:33; Ezekiel 36:26; Psalm 50[51]:12). This heart is the heart of Christ, the masterpiece of the Holy Spirit, which began to beat in the virginal womb of Mary and was pierced by the lance on the cross, thus becoming for all the inexhaustible source of eternal life. That Heart is now the pledge of hope for every man.
2. How necessary for contemporary humanity is the message that flows from contemplation of the heart of Christ. Where, indeed, if not from that source will it be able to attain the reserves of meekness and forgiveness necessary to heal the bitter conflicts that bloody it?
Today I would like to entrust in a special way to the merciful heart of Jesus all those who live in the Holy Land: Jews, Christians and Muslims. That Heart that, burdened with insult, never nourished sentiments of hatred and vengeance, but asked for forgiveness for his executioners, that Heart shows the only way to emerge from the spiral of violence: the way of pacification of spirits, of reciprocal understanding and reconciliation.
3. Together with the merciful heart of Christ we venerate the Immaculate Heart of Mary Most Holy, Mediatrix of grace and salvation.
We turn to her now with faith to implore for mercy and peace for the Church and the whole world.
[Translation by ZENIT]

Pope Benedict XVI
ANGELUS MESSAGE
St Peter's Square
Sunday, June 5, 2005

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Last Friday we celebrated the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, a devotion that is deeply rooted in the Christian people. In biblical language, "heart" indicates the centre of the person where his sentiments and intentions dwell. In the Heart of the Redeemer we adore God's love for humanity, his will for universal salvation, his infinite mercy.

Practicing devotion to the Sacred Heart of Christ therefore means adoring that Heart which, after having loved us to the end, was pierced by a spear and from high on the Cross poured out blood and water, an inexhaustible source of new life.

The feast of the Sacred Heart is also World Day for the Sanctification of Priests, a favorable opportunity to pray that priests will put nothing before love of Christ. Blessed Bishop Giovanni Battista Scalabrini, patron of migrants, was deeply devoted to the Heart of Christ; we commemorated the centenary of his death on June 1. He founded the men and women Missionaries of St Charles Borromeo, known as the "Scalabrinians", to proclaim the Gospel among Italian emigrants.

In recalling this great Bishop, I turn my thoughts to those who are far from their homeland and also often from their family, and I hope that on their way they will always meet friendly faces and welcoming hearts that can sustain them in the difficulties of daily life.

The heart that resembles that of Christ more than any other is without a doubt the Heart of Mary, his Immaculate Mother, and for this very reason the liturgy holds them up together for our veneration. Responding to the Virgin's invitation at Fatima, let us entrust the whole world to her Immaculate Heart, which we contemplated yesterday in a special way, so that it may experience the merciful love of God and know true peace.

From a letter May 23, 2006, from Benedict XVI to Fr. Peter-Hans Kolvenbach S.J., superior general of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), for the 50th anniversary of Pope Pius XII's Encyclical "Haurietis aquas" on devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

"Gazing at the side pierced by the lance, where shines God's boundless will for salvation, cannot then be considered as a passing form of veneration or devotion. The adoration of God's love, which found historical-devotional expression in the symbol of the pierced heart, remains irreplaceable for a living relationship with God."

ANGELUS
Saint Peter's Square
Sunday, 1st June May 2008

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

On this Sunday, which coincides with the beginning of June, I am pleased to recall that this month is traditionally dedicated to the Heart of Christ, symbol of the Christian faith, particularly dear to the people, to mystics and theologians because it expresses in a simple and authentic way the "good news" of love, compendium of the mystery of the Incarnation and Redemption. Last Friday, after the Most Holy Trinity and Corpus Christi, we celebrated the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the third and last feast following Eastertide. This sequence calls to mind a movement toward the centre: a movement of the spirit which God himself guides. In fact, from the infinite horizon of his love, God wished to enter into the limits of human history and the human condition. He took on a body and a heart. Thus, we can contemplate and encounter the infinite in the finite, the invisible and ineffable Mystery in the human Heart of Jesus, the Nazarene. In my first Encyclical on the theme of love, the point of departure was exactly "contemplating the pierced side of Christ", which John speaks of in his Gospel (cf. 19: 37; Deus Caritas Est, n. 12). And this centre of faith is also the font of hope in which we have been saved, the hope that I made the object of my second Encyclical.

Every person needs a "centre" for his own life, a source of truth and goodness to draw from in the daily events, in the different situations and in the toil of daily life. Every one of us, when he/she pauses in silence, needs to feel not only his/her own heartbeat, but deeper still, the beating of a trustworthy presence, perceptible with faith's senses and yet much more real: the presence of Christ, the heart of the world. Therefore, I invite each one of you to renew in the month of June his/her own devotion to the Heart of Christ, also using the traditional prayer of the daily offering and keeping present the intentions I have proposed for the whole Church.

Next to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the liturgy invites us to venerate the Immaculate Heart of Mary. With great confidence let us entrust ourselves to her. Once again I would like to invoke the maternal intercession of the Virgin for the populations of China and Myanmar struck by natural calamities and for those who are going through the many situations of pain, sickness, material and spiritual poverty that mark humanity's path.

Readings for the Feast of the Sacred Heart

Collect:
Grant, we pray, almighty God,
that we, who glory in the Heart of your beloved Son
and recall the wonders of his love for us,
may be made worthy to receive
an overflowing measure of grace
from that fount of heavenly gifts.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. +Amen.

or

O God, who in the Heart of your Son,
wounded by our sins,
bestow on us in mercy
the boundless treasures of your love,
grant, we pray,
that, in paying him the homage of our devotion,
we may also offer worthy reparation.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. +Amen.

