Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Sacred Heart of Jesus
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Today is the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus - a feast day that originated from the private revelations of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque bewteen 1673-1675, who was a nun with the Order of the Visitation Sisters of Our Lord.

The people of Assumption Grotto celebrate this feast day with somewhat of a more solemn Mass with the choir. Last year when I went, there was also a Eucharistic Procession and benediction in the cemetary.

So, you may be thinking that it will be hot inside of Assumption Grotto Church and would rather remain in a nice cool place. As you will read (if you read this whole post and all of the links) the devotion to the Sacred Heart involves acts of reparation for offenses to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Going to Mass tonite and sweating a little is a good thing. You will have good, sweaty company. In fact, if you think it is hard on you, think of the priest in his vestment and altar boys in cassock and surplice. BTW - we do not wear shorts and tank tops at Assumption Grotto so if you do come, please take this into consideration. Solid Catholic and Christian living involves making sacrifices and this is one way to do it.

The following was taken from a diary entry of St. Margaret Mary in June of 1674 (emphasis mine):

On the First Friday of each month, the above-mentioned grace connected with the pain in my side was renewed in the following manner: the Sacred Heart was
represented to me as a resplendent sun, the burning rays of which fell
vertically upon my heart, which was inflamed with a fire so fervid that it
seemed as if it would reduce me to ashes. It was at these times especially that
my Divine Master taught me what He required of me and disclosed to me the
secrets of His loving Heart. On one occasion, while the Blessed Sacrament was
exposed, feeling wholly withdrawn within myself by an extraordinary recollection of all my senses and powers, Jesus Christ, my sweet Master, presented Himself to me, all resplendent with glory, His Five Wounds shining like so many suns. Flames issued from every part of His Sacred Humanity, especially from His Adorable Breast, which resembled an open furnace and disclosed to me His most loving and most amiable Heart, which was the living source of these flames. It was then that He made known to me the ineffable marvels of His pure love and showed me to what an excess He had loved men, from whom He received only ingratitude and contempt.

From an article written by Jean Bainvel, is an excerpt (via Catholic Encyclopedia) emphasis mine:

(d) The heart is, above all, the emblem of love, and by this characteristic, the devotion to the Sacred Heart is naturally defined. However, being directed to the loving Heart of Jesus, it naturally encounters whatever in Jesus is connected with this love. Now, was not this love the motive of all that Christ did and suffered? Was not all His inner, even more than His outward, life dominated by this love? On the other hand, the devotion to the Sacred Heart, being directed to the living Heart of Jesus, thus becomes familiar with the whole inner life of the Master, with all His virtues and sentiments, finally, with Jesus infinitely loving and lovable. Hence, a first extension of the devotion is from the loving Heart to the intimate knowledge of Jesus, to His sentiments and virtues, to His whole emotional and moral life; from the loving Heart to all the manifestations of Its love. There is still another extension which, although having the same meaning, is made in another way, that is by passing from the Heart to the Person, a transition which, as we have seen, is very naturally made. When speaking of a large heart our allusion is to the person, just as when we mention the Sacred Heart we mean Jesus. This is not, however, because the two are synonymous but when the word heart is used to designate the person, it is because such a person is considered in whatsoever related to his emotional and moral life. Thus, when we designate Jesus as the Sacred Heart, we mean Jesus manifesting His Heart, we mean Jesus manifesting His Heart, Jesus all loving and amiable. Jesus entire is thus recapitulated in the Sacred Heart as all is recapitulated in Jesus.

More reading on the Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus:

• The Doctrinal Foundation of Devotion to the Sacred Heart by Fr. John A. Hardon, SJ


• Devotion to the Sacred Heart (Fr. William Wagner, ORC - Opus Angelorum)


• Prelate Consecrates Families to the Sacred Heart (CWNews)


• Devotion to the Sacred Heart, it's history and origin (Apostolate Alliance of the Two Hearts via EWTN)
  

If you are in the Atlanta, Georgia area, you can benefit from the Alliance of the Two Hearts and their vigils.

More Corpus Christi photos will come soon.

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Devotion to the Sacred Heart - Part 2

As we await Thursday to resume the Twenty-One Days of Prayers for Priests series, I'll bring you more excerpts from the article written by Fr. William Wagner, ORC, on the Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. See Post-1 here.

Continuing on in his article, we leave the topic of devotion and enter more deeply into Sacred Heart. There are three bullets in this next section and I will provide just a glimpse here and you can continue reading each at the orginal site. All three links below lead to the same page, so you can flow through all three bullets there.

Truly, the best thing to do with this article, is to print it out in full, then go off somewhere and read it slowly and meditate on it. It is really loaded with references, so take at least your bible with you. Sacred Heart is this Friday!!!

1. Its Source

Since devotion is about the loving service of God, and since our access to the love and service of God is in and through Christ, it follows that our devotion must be principally focused on Christ. The seed of the devotion to the Sacred Heart is planted in Sacred Scripture. Jesus invites us to come to Him and learn from Him who is "meek and humble of heart" (Mt 11,29). St. John reclines upon the breast of Jesus at the Last Supper (cf. Jn 13,22) and beneath the Cross witnesses the piercing of the Sacred Heart by the soldier's lance (cf. Jn 19,34ff).

