Heart of Jesus, Fountain of Life and Holiness
As to persons living in the world, they shall find in this devotion all the aids necessary in their state of life: peace in their homes, consolation in their work, the blessing of heaven upon all their enterprises, comfort in their sorrows, a secure refuge during life and especially at the hour of death. It is plainly evident that there is no one in the world who will not receive all kinds of heavenly blessings if they have a true love of Jesus Christ manifested by a devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
– St. Margaret Mary Alacoque
Dear Friends of Carmel,
Greetings during this month of June, dedicated to the Most Sacred Heart. The Heart of Jesus chose this era, the last age of the earth, an age of coldness, of loneliness, of selfishness and cruelty, to reveal to us in such a public way the tenderness and love of His Sacred Heart for each soul. Divine Physician that He is, He knows the remedy needed: “Learn of Me, for I am meek and humble of Heart.”
On this, the eve of our titular Feast, we wanted to take a moment to send you our wishes for a beautiful Feast day tomorrow! You will all be in our prayers as we celebrate this solemn Feast, one that was requested by Our Lord Himself, one that honors His most Sacred Heart. To love in return; that it is the purpose of this Feast!
God bless you,
The Carmelite Sisters
Sacred Heart Badges
Not many people know that the Sacred Heart Badge owes its origins to the apparitions received by St. Margaret Mary. Our Lord expressed to her a wish that whoever loved Him should wear or carry a picture of His Sacred Heart. St. Margaret Mary made little pictures which she shared with her friends, but the badge became a more public and widespread devotion in 1720, when the city of Marseilles was being ravaged by the plague. The bishop asked the Visitation nuns to make thousands of Sacred Heart badges, and after a solemn procession he consecrated the city to the Sacred Heart and distributed the badges to everyone present. Not a single new case of the plague was reported after that day.
During the French revolution, the badge was adopted by those faithful Catholics who fought the revolutionaries, especially in the Vandee region. From that time forward, it was often worn and promoted by other counter-revolutionaries: – Andreas Hofer’s Tyroleans fighting against Napoleon, the Cristeros who fought against the Mexican revolution, and the Spanish “requetés,” whose intervention was decisive for the Anti-Communist Catholics in the Spanish Civil War – and others.
In 1870, the Sacred Heart badge was especially blessed and indulgenced by Pope Pius IX, who said of it: “This is an inspiration from Heaven. Yes, from Heaven. I am going to bless this Heart and want all badges made after this model to receive the same blessing, so that in the future, it will not be necessary for the blessing to be renewed by a priest. And I want Satan to be unable to cause any harm to those who wear this Badge, symbol of the adorable Heart of Jesus.”
How poignant and important is this sacramental in our times, since we face the same enemies today as did these, our ancestors before us. The Sacred Heart asked the King of France to proclaim his devotion and loyalty by painting the Sacred Heart on his standards, and the king refused Christ this honor. Let us not also be guilty of refusing to proclaim in a public way, whenever called upon, our loyalty and love for Christ our King.
Enthronement of the Sacred Heart in the Home
As we touched on briefly in one of our recent newsletters, one of the main battle grounds today for the kingship of Christ is the family. When this foundation of society is corrupted and broken, Satan’s schemes in society at large are all the more readily realized. But Our Lord has not left us without remedies and answers. There is never a problem so great that it cannot be met and overcome with the truths of our Faith and love of Jesus Christ.
It was Father Mateo who introduced, promoted, and preached the enthronement of the Sacred Heart for the family. More than just a ceremony, this consecration seeks to set up the social reign of Christ in the home, and through this means to spread through society:
“The Enthronement is the official and social recognition of the sovereignty of the Sacred Heart of Jesus over the Christian family, a recognition affirmed, outwardly expressed, and made permanent by the solemn installation of the image of that divine Heart in a conspicuous place in the home and by the Act of Consecration.” (Enthronement of the Sacred Heart)
While widely encouraged by the clergy and popes of Father Mateo’s time, now it is rarely preached about and it has become almost unknown. We would encourage you to learn more, and as many as possible to make this consecration to combat the evils of our times. For those who have already enthroned the Sacred Heart in their homes, what a beautiful day it is to renew this consecration and endeavor to put it into even better practice!
Promises of Our Lord to Families
Who Honor His Sacred Heart
- I will give them all the graces necessary for their state of life.
- I will establish peace in their families.
- I will bless every house in which the picture of My Heart shall be exposed and honored.
- I will console them in all their difficulties.
- I will be their refuge during life and especially at the hour of death.
- I will shed abundant blessings upon all their undertakings.
- Sinners shall find in My Heart a fountain and boundless ocean of mercy.
- Tepid souls shall become fervent.
- Fervent souls shall rise speedily to great perfection.
- I will give to priests the power of touching the hardest hearts.
- Those who propagate this devotion shall have their names written in My Heart never to be blotted out.
- I promise you, in the excessive mercy of My Heart, that My all-powerful love will grant to all who communicate on the First Friday of the month for nine consecutive months, the grace of final penitence; they shall not die in My displeasure nor without their Sacraments: My Divine Heart shall he their safe refuge in this last moment.
The Way of Divine Love
Sister Josefa Menendez was another Sister, in addition to St. Margaret Mary, gifted with many revelations and apparitions of the Sacred Heart. For some years, the book detailing her life and the messages she received, The Way of Divine Love, was out of print. But we are so pleased to be able to offer it once again, this time in a beautifully bound edition. This is not a book that can be rushed through! There are no unessential details, no record of revelations that do not bring out in clearer light and force some dogmatic truth, giving deeper insight into the Heart of Our Lord, His love, the value of souls, the happiness of heaven, and the irreparable loss of the dammed.
“My Heart is all love and it embraces all souls, but how can I make My chosen souls understand My special love for them and how I wish to use them to save sinners and so many souls who are exposed to the perils of the world? For this reason I would like them to know how much I desire their perfection, and that it consists in doing their ordinary actions in intimate union with Me. If they once grasped this, they could divinize their life and all their activities by this close union with My Heart… and how great is the value of a divinized day!
I will tell My chosen souls that My love for them goes further still; not only shall I make use of their daily life and their least actions, but I will make use of their very wretchedness… their frailties… even of their falls, for the salvation of souls.”
Litany of the Sacred Heart
The Litany of the Sacred Heart is a beautiful prayer for this month. Each invocation provides ample thought for prayer and reflection all by itself! Most missals contain this litany, but for those who don’t have a copy we printed a small leaflet for easy access and use.