June is dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, a devotion that celebrates Christ’s immense love for humanity. The Solemnity of the Sacred Heart is celebrated each year on the Friday following the feast of Corpus Christi, and its date varies according to the liturgical calendar.
The feast has deep roots dating back to 1673, when Sister Margaret Mary Alacoque, a religious of the Order of the Visitation in France, began receiving mystical visions of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. In these apparitions, Jesus revealed to her His heart burning with love, visible outside the chest, surrounded by a crown of thorns and blazing like a sun.
Jesus told her, “My Sacred Heart is so intense in its love for men, and for you in particular, that since it cannot contain within itself the flames of its ardent charity, they must be transmitted by every means.” From these visions, the devotion that we know today was born and has spread throughout the Catholic world.
The significance of the Sacred Heart in the Church
Father Krzysztof Marcjanowicz, the Pope’s master of ceremonies, explains how this devotion to the heart of Jesus reflects a deeply intimate dimension of the Christian faith. St. John Chrysostom, one of the great Fathers of the Church, speaking of the Sacred Heart, describes the moment when Jesus’ side was pierced on the cross. “It is the beginning of the sacraments of the Church,” says Father Marcjanowicz, “particularly baptism, which washes us, and the Eucharist, the blood that nourishes us and gives us life.”
The 12 Promises of the Sacred Heart
During his apparitions, Jesus made Sister Margaret Mary Alacoque 12 promises for those who would venerate and promote devotion to the Sacred Heart. Among them:
- I will give them all the graces necessary for their state of life.
- I will give peace in their families.
- I will comfort them in all their difficulties.
- I will be their refuge in life and especially in death.
- I will abundantly bless all their actions.
- Sinners will find in my heart the fountain of mercy.
- Lukewarm souls will become fervent.
- Fervent souls will quickly rise to perfection.
- I will bless the places where the image of my Sacred Heart will be displayed and venerated.
- I will give priests the power to touch the hardest hearts.
- The names of those who will spread this devotion will be written in my heart.
- Those who receive Communion for nine consecutive months on the first Friday of the month will obtain the grace of final perseverance.
Spreading the Feast of the Sacred Heart
This devotion has grown over time, officially becoming part of the liturgy of the universal Church thanks to Pope Pius IX in 1856. Since then, the month of June has been dedicated in a special way to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, a symbol of Christ’s love that continues to inspire the faithful.
Father Krzysztof concludes, “We see in the heart of the Lord Jesus the source of our sacraments, the source of our life and the source of our healing.”
Today, the faithful around the world continue to celebrate this solemnity, renewing their devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus as a symbol of hope and eternal love.