Year A

First Reading: Deuteronomy 7:6-11
For you are a people holy to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for His own possession, out of all the peoples that are on the face of the earth. It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set His love upon you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples; but it is because the Lord loves you, and is keeping the oath which He swore to your fathers, that the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you from the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love Him and keep His commandments, to a thousand generations, and requites to their face those who hate Him, by destroying them; He will not be slack with him who hates Him, He will requite him to his face. You shall therefore be careful to do the commandment, and the statutes, and the ordinances, which I command you this day.

Second Reading: 1 John 4: 7-16
Beloved, let us love one another; for love is of God, and he who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God; for God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent His only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the expiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No man has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and His love is perfected in us.

By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His own Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent His Son as the Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. So we know and believe the love God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.

Gospel Reading: Matthew 11:25-30
At that time Jesus declared, "I thank Thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that Thou hast hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to babes; yea, Father, for such was Thy gracious will. All things have been delivered to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and any one to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him. Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light."

Year B
First Reading: Hosea 11:1,3-4,8-9
When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk, I took them up in my arms; but they did not know that I healed them. I led them with cords of compassion, with the bands of love, and I became to them as one, who eases the yoke on their jaws, and I bent down to them and fed them.

How can I give you up, O Ephraim! How can I hand you over, O Israel! How can I make you like Admah! How can I treat you like Zeboiim! My heart recoils within me, my compassion grows warm and tender. I will not execute my fierce anger, I will not again destroy Ephraim; for I am God and not man, the Holy One in your midst, and I will not come to destroy.

Second Reading: Ephesians 3:8-12, 14-19
To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make all men see what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things; that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places. This was according to the eternal purpose which he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and confidence of access through our faith in him.

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with might through his Spirit in the inner man, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have power to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fulness of God.

Gospel Reading: John 19:31-37
Since it was the day of Preparation, in order to prevent the bodies from remaining on the cross on the sabbath (for that sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first, and of the other who had been crucified with Him; but when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water. He who saw it has borne witness--his testimony is true, and he knows that he tells the truth--that you also may believe. For these things took place that the scripture might be fulfilled, "Not a bone of Him shall be broken." And again another scripture says, "They shall look on Him whom they have pierced."

Year C
First Reading: Ezekiel 34:11-16
"For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I, I Myself will search for My sheep, and will seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out His flock when some of His sheep have been scattered abroad, so will I seek out my sheep; and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. And I will bring them out from the peoples, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land; and I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the fountains, and in all the inhabited places of the country. I will feed them with good pasture, and upon the mountain heights of Israel shall be their pasture; there they shall lie down in good grazing land, and on fat pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel. I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I will make them lie down, says the Lord God. I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the crippled, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will watch over; I will feed them in justice.

Second Reading: Romans 5:5-11
Hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us.

While we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. Why, one will hardly die for a righteous man--though perhaps for a good man one will dare even to die. But God shows his love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we are now justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. Not only so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received our reconciliation.

Gospel Reading: Luke 15:3-7
Jesus told them this parable: "What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost.' Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.

Litany to the Sacred Heart
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy
Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.

God, the Father of Heaven, Response: have mercy on us.
God, the Son, Redeemer of the world, ..
God the Holy Spirit,...
Holy Trinity, one God, ...
Heart of Jesus, Son of the eternal Father, ...
Heart of Jesus, formed by the Holy Spirit in the Virgin Mother's womb, ...
Heart of Jesus, substantially united to the Word of God, ...
Heart of Jesus, of infinite majesty, ...
Heart of Jesus, holy temple of God, ...
Heart of Jesus, tabernacle of the Most High, ...
Heart of Jesus, house of God and gate of heaven, ...
Heart of Jesus, glowing furnace of charity, ...
Heart of Jesus, vessel of justice and love, ...
Heart of Jesus, full of goodness and love, ...
Heart of Jesus, abyss of all virtues, ...
Heart of Jesus, most worthy of all praise, ...
Heart of Jesus, King and center of all hearts, ...
Heart of Jesus, wherein are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, ...
Heart of Jesus, wherein dwells all the fullness of the Godhead, ...
Heart of Jesus, in whom the Father is well pleased, ...
Heart of Jesus, of whose fullness we have all received, ...
Heart of Jesus, desire of the everlasting hills, ...
Heart of Jesus, patient and rich in mercy, ...
Heart of Jesus, rich unto all who call upon You, ...
Heart of Jesus, fount of life and holiness, ...
Heart of Jesus, propitiation for our offenses, ...
Heart of Jesus, overwhelmed with reproaches, ...
Heart of Jesus, bruised for our iniquities, ...
Heart of Jesus, obedient even unto death, ...
Heart of Jesus, pierced with a lance, ...
Heart of Jesus, source of all consolation, ...
Heart of Jesus, our life and resurrection, ...
Heart of Jesus, our peace and reconciliation, ...
Heart of Jesus, victim for our sins, ...
Heart of Jesus, salvation of those who hope in Thee, ...
Heart of Jesus, hope of those who die in Thee, ...
Heart of Jesus, delight of all saints, ...
Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world, spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world, graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.
V. Jesus, meek and humble of heart,
R. Make our hearts like unto Thy Heart.
Let us pray, Almighty everlasting God, look upon the Heart of Thy dearly beloved Son, and upon the praise and satisfaction He offers Thee in the name of sinners and for those who seek Thy mercy. Be appeased, and grant us pardon in the name of Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who lives and reigns with Thee forever and ever. Amen.

Family Activities for the Feast of the Sacred Heart

1. Help the children make a small "shrine" or a table decoration with a statue or picture of the Sacred Heart. Decorate with flowers or candles. A fine family observance would be to say together the Litany of the Sacred Heart as prayers before bedtime. If the children are very small, you might abbreviate it somewhat. It would be most effective to say the Litany before an image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, either a picture or a statue.

