Healing Promises (eBook)

The Essential Guide to the Sacred Heart

Anne Costa (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2023 | 1. Auflage
224 Seiten
Servant (Verlag)
978-1-63582-319-6 (ISBN)

Our human hearts were made to love and to be love; to give and receive love. Every beat of every heart is made possible through a God who IS love. But did you also know that the very heart of God beats just for you? That is what Jesus said when He spoke to St. Margaret Mary Alocoque, Apostle of the Heart of Jesus, and revealed His enflamed heart to her. The revelation of His heart is what we have come to know as the Sacred Heart of Jesus; one of the most recognizable images and symbols of our Catholic faith-but one of the least understood devotions of our day. We may know the image, but have yet to experience the depths of the 'hidden' love story behind it. In Healing Promises, you will learn about the many ways to express devotion to the Sacred Heart as well as the history and relevance of the Sacred Heart for our lives today. You will also hear from saints, popes and ordinary people who have been touched by the Heart of Jesus. Healing Promises is truly a treasure trove of resources and inspiration for anyone who wants to learn more about the Sacred Heart of Jesus. You'll learn about the history and foundation of the Sacred Heart devotion as we know it today and the 12 promises Jesus revealed to St. Margaret Mary Alocoque in private revelation. You'll find prayers for the enthronement ceremony, reflections and practical ways you can apply the Sacred Heart devotion to your life. Author Anne Costa even provides a list of resources and recommended reading to help you take your devotion to the Sacred Heart even further. Christ's fidelity to the promises He offers through the Sacred Heart devotion is perhaps the best kept secret of our faith in these times. Journey to the center of His Heart, where His promises are real and his message will always be: You are not alone. You are loved!

Our human hearts were made to love and to be love; to give and receive love. Every beat of every heart is made possible through a God who IS love. But did you also know that the very heart of God beats just for you? That is what Jesus said when He spoke to St. Margaret Mary Alocoque, Apostle of the Heart of Jesus, and revealed His enflamed heart to her. The revelation of His heart is what we have come to know as the Sacred Heart of Jesus; one of the most recognizable images and symbols of our Catholic faith-but one of the least understood devotions of our day. We may know the image, but have yet to experience the depths of the "e;hidden"e; love story behind it. In Healing Promises, you will learn about the many ways to express devotion to the Sacred Heart as well as the history and relevance of the Sacred Heart for our lives today. You will also hear from saints, popes and ordinary people who have been touched by the Heart of Jesus. Healing Promises is truly a treasure trove of resources and inspiration for anyone who wants to learn more about the Sacred Heart of Jesus. You'll learn about the history and foundation of the Sacred Heart devotion as we know it today and the 12 promises Jesus revealed to St. Margaret Mary Alocoque in private revelation. You'll find prayers for the enthronement ceremony, reflections and practical ways you can apply the Sacred Heart devotion to your life. Author Anne Costa even provides a list of resources and recommended reading to help you take your devotion to the Sacred Heart even further. Christ's fidelity to the promises He offers through the Sacred Heart devotion is perhaps the best kept secret of our faith in these times. Journey to the center of His Heart, where His promises are real and his message will always be: You are not alone. You are loved!

Chapter One

The Story of His Heart

The adorable Heart of Jesus wills to establish its reign of love in every heart, so as to overthrow that of Satan. It seems to me that He so greatly desires this that He promises great rewards to those who, with good will and in good earnest, devote themselves to it, according to the means and to the light He grants them.1

—ST. MARGARET MARY

Do you remember your first awareness or experience of feeling loved? Maybe you were a child, looking into your mother’s eyes. Or perhaps you were a young adult, completely enraptured by the warmth of someone’s smile. Maybe there was a teacher who communicated love, or a babysitter who made you feel special, or a sister who cared for you. Or perhaps you are someone who is still searching for love.

Even if you have never felt loved or struggled to love, being loved is an ever-present reality and a never-to-be broken promise that flows directly from the heart of God. You are loved, and as St. Augustine said, “God loves each one of us as if there were only one of us to love.”2 Think about that! You are loved exclusively and completely by God. You don’t have to compete for or earn God’s love or be anybody different from who you are, because God is in love with you. His Word is plain: “I have loved you with an everlasting love, therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you” (Jeremiah 31:3).

Through the Sacred Heart of Jesus, we encounter this faithful love of God. Through our devotion to the Sacred Heart, we experience that love in a whole new way. And through the breath of his Holy Spirit, we are inspired to share it with others. In short, devotion to the Sacred Heart is our return for the unfailing love of God. As author James Kubicki clarifies, “Sacred Heart devotion isn’t our devotion… It’s God’s devotion to us…because God loved us first [1 John 4:19].”3

HIS HEART IN SCRIPTURE

The first mention of an encounter with the heart of Jesus in Scripture is at the visitation. It was then that, tucked away in the womb of Mary, the newly beating heart of Jesus was recognized by his cousin John the Baptist, who leapt for joy in his own mother’s womb. A human heart starts beating at eighteen days after conception, and it would have taken Mary about that amount of time to travel to Elizabeth’s house after the annunciation. The reality of Jesus’s heart was made known at the earliest possible moment by the very one who would announce the Good News of his coming some thirty years later with the words, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near!” (Matthew 3:2).

