A Sunday Thought About Devotion to the Sacred Heart to Start the Week Off Right
Many of us fill our minds, hearts, and our souls with various devotions.
The Sacred Heart is one of the great, if not the greatest of Catholic
devotions. Some of us have even "enthroned" the Sacred Heart in our homes. Typically, that enthronement includes an image of the Sacred Heart in a prominent place. Ideally, that image sets off a spark in our minds and hearts that draw us ever closer to Our Lord.
But sometimes, at least in my case, I pass by the image of Our Lord's Sacred Heart and don't really give it much thought. Has this ever happened to you? Perhaps if we remind ourselves of the basic "components" of that image, the Holy Spirit might enkindle in us the fire of His love so that our devotion does not devolve into mere habit.
We know that His mercy springs from a heart both human and divine. We remember how Our Lord suffered and died for each one of us as we look upon the crown of thorns and the wound from the soldier's spear. We open wide our hearts to the love that flows from the flames of His human and Divine Heart. We unite ourselves to His Holy Cross and pray for the grace to understand, or at least to acknowledge every day of our lives, His Infinite Love, "so great that He died for us."
And as we did last week, we beg for the mercy of the Sacred Heart by turning the Mother of Mercy Itself:
And finally, in chant:
But sometimes, at least in my case, I pass by the image of Our Lord's Sacred Heart and don't really give it much thought. Has this ever happened to you? Perhaps if we remind ourselves of the basic "components" of that image, the Holy Spirit might enkindle in us the fire of His love so that our devotion does not devolve into mere habit.
- Around His Heart is a crown of thorns.
- There is a wound, from the soldier's spear, showing that our sins hurt Him in the Heart.
- The flames coming from His Heart show the intensity of His Love.
- Above the flames is a cross showing that His Love for us was so great that He died for us.
We know that His mercy springs from a heart both human and divine. We remember how Our Lord suffered and died for each one of us as we look upon the crown of thorns and the wound from the soldier's spear. We open wide our hearts to the love that flows from the flames of His human and Divine Heart. We unite ourselves to His Holy Cross and pray for the grace to understand, or at least to acknowledge every day of our lives, His Infinite Love, "so great that He died for us."
And as we did last week, we beg for the mercy of the Sacred Heart by turning the Mother of Mercy Itself:
Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, our life, our sweetness and our hope! To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve. To thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears! Turn, then, O most gracious Advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us, and after this, our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.And in Latin:
Salve, Regina, Mater misericordiæ,
vita, dulcedo, et spes nostra, salve.
Ad te clamamus exsules filii Hevæ,
Ad te suspiramus, gementes et flentes
in hac lacrimarum valle.
Eia, ergo, advocata nostra, illos tuos
misericordes oculos ad nos converte;
Et Jesum, benedictum fructum ventris tui,
nobis post hoc exsilium ostende.
O clemens, O pia, O dulcis Virgo Maria.
vita, dulcedo, et spes nostra, salve.
Ad te clamamus exsules filii Hevæ,
Ad te suspiramus, gementes et flentes
in hac lacrimarum valle.
Eia, ergo, advocata nostra, illos tuos
misericordes oculos ad nos converte;
Et Jesum, benedictum fructum ventris tui,
nobis post hoc exsilium ostende.
O clemens, O pia, O dulcis Virgo Maria.
And finally, in chant:
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