2. Suggest that children make a list of several acts of charity and mercy, representing Jesus' love for us, and write them on cut-out hearts. Each child to might pick one of these acts to perform for a family member each day of the coming week, as a special act of unity in love with the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

3. Cut out a large paper heart of white paper, and have the children draw a picture with crayons or markers on the heart of Jesus showing His love by healing the blind and lame, or feeding the hungry, or evenof Jesus on the Cross, giving His very life for us, for our salvation. Display the hearts on the refrigerator, or tape them on the door of the children's rooms.

4. Bake a heart-shaped cake or cookies. Make the decorations simple enough so that the children can help. See Valentine Page for Heart shaped cookies. A heart-shaped cake to celebrate the Feast of the Sacred Heart would have a single candle, representing the Light of Christ.

Devotion to the Sacred Heart
June and the Sacred Heart of Jesus: Do not be afraid to be pious
Only for Love: The Sacred Heart and the Priesthood [Catholic Caucus]

Catholic Word of the Day: LITANY OF THE SACRED HEART, 10-19-09
Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Devotion to the Sacred Heart Today
The Biblical Foundation of Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus [Ecumenical]
Heart to Heart (Sacred Heart of Jesus Devotion) [St. Margaret Mary Alacoque]
(June) The Month of the Sacred Heart {Catholic/Orthodox Caucus]
First Friday Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus [St. Margaret Mary Alacoque]
The Heart of the World (On the Sacred Heart of Jesus) (Catholic Caucus)
The Sacred Heart Is The Holy Eucharist(Catholic Caucus)
The Origin of the Sacred Heart Badge

Importance of Devotion to the Sacred Heart
An Awesome Homily on the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus by Father Edmond Kline
Catholic Prayer and Devotion: June the Month of the Sacred Heart
Catholic Devotions: Sacred Heart of Jesus
Pope Urges Jesuits to Spread Sacred Heart Devotion
Homilies preached by Father Altier on the Feast of the Sacred Heart
Catholic Meditation and Devotion: The Sacred Heart of Jesus
Daily Recomendation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus powerful prayer!
The Sacred Heart and the Eucharist
The Love of the Sacred Heart

On the Sacred Heart - "We Adore God's Love of Humanity"
HAURIETIS AQUAS (On Devotion To The Sacred Heart) - Encyclical by Pope Pius XII
Solemnity Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and Immaculate Heart of Mary
Sacred Heart a Feast of God's Love, Says John Paul II
The Sacred Heart of Jesus: Symbol of Combativity and the Restoration of Christendom
Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus-The Early Church, Middle Ages up to St. Margaret Mary
See this Heart
‘God Will Act and Will Reign’
About Devotion To The Sacred Heart:The Story Of Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque
Rediscover Feast of Sacred Heart, John Paul II Tells Youth

Saint Germaine Cousin

Saint Germaine Cousin
June 15th

Patroness of Victims of Child Abuse and Shepherdesses

"Dear God, please don't let me be too hungry or too thirsty.
Help me to please my mother. And help me to please you."

-- Prayer of Saint Germaine

Born 1579, Died 1601. Beatified May 7, 1864 and Canonized June 29, 1867 by Pope Pius IX
Saint Germaine Cousin (pronounced coo-zan) was the child of a poor farmer, born in 1579 at Pibrac, France, north of Toulouse. Her mother died when she was an infant. Her father remarried and her step family was very cruel to her. She had to sleep in a stable, was scalded with hot water, was beaten and was fed scraps of food. She was born with a deformed hand and had the disease of scrofula. Despite her misfortunes she shared her daily allowance of bread with the poor and practiced many austerities as reparation for the sacrileges perpetrated by heretics in the neighboring churches.
At age nine she became a shepherdess. She prayed the Rosary on "beads" she made of knotted string. Her piety increased on the approach of every feast of Our Lady. She gathered children of the village to teach them the cathechism (using the Rosary) and to instill in them the love of Jesus and Mary. Her devotion to the Angelus was so great that she would fall on her knees at the sound of the bells, even if she were crossing a stream. She attended daily Mass, leaving the sheep in the care of her guardian angel. The wolves never harmed the sheep while she was away. She always went to Mass, rain or snow. On occasions the swollen waters were seen to open so that she could cross to get to church with getting wet.
She died in 1601 at the age of 22.

(Principal source - Catholic Encyclopedia - 1913 edition, )
Saint Germaine Cousin - illustration by Helen Hull Hitchcock

Prayer to Saint Germaine
O Saint Germaine, look down from Heaven and intercede for the many abused children in our world. Help them to sanctify these sufferings. Strengthen children who suffer the effects of living in broken families. Protect those children who have been abandoned by their parents and live in the streets. Beg God's mercy on the parents who abuse their children. Intercede for handicapped children and their parents.
Saint Germaine, you who suffered neglect and abuse so patiently, pray for us. Amen +

Click here for St. Germaine Coloring Page.

Information: St. Vitus

Feast Day:	June 15
Born:	290, Sicily
Died:	303, Lucania, modern-day Basilicata, Italy
Patron of:	actors; comedians; Czechoslovakia; dancers; dogs; epilepsy; Mazara del Vallo, Sicily; Forio, Ischia; oversleeping; Prague, Czech Republic; rheumatic chorea (Saint Vitus Dance); snake bites; storms; Vacha, Germany; Zeven, Lower Saxony

Information: St. Germaine Cousin

Feast Day:	June 15
Born:	1579, Pibrac, France
Died:	1601, Pibrac, France
Canonized:	29 June 1867 by Pope Pius IX
Patron of:	abandoned people; abuse victims; against poverty; bodily ills; child abuse victims; disabled people; girls from rural areas; handicapped people; illness; impoverishment; loss of parents; peasant girls; physically challenged people; poverty; shepherdesses; sick people; sickness; unattractive people; victims of abuse; victims of child abuse; young country girls

Interactive Saints for Kids

St. Germaine of Pibrac

Feast Day: June 15
Born: 1579 :: Died: 1601

Pibrac is the little village in France where Germaine was born and where she spent her whole life. Her father Laurent Cousin was a farm worker and her mother Marie Laroche died when Germaine was just a baby.

