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† Feast of the Immaculate Heart Of Mary †
Devotion to the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary always flourished in the Church, but its first official approval did not come till the beginning of the 19th century when Pope Pius VI approved, for certain religious organizations, a Feast for the Most Pure Heart of Mary. In 1942, the twenty-fifth anniversary of Fatima, Pope Pius XII consecrated the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. That same year, he assigned the feast day to August 22, the octave of the Assumption. On May 4, 1944, he extended the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary to the Universal Church.
Devotion to the immaculate Heart of Mary is primarily based upon the Sacred Scriptures. In the New Testament, there are two references to the Heart of Mary in the Gospel according to Blessed Apostle Saint Luke: "Mary treasured all these things and reflected on them in her heart." ( Blessed Apostle Saint Luke 2:19 ), and "His mother meanwhile kept all these things in her heart. " ( Blessed Apostle Saint Luke 2:51 ) In the Old Testament, the heart is seen as the symbol of the depths of the human soul, the center of its choices and commitments. For all mankind, it is a symbol of love. In the Book of Deuteronomy 6:5, we are told, "You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your strength." When Our Lord Jesus Christ was asked by the scribes which was the first commandment, he answered them by quoting this verse to them. ( Blessed Apostle Saint Mark 12:29-31 ).
St. Dominic Savio's Prayer to Our Lady
O Mary, I give you my heart.
Grant me to be always yours.
Jesus and Mary, be ever my friends;
and, for love of you, grant me to die a thousand deaths
rather than to have the misfortune of committing a single mortal sin.
It was the Heart of Mary which expressed her "yes" to God. This was her response to the message received from the Archangel Gabriel at the Annunciation. By her loving consent, Mary first conceived Christ in her heart and then in her womb. Our Lord Jesus, Himself: when reminded by a woman in the crowd how blessed was the womb which gave birth to Him, responds, "Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it." ( Blessed Apostle Saint Luke 11:28 ).
Consecration to the Immaculate heart of Mary
O Immaculate Heart of Mary,
Queen of Heaven and earth and tender Mother of men,
In accordance with thy ardent wish made known at Fatima,
I consecrate to thee myself, my brethren, my country and the whole human race.
Reign over us and teach us how to make the Heart of Jesus reign and triumph in us and around us,
As It has reigned and triumphed in thee.
Reign over us, dearest Mother, that we may be thine
In prosperity and in adversity;
In joy and in sorrow;
In health and in sickness;
In life and in death.
O most compassionate Heart of Mary, Queen of Virgins, watch over our minds and our hearts;
Preserve them from the deluge of impurity which thou didst lament so sorrowfully at Fatima.
We want to be pure like thee. We want to atone for our many sins committed against Jesus and thee.
We want to call down upon our country and the whole world the peace of God in justice and charity.
Therefore, we now promise to imitate thy virtues by the practice of a Christian life without regard to human respect.
We resolve to receive Holy Communion on the First Saturday of every month,
And to offer thee five decades of the Rosary each day together with our sacrifices in a spirit of reparation and penance. Amen.
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