The incredible mystery of the Incarnation is that God willed that a human heart should contain his divine love as a way to be near us and draw us into himself. As we contemplate the beautiful devotion of his heart, we plunge into the depths of the unfathomable love that God has for each one of us. The revelation of God’s heart may be seen in the entire life, ministry, and death of Jesus and in the role that the Blessed Mother plays. From the very beginning, their two hearts have been entwined.

Jesus revealed his heart in his encounters with the poor, the rich, the sick, the lame, and the sinner. He reached out to the Samaritan woman at the well, one whom others shunned (see John 4). He had “compassion on the crowd” who had been with him for three days and needed food, which he then provided (Matthew 15:32–38). He wept at the tomb of Lazarus before raising him from the dead (John 11).

Then we come to the Last Supper, where Jesus shows his disciples the full nature of his heart and the depth of his love. At this first Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and every one since, Jesus pours out his heart in the Eucharistic banquet. Father Francis Larkin, who has promoted devotion to the Sacred Heart in our times, gives us a beautiful point to ponder:

When you receive Jesus in Communion, like St. John, you can rest your head on His Heart.… Each time you participate in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, Jesus, from His ever open Heart, pours into your heart—provided it is open and receptive—His Holy Spirit, the spirit of understanding, of wisdom, knowledge and especially love. 4

St. John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, leaned upon the breast of Jesus, close enough to sense the beating of the Savior’s heart. St. Augustine wrote that in these tender moments of closeness, St. John received “Divine Wisdom and the sublime secrets from the innermost depth of Our Lord’s Heart.”5 St. Bede the Venerable stated, “Because in Jesus’ breast are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, it was fitting that the one who leaned upon his breast was the one to whom he had granted a larger gift of unique wisdom and knowledge than to the rest.”6

St. John went on to accompany the Blessed Mother at the foot of the cross, and there Christ gave him the responsibility of caring for her. John was filled with the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, preached with Peter, and wrote his Gospel and letters, becoming known as the apostle of love. He instructs us to this day: “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” (1 John 4:10).

The early Church embraced “the image of John reclining on Jesus’ breast as a spiritual symbol of the Church itself. As John drew near to the Heart of Jesus, so the Church is called to draw near to her Lord. There the Church will learn the secrets of his heart. There the Church will find wisdom and courage.”7

HIS HEART FOR THE CHURCH

St. Gertrude of Saxony (1256–1302) was a mystic devoted to our Lord’s Sacred Heart. The Lord revealed his heart to her many times, in different forms. In these visions, the Lord showed his heart as a “treasury in which all riches are contained and again as a harp which is played upon by the Holy Spirit. His heart was also represented as a fountain from which waters flow to refresh the souls in purgatory, strengthen those on earth and fill the blessed in heaven with incomparable delights.”8

St. John, the beloved disciple and evangelist, appeared to St. Gertrude, and she took the opportunity to ask him about the tender moments he shared with Jesus at the Last Supper. She was curious as to why he had not written about that encounter to further instruct the faithful. He replied:

My mission was to write for the Church, still in its infancy…. As for the language of these blessed beats of the Heart of Jesus, it is reserved for the last ages, when the world, grown old and become cold in the love of God, will need to be warmed again by the revelation of these mysteries.9

Many believe that we are in these “last ages.” The revitalized interest in devotion to the Sacred Heart could be an indication of that. Instead of becoming frightened at the state the world is in, let us be encouraged and comforted. The Sacred Heart is both our shelter and our strength.

This heart was pierced for us on the cross.

When they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. Instead, one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once blood and water came out. (He who saw this has testified so that you also may believe. His testimony is true, and he knows that he tells the truth.) These things occurred so that the scripture might be fulfilled, “None of his bones shall be broken.” And again another passage of scripture says: “They will look on the one whom they have pierced.” (John 19: 33–37)

It seems that as soon as the blood and water gushed out, truth took over. John testifies to it repeatedly in this passage. Some reflections from the early Church fathers highlight the importance of this piercing as the beginning of our Catholic faith and our Church.

“There flowed from his side water and blood.” Beloved, do not pass over this mystery without thought; it has yet another hidden meaning, which I will explain to you. I said that water and blood symbolized baptism and the holy Eucharist. From these two sacraments the Church is born: from baptism, “the cleansing water that gives rebirth and renewal through the Holy Spirit,” and from the holy Eucharist. Since the symbols of baptism and the Eucharist flowed from his side, it was from his side that Christ fashioned the Church, as he had fashioned Eve from the side of Adam….10

St. Augustine wrote of the wound: “There it was that the gate of life was opened, from there the sacraments of the Church flow; without these one does not enter true life.”11

Jesus spoke about this wonderful mystery when he conversed with the Samaritan woman at the well....

Erscheint lt. Verlag	19.1.2023
Sprache	englisch
Themenwelt	Geisteswissenschaften ► Religion / Theologie
ISBN-10	1-63582-319-6 / 1635823196
ISBN-13	978-1-63582-319-6 / 9781635823196

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