She was always a sickly girl and not pretty. In fact, she suffered from scrofula and her right hand was deformed and helpless. Her father ignored her and her stepmother Hortense did not want Germaine around her own healthy children. Hortense and her children treated Germaine very badly. She was only given scraps of food, was forced to sleep in a cupboard under the stairs and had hot water thrown on her if she disobeyed.

So Germaine slept with the sheep in the barn, even in cold weather. She dressed in rags and was laughed at by other children. By the time she was nine she was put to work as a shepherdess and spent all day tending the sheep out in the fields. When she came home at night, her stepmother often screamed at her and beat her.

Yet this poor girl learned to talk with God and to remember that he was with her all the time. She spent much time praying and made herself a rosary with knotted string. She always managed to get to daily Mass leaving her sheep in care of her guardian angel. Not once did a sheep wander away from her shepherd's staff that she planted in the ground.

Germaine often gathered young children around her to teach them simple catechism. She wanted their hearts to be full of God's love. She tried her best to help the poor, too and shared with beggars the little bit of food she was given to eat.

One winter day, her stepmother accused her of stealing bread. Hortense chased her with a stick and Germaine immediately opened her apron to return the food. To everyone's surprise what fell from Germaine's apron was not bread but summer flowers.

Now people no longer made fun of Germaine but began to treat her as a holy person. In fact, they loved and admired her. Her parents asked her to return and live with them in the house, but she chose to continue sleeping in the barn.

Then, one morning in 1601, when she was twenty-two, she was found dead on her straw mattress. Her life of great suffering was over. God worked more than four hundred miracles in her name to show that she was a saint.

Reflection: In our sufferings, we can always turn to Jesus and ask him to remain in our heart especially when we receive him in Holy Communion.

"Dear God, please don't let me be too hungry or too thirsty. Help me to please my mother. And help me to please you." - prayer of Saint Germaine

Catholic

Almanac:

Friday, June 15
Liturgical Color: White
Today is the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. Devotion to the Sacred Heart can be traced to the 11th century. St. Gertrude and St. Margaret both had visions of the Sacred Heart and told of Jesus' immense love.

Catholic Culture

Daily Readings for: June 15, 2012
(Readings on USCCB website)

Collect: Grant, we pray, almighty God, that we, who glory in the Heart of your beloved Son and recall the wonders of his love for us, may be made worthy to receive an overflowing measure of grace from that fount of heavenly gifts. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

RECIPES

ACTIVITIES

PRAYERS

Ordinary Time: June 15th

Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

Old Calendar: Sacred Heart of Jesus

"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" (Jesus to St. Margaret Mary).

Sixteenth century Calvinism and seventeenth century Jansenism preached a distorted Christianity that substituted for God's love and sacrifice of His Son for all men the fearful idea that a whole section of humanity was inexorably damned.

The Church always countered this view with the infinite love of our Savior who died on the cross for all men. The institution of the feast of the Sacred Heart was soon to contribute to the creation among the faithful of a powerful current of devotion which since then has grown steadily stronger. The first Office and Mass of the Sacred Heart were composed by St. John Eudes, but the institution of the feast was a result of the appearances of our Lord to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque in 1675. The celebration of the feast was extended to the general calendar of the Church by Pius IX in 1856.

The Congregation for the Clergy has today to be the World Day of Prayer for the Sanctification of Priests.

Here is the message to all priests explaining this important day: It Is on Prayer That the Effectiveness of Action Depends and the Prayers for Priests, both for priests to say for themselves, and for lay people to say for priests.

Today according to the Extraordinary Rite is also the feast of Saints Vitus, Modestus, and Crescentia, martyrs. Their feasts are superseded by the Solemnity.

Close to the Heart of the Son is the Heart of the Mother
The Church, in this month of June, giving us the solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, wishes us to understand the consequential devotion to Our Lady traditionally lived in the Marian month par excellence: the month of May. The Heart of Jesus is the See and Throne of Divine Mercy, revealed to the world in the passion, death and resurrection of Christ.

The Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI speaking of the solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus two years ago said: “In biblical language, "heart" indicates the centre of the person where his sentiments and intentions dwell. In the Heart of the Redeemer we adore God's love for humanity, his will for universal salvation, his infinite mercy. Practising devotion to the Sacred Heart of Christ therefore means adoring that Heart which, after having loved us to the end, was pierced by a spear and from high on the Cross poured out blood and water, an inexhaustible source of new life” (Benedict XVI, Angelus 5 June 2005).

The call which comes from this important feast day is first of all a call to Eucharistic adoration, because in the Sacred Host the Lord Jesus is truly present and He offers each of us His Heart, His Merciful Love. To spend time in the Presence of the Eucharistic Lord, to adore Him, is the best expression of devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus which, as we know, spread all over the world thanks to Jesus' revelations to Saint Margherita M. Alacoque in the 17th century: “Behold the Heart which so loved mankind”!

As a prolongation and accomplishment of this message, the Lord appeared to another Sister in the 20th century revealing the abyss of His unfathomable mercy; she was Saint Faustina Kowalska who wrote in her Diary, now world famous, these words of Jesus: “I have opened my Heart as a living source of Mercy, from it all souls draw life, all approach with deep confidence this sea of Mercy. Sinners will obtain justification and the just will be strengthened in goodness. I will fill the souls of those who put their trust in My Mercy with My divine peace at the hour of their death. My daughter, continue to spread devotion to My Mercy, in doing so you will refresh My Heart which burns with the fire of compassion for sinners. Tell my priests that hardened sinners will be softened by their words if they speak of my boundless Mercy and of the compassion which My Heart feels for them. I will give priests who proclaim and exalt My Mercy wondrous power, unction to their words and I will move all the hearts to which they speak” (Book 5, 21 January 1938).

The deepest longing of Christ's Heart is that we discover how much he loves us, the extent of his tender love for creatures who, cooled by their selfishness, look only inwards at themselves, as if they were afraid to let themselves be loved unconditionally by their Creator, who asks nothing and gives all!

How society, culture, economy, politics today need this Heart! It is really true, the more man distances himself from God-Love the more he becomes 'heartless', agitated about a thousand things because he has mislaid the principal one: to let oneself be loved by Christ and to respond to this Love with our love.

Many times during history the Supreme Pontiffs have reminded humanity that without the Lord Jesus life has no real meaning, man gropes in the dark to find himself! The Servant of God John Paul II introduced the Church into the Third Millennium with a mandate to become “Apostles of Divine Mercy”. The Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI picked up where his Predecessor left off and never tires to remind us of the necessity to rediscover the merciful Heart, this infinite Love of God, who reveals Himself in our lives if we open to Him. “Open, open wide the doors to Christ” the voice of the Holy Spirit continues to say. By means of Eucharistic adoration we are “opened” from within by His invisible working in us. The Most Holy Eucharist, celebrated and adored, as the Church teaches us, is the greatest and most effective treasure of our salvation, an infinite treasure which must be safeguarded with profound respect and deepest devotion.

Close to the Heart of the Son is the Heart of the Mother whom the Church celebrates the day after the solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Let it again be the Holy Father who illuminates us with regard to this mystery: “The heart that resembles that of Christ more than any other is without a doubt the Heart of Mary, his Immaculate Mother, and for this very reason the liturgy holds them up together for our veneration. Responding to the Virgin's invitation at Fatima, let us entrust the whole world to her Immaculate Heart, which we contemplated yesterday in a special way, so that it may experience the merciful love of God and know true peace” (Benedict XVI, Angelus 5 June 2005).

— Rev. Luciano Alimandi, Agenzia Fides 13/6/2007

Things to Do:

From the Catholic Culture Library read Enthronement of the Sacred Heart of Jesus: Sacred Scripture by Bishop Raymond Burke.
Bake a heart shaped cake or cookies in honor of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

A Christian Pilgrim

Meditation: John 19:31-37

The Sacred Heart of Jesus

Immediately blood and water flowed out. (John 19:34)

On the biological level, the heart is an organ that pumps oxygen-rich blood to all parts of the body, sustaining life and activity. On the spiritual level, Jesus’ Sacred Heart continuously pumps life into our souls, supplying us with all the grace we need to stay close to the Lord and walk in his ways.

That’s the “function” of Jesus’ heart. But there is so much more to this feast than a remembrance of what his heart does. In his 1956 encyclical, On Devotion to the Sacred Heart, Pope Pius XII wrote that the heart of Jesus is “the chief sign and symbol of that threefold love with which the divine Redeemer unceasingly loves his eternal Father and all mankind.” Today’s feast calls us to fix our eyes on Jesus’ passionate love—his love for God and, even more miraculously, his love for us.

So let’s take up this invitation today and gaze upon the cross, where Jesus’ heart was pierced for us (John 19:34). Look at the blood and water that flowed from his side. Reflect on all the ways he taught, loved, and healed people when he walked the earth. What would have caused him to do all of this? He could have remained in heaven, surrounded by the angelic praise, but he loved us too deeply. He freely chose to become like one of us, to carry our sins to the cross, so that he could put an end to our afflictions and show us a new way of life.

Even today, Jesus’ love burns just as passionately. He continues to reach out to us in our loneliness and helplessness. He befriends us when we feel we have no one on our side. He heals our wounded hearts. He cleanses us when our sins bring us shame and guilt. This is Jesus’ heart for humanity. This is Jesus’ heart for you. His heart is filled with delight when he sees you. His heart longs to bring you safely into heaven, so that you can be with him for all time. His heart beats wildly for you. So gaze upon the cross today, and let his love melt your heart.

“Jesus, immerse me in the love of your Sacred Heart.”

Hosea 11:1,3-4,8-9, (Psalm) Isaiah 12:2-6, Ephesians 3:8-12,14-19

John
	English: Douay-Rheims	Latin: Vulgata Clementina	Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
	John 19
31.	Then the Jews, (because it was the parasceve,) that the bodies might not remain on the cross on the sabbath day, (for that was a great sabbath day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.	Judæi ergo (quoniam parasceve erat) ut non remanerent in cruce corpora sabbato (erat enim magnus dies ille sabbati), rogaverunt Pilatum ut frangerentur eorum crura, et tollerentur.	οι ουν ιουδαιοι ινα μη μεινη επι του σταυρου τα σωματα εν τω σαββατω επει παρασκευη ην ην γαρ μεγαλη η ημερα εκεινου του σαββατου ηρωτησαν τον πιλατον ινα κατεαγωσιν αυτων τα σκελη και αρθωσιν
32.	The soldiers therefore came; and they broke the legs of the first, and of the other that was crucified with him.	Venerunt ergo milites : et primi quidem fregerunt crura, et alterius, qui crucifixus est cum eo.	ηλθον ουν οι στρατιωται και του μεν πρωτου κατεαξαν τα σκελη και του αλλου του συσταυρωθεντος αυτω
33.	But after they were come to Jesus, when they saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs.	Ad Jesum autem cum venissent, ut viderunt eum jam mortuum, non fregerunt ejus crura,	επι δε τον ιησουν ελθοντες ως ειδον αυτον ηδη τεθνηκοτα ου κατεαξαν αυτου τα σκελη
34.	But one of the soldiers with a spear opened his side, and immediately there came out blood and water.	sed unus militum lancea latus ejus aperuit, et continuo exivit sanguis et aqua.	αλλ εις των στρατιωτων λογχη αυτου την πλευραν ενυξεν και ευθεως εξηλθεν αιμα και υδωρ
35.	And he that saw it, hath given testimony, and his testimony is true. And he knoweth that he saith true; that you also may believe.	Et qui vidit, testimonium perhibuit : et verum est testimonium ejus. Et ille scit quia vera dicit : ut et vos credatis.	και ο εωρακως μεμαρτυρηκεν και αληθινη εστιν αυτου η μαρτυρια κακεινος οιδεν οτι αληθη λεγει ινα υμεις πιστευσητε
36.	For these things were done, that the scripture might be fulfilled: You shall not break a bone of him.	Facta sunt enim hæc ut Scriptura impleretur : Os non comminuetis ex eo.	εγενετο γαρ ταυτα ινα η γραφη πληρωθη οστουν ου συντριβησεται απ αυτου
37.	And again another scripture saith: They shall look on him whom they pierced.	Et iterum alia Scriptura dicit : Videbunt in quem transfixerunt.	και παλιν ετερα γραφη λεγει οψονται εις ον εξεκεντησαν

31. The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the Sabbath clay, (for that Sabbath day was an high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.
32. Then came the soldiers, and brake the legs of the first, and of the other which was crucified with him,
33. But when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead already, they broke not his legs:
34. But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came thereout blood and water.
35. And he that saw it bare record, and his record is true: and he knows that he says true, that you might believe.
36. For these things were done, that the Scripture should be fulfilled, A bone of him shall not be broken.
37. And again another Scripture says, They shall look on him whom they pierced.

CHRYS. The Jews who strained at a gnat and swallowed a camel after their audacious wickedness, reason scrupulously about the day: The Jews therefore because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the Sabbath.

BEDE. Parasceue, i. e. preparation: the sixth day was so called because the children of Israel prepared twice the number of loaves on that day. For that Sabbath day was an high day, i. e. on account of the feast of the passover.

Besought Pilate that their legs might be broken.

AUG. Not in order to take away the legs, but to cause death, that they might be taken down from the cross, and the feast day not be defiled by the sight of such horrid torments.

THEOPHYL. For it was commanded in the Law that the sun should not set on the punishment of anyone; or they were unwilling to appear tormentors and homicides on a feast day.

CHRYS. How forcible is truth: their own devices it is that accomplish the fulfillment of prophecy: Then came the soldiers and broke the legs of the first, and of the other which was crucified with Him.

But when they came to Jesus, an saw that He was dead already, they broke not His legs:

but one of the soldiers with a spear pierced His side.

THEOPHYL. To please the Jews, they pierce Christ, thus insulting even His lifeless body. But the insult issues in a miracle: for a miracle it is that blood should flow from a dead body.

AUG. The Evangelist has expressed himself cautiously; not struck, or wounded, but opened His side: whereby was opened the gate of life, from whence the sacraments of the Church flowed, without which we cannot enter into that life which is the true life: And forthwith came thereout blood and water. That blood was shed for the remission of sins, that water tempers the cup of salvation. This it was which was prefigured when Noah was commanded to make a door in the side of the ark, by which the animals that were not to perish by the deluge entered; which animals prefigured the Church. To shadow forth this, the woman was made out of the side of the sleeping man; for this second Adam bowed His head, and slept on the cross, that out of that which came therefrom, there might be formed a wife for Him. O death, by which the dead are quickened, what can be purer than that blood, what more salutary than that wound!

CHRYS. This being the source whence the holy mysteries are derived, when you approach the awful cup, approach it as if you were about to drink out of Christ's side.

THEOPHYL. Shame then upon them who mix not water with the wine in the holy mysteries: they seem as if they believed not that the water flowed from the side. Had blood flowed only, a man might have said that there was some life left in the body, and that that was as why the blood flowed. But the water flowing is an irresistible miracle, and therefore the Evangelist adds, And he that saw it bare record.

CHRYS. As if to say, I did not hear it from others, but saw it with mine own eyes. And his record is true, he adds, not as if he had mentioned something so wonderful that his account would be suspected, but to stop the mouths of heretics, and in contemplation of the deep value of those mysteries which he announces.

And he knows that he says true, the you might believe.

AUG. He that saw it knows; let him that saw not believe his testimony. He gives testimonies from the Scriptures to each of these two things he relates. After, they brake not His legs, He adds, For these things were done, that the Scripture should be fulfilled, A bone of Him shall not be broken, a commandment which applied to the sacrifice of the paschal lamb under the old law, which sacrifice foreshadowed our Lord's. Also after, One of the soldiers with a spear opened His side, then follows another Scripture testimony; And again another Scripture said, They shall look on Him whom they pierced, a prophecy which implies that Christ will come in the very flesh in which He was crucified.

JEROME. This testimony is taken from Zacharias.

Catena Aurea John 19

A Christian Pilgrim

THE WAY

AMID THE DANGER AND PROBLEMS OF THIS LIFE we are never without a guide. The light of the world lights up life’s way for us, and Christ bids us to follow Him. If we forsake His guidance, we lose and bewilder ourselves.

Christ is the way: without Him there is no going to true life and happiness. Christ is the Truth: without Him there is no knowing true live, love happiness. Christ is the Life: without Him there is no genuine living.

Without Christ life is death, a living hell.

Christ is the right way to everlasting life. Walk the King’s Highway with Christ.

Be followers of Christ as He was the follower of His heavenly Father’s will.…

Then each day will be Christmas day for you, for each day, with the angels in heaven, you shall give glory to God in the highest heaven and experience that peace which God grants to men of good will.

A Christian Pilgrim

APOSTLES OF THE SACRED HEART

WE CHRISTIANS, destined to be apostles wherever we are of the love of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, should ever hear the insistent message that our Master gave to us through a saintly soul of yesterday:

“My divine Heart is so wrought with love for men and especially for you, that it can no longer contain the flame of the fire of its love but must spread this flame through you and manifest itself to men to enrich them with its contain the sanctifying and saving graces needed to draw men back from the pit of perdition.

“And for the accomplishment of this great design, I have chosen you as an abyss of unworthiness and ignorance, in order that all should be wrought by Me.”

+++++++

“Thereupon,” continues Sr. Margaret Mary, “He asked me for my heart, which I prayed Him to take; which He did, and placed it in His own adorable heart, wherein He showed it to me like a tiny atom being consumed in the blazing Furnace; and He drew it forth again like a burning flame in the form of a heart, and set it once more in the place whence He had taken it.”

A Christian Pilgrim

A HEART THAT OVERFLOWS WITH THE LOVE OF GOD

(A biblical reflection on Solemnity of THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS – Friday, June 15, 2012)

Gospel Reading: John 19:31-37

First Reading: Hos 11:1,3-4,8-9; Psalms: Is 11:2-6, Second Reading: Eph 3:8-12,14-19

The Scripture Text

Since it was the day of Preparation, in order to prevent the bodies from remaining on the cross on the Sabbath (for the Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first, and of the other who had been crucified with Him; but when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water. He who saw it has borne witness – his testimony is true, and he knows that he tells the truth – that you also may believe. For these things took place that the scripture might be fulfilled, “Not a bone of Him shall be broken.” And again another scripture says, “They shall look on Him whom they have pierced.” (Jn 19:31-37 RSV)

“One of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water” (Jn 19:34).

What can we say about the Sacred Heart of Jesus? It’s a heart that overflows with the love of God. From this heart, which was pierced at Calvary, flows a torrent of grace – a crucified, merciful, burning, passionate love flowing out for you.

The love within Jesus’ heart is a crucified love because it gives everything and does not let even the deepest pain hold it back from loving. It’s a love that chooses willingly and joyfully to suffer for those whom Jesus loves. This is why most images show the Sacred Heart surmounted by a cross and surrounded by thorns. No pain, no suffering, was too much for Jesus to bear – because He wanted you to live with Him.

The Sacred Heart of Jesus overflows with a merciful love. It is a never-ending fountain of mercy and forgiveness, and day after day, Jesus pleads with us to open the doors of our hearts to this mercy. Don’t shrug it off! Let His love envelop and embrace you, especially when you are most in need.

This is a heart that overflows with a burning love. Images usually depict flames of fire coming out of Jesus’ heart to symbolize the intensity of His love. This amazing fire of divine love changes, transforms, and purifies everyone it touches. It can ignite a fire even in you, empowering you to love Jesus in return and to go on to love others as He does. Don’t be afraid to let this burning love consume you. Let it transform you into the very image of Christ.

Finally, the Sacred Heart of Jesus overflows with a passionate love. It is not lukewarm or wishy-washy. Believe that Jesus eagerly longs for you! He wants to be with you, to embrace you in your joys and comfort you in your afflictions. Learn how to welcome this passionate love into your heart, and you will know an intensity and depth of love that you would have never before thought possible.

Short Prayer: Lord Jesus, I adore Your most Sacred Heart! By the power of Your Holy Spirit, ignite the fire of Your love in me. Make my heart like Your own – overflowing with crucified, merciful, burning, and passionate love for You and all Your creatures. Amen.

Barrel vault (detail)

c. 1200
Mosaic
Basilica di San Marco, Venice

A Christian Pilgrim

THE HEART OF CHRIST

By: Fr. Henry Johnston, SJ

The love of Jesus Christ for us is something that can never be fully set forth in words. For this reason alone, apart from others, it is useful to have an outward symbol of it, which will sum up and recall to our minds the love that means so much to us. The natural symbol is the human heart of Christ, what we call the Sacred Heart.

It is, of course, not a mere symbol, for it is a very important part of the human nature the Son of God assumed for our sake. It was formed of the substance of the virgin Mary, its beating kept Jesus alive for more than thirty years, it stopped when He died, was pierced after His death, and returned to life at the resurrection. It is a heart which we adore, because it is the heart of God made man.

Meaning of Heart

The heart can have two meanings for us. In the first place, it is the heart of flesh, having an important part to play in the life of the body. This has always been, among all peoples, a symbol or token of love, and even in these sophisticated times young people still carve the symbol of the heart on trees. Father Gerard Manley Hopkins, the poet, writes: “Is not all language, is not common talk, is not eloquence, is not poetry, all full of mention of the heart?”

We are quite aware, of course, that the physical heart is not the organ of love; but it is very closely connected with man’s affective life. Many a heart has failed owing to the effects of joy and sorrow. Quite naturally, then, the heart can represent many aspects of a man’s life. We speak of a big heart, a tender heart, a hard heart, a warm heart, a cold heart, and so on indefinitely. The heart has always been taken as standing for what is most true of a person. To quote Hopkins again: “Tears are sometimes forced, smiles may be put on, but the beating of the heart is the truth of nature.”

Scriptural Usage

The Scripture, as we might expect, constantly uses the word heart in the sense just referred to. Even God is presented as saying that He loves His people with His whole heart and soul, though this is purely metaphorical. More to our purpose are the references to the heart of the Messiah, to be found, for instance, in the Messianic psalms; “My heart exults” (Ps 16:9), “My heart is like wax” through suffering (Ps 22:14). “Insults have broken my heart; I had hoped for sympathy, but in vain” (Ps 69:20).

St. Paul makes frequent us of heart in a variety of ways that seem so natural to us that they might pass unnoticed. There are some fifty examples in his writings and in his words as reported in the Acts. “We have opened our heart wide to you all,” he writes to the Corinthians (2Cor 6:11); to the Philippians he says: “I hold you in my heart” (Phil 1:7). From the Thessalonians he was separated, he once wrote, “in person, but not in heart” (1Thess 2:17). He complained that his friends were breaking his heart by their manifestations of grief when he insisted upon going to face persecution in Jerusalem (Acts 21:13). Most of the texts belong to the realm of metaphor, but in some cases Paul seems to go further. For instance, he speaks of God’s love being poured into our hearts (Rom 5:5), of Christ as finding a dwelling-place in our hearts (Gal 4:6). There is question here of a real presence. When our Lord said: “If anyone loves Me he will keep My word, and My Father will love him, and we shall come to him and make our home with him”, He was not talking of a metaphorical presence. Writing to the Corinthians, St. Paul distinguishes between a letter written on tablets of stone and one written on tablets that are hearts of flesh (2Cor 3:3).

Our Lord’s Use

Our Lord often speaks of the heart. The word is put on His lips thirty-nine times in the Gospels. In one case it does not refer to man (“the heart of the earth”), but in the other cases it is used just as we use it. Christ speaks of the dispositions of the heart – hardness, dullness, goodness, sincerity; He represents men as sinning in their hearts, and sin as coming from the heart; He attributes joy and sorrow to the heart; He reminds His hearers that God can read their hearts; and of course He refers to the love of the heart. In a well-known text He speaks of Himself as being gentle and humble of heart.

So, when the Vatican Council says of Christ: “He worked with human hands, He thought with a human man, He acted with a human will, and loved with a human heart,” it is expressing a truth t hat all can understand and appreciate (The Church Today, 22).

In English Translations

It is not, therefore, to be thought that when we speak of the heart of Jesus Christ we are using a strange or artificial mode of speech. It is used by those who are not concerned with devotion to the Sacred Heart. Translators of the New Testament who are not Catholics will use the expression where Catholic translators do not. For instance, in St. Paul’s letter to the Phillipians (1:8) Today’s English Version translates: “My deep feeling for you comes from the heart of Christ Jesus Himself”, where the Jerusalem Bible has, “loving you as Christ Jesus loves you”. In John 7:38, where the Jerusalem Bible translates, “from His (i.e. Christ’s) breast shall flow fountains of living water”, the Revised Standard Version gives, “out of His heart”, and two other versions (which refer the words to the believer) have, “from His heart” (TEV) and “from his inmost heart” (Phillips). The New English Bible agrees with the Jerusalem Bible in translating John 1:18: “God’s only Son, who is nearest to the Father’s heart”, though strict literalness does not demand this form of words.

The Wounded Heart of Christ

We know that our Lord’s heart was pierced after He had died on the cross. Why did He wish this further wounding to take place, when He could no longer suffer for us? There must have been some purpose in allowing this action, to which St. John draws special attention, recalling the words of the prophet, “They shall look on the one whom they have pierced”. We know, too, that our Lord retained this wound in His glorified body and invited Thomas to put His hand into His side.

This wound has always been considered by Christian writers to have great significance, and the tradition appears in the documents of the Vatican Council:

“It was from the side of Christ sleeping on the cross that the whole Church – that wonderful sacrament – had its origin” (Liturgy, 5).

“The beginning and growth of the Church are symbolized by the blood and water that came forth from the open side of Christ” (The Church, 3).

Surely, then, it is not unreasonable to find in the pierced heart of Christ a symbol of the love which He has poured out on us. It is this love which is the chief object of our devotion; the symbol is of secondary importance, and it may be admitted that different characters can find different values in it. But enough has been said to justify the place it holds in the devotion.

Wider Meaning

Besides the meaning we have been discussing, the heart as a single organ, with all the symbolism that goes with it, heart can have another and wider meaning. By a common figure of speech it can stand for the man himself. When we say, “All hands on deck”, we do not mean hands but men. When we say. “There was not a soul in sight”, we do not really mean that souls are visible: we are talking of persons. We may speak of a busybody, or of a nobody, but the idea of a body does not enter our minds at all. So it can be with heart. When Shakespeare wrote: “A merry heart goes all the day, Your sad tires in a mile-a (A Winter’s Tale) no one things of a heart trudging along, but of a sad or cheerful person. It is not surprising, then that when we speak of the Sacred Heart we often mean our Lord Himself, with all the qualities which distinguish Him.

June 15, 2012

Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

Reading 1 Hos 11:1, 3-4, 8c-9

Responsorial Psalm Is 12:2-3, 4, 5-6.

Reading 2 Eph 3:8-12, 14-19

Gospel Jn 19:31-37

St. Germaine of Pibrac

Daily Readings for: June 15, 2012
(Readings on USCCB website)

RECIPES

ACTIVITIES

PRAYERS

Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

Meditation: John 19:31-37

June 15, 2012

Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

Reading 1 Hos 11:1, 3-4, 8c-9

Responsorial Psalm Is 12:2-3, 4, 5-6.

Reading 2 Eph 3:8-12, 14-19

Gospel Jn 19:31-37

St. Germaine of Pibrac

Daily Readings for: June 15, 2012(Readings on USCCB website)

RECIPES

ACTIVITIES

PRAYERS

Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

Meditation: John 19:31-37

Daily Readings for: June 15, 2012
(Readings on USCCB website)