This seed germinated at the beginning of the present millennium and began to thrive in the late Middle Ages.......continued



2. Its Reasons

Christ is the image, the icon of the Father, the manifestation of the eternal Godhead, of the merciful love of God. Now the symbol for this love is the heart. Hence, the Sacred Heart of Jesus stands: 1) for His Person and for His love; 2) for His Divinity and for His humanity; 3) for His love for the Father and for us; 4) for His divine and His human love. In a word, devotion to the Sacred Heart embraces the entire mystery of the Hypostatic Union, in virtue of which the man, Jesus, is the very Son of God. Pope Pius XII writes:

"The Heart of Jesus is the Heart of a Divine Person, the Word Incarnate, and by it is represented and, as it were, placed before our gaze, all the love with which He has embraced and even now embraces us. Consequently, the honor to be paid to the Sacred Heart is such as to raise it to the rank -- so far as external practice is concerned -- of the highest expression of Christian piety. For this is the religion of Jesus which is centered on the mediator Who is God and Man, and in such a way that we cannot reach the heart of God save through the Heart of Christ, as He Himself says: 'I am the way, the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father save through Me' (Jn 14,6)."

Let us now consider the key ideas which motivated St. John Eudes in his great love for the Sacred Heart....continued


3. Its Fruits

At the Incarnation the Son of God not only sought a single humanity for Himself, but He aspired to unite all of humanity into Himself as into one 'mystical person', as Pope Pius XII terms it in His encyclical on the Mystical Body. At the Last Supper He prayed for all who would believe in Him: "[I pray] that all may be one, even as Thou, Father, art in Me and I in Thee; that they also may be one in us and that they may be one, even as we are one" (Jn 17,21. 22). Evidently, the principal glorification of God in creation is this love of Jesus Christ. Accordingly, we ought to recognize that this is the principal reason why God incorporates men and angels into the Mystical Body of Christ, so that we all as one can love and glorify the Father with the infinitely pleasing love and power of the Sacred Heart. Truly, the Heart belongs to the entire Body. However humble we may be, as members of the Mystical Body, as members of Christ, His Divine Heart with all its fire and affection is wholly and entirely ours.....continued

Thursday Night Passio Domini, First Fridays, First Saturdays and the Two Hearts

News broke in recent days that President Obama had declared the month of June: Gay, Lesbian, Bi-sexual, and Transgender (GLBT) Pride month.

As one reader pointed out to me in an email, this is a good time to recall that June is the month of the Sacred Heart, and this is a time to make acts of reparation.

Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus goes back at least to the 11th century, but through the 16th century, it remained a private devotion, often tied to devotion to the Five Wounds of Christ. The first feast of the Sacred Heart was celebrated on August 31, 1670, in Rennes, France, through the efforts of Fr. Jean Eudes (1602-1680). From Rennes, the devotion spread, but it took the visions of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647-1690) for the devotion to become universal.

In all of these visions, in which Jesus appeared to St. Margaret Mary, the Sacred Heart of Jesus played a central role. The “great apparition,” which took place on June 16, 1675, during the octave of the Feast of Corpus Christi, is the source of the modern Feast of the Sacred Heart. In that vision, Christ asked St. Margaret Mary to request that the Feast of the Sacred Heart be celebrated on the Friday after the octave (or eighth day) of the Feast of Corpus Christi, in reparation for the ingratitude of men for the sacrifice that Christ had made for them. The Sacred Heart of Jesus represents not simply His physical heart but His love for all mankind. [source]

There is a devotion to the Sacred Heart for the nine consecutive first Fridays and Assumption Grotto offers Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament in the main parish Church from 8:30am until around 6:45pm tomorrow, as it does all First Fridays.

It is also good to point out that along with devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, is the devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Our Lady Establishes the Devotion of the Five First Saturdays

The Apparition of December 10, 1925

On this day Our Lady, holding Her Immaculate Heart in Her Hand, appeared to Lucia, and by Her side stood the Child Jesus on a luminous cloud. The Child Jesus said: "Have compassion on the Heart of your Most Holy Mother, covered with thorns, with which ungrateful men pierce it at every moment, and there is no one to make an act of reparation to remove them."

Then the Blessed Virgin Mary said to Lucia: "Look, my daughter, at My Heart, surrounded with thorns with which ungrateful men pierce Me at every moment by their blasphemies and ingratitude. You at least try to console Me and say that I promise to assist at the hour of death, with the graces necessary for salvation, all those who, on the first Saturday of five consecutive months, shall confess, receive Holy Communion, recite five decades of the Rosary, and keep me company for fifteen minutes while meditating on the fifteen mysteries of the Rosary, with the intention of making reparation to Me."

On another occasion the Child Jesus reappeared to Lucia and asked that those who practice this devotion, receive Him in Holy Communion when in the state of grace.

Reparation for what?

Catholics have always honored the Blessed Virgin on Saturday because of the pious tradition of her constant faith in Jesus on that first Holy Saturday before the Resurrection. According to Sister Lucia, five first Saturdays of reparation were requested to atone for the five ways in which people offend the Immaculate Heart of Mary [source]:

1. attacks upon Mary's Immaculate Conception;
2. attacks against her Perpetual Virginity;
3. attacks upon her Divine Maternity and the refusal to accept her as the Mother of all mankind;
4. for those who try to publicly implant in children's hearts indifference, contempt and even hatred of this Immaculate Mother, and
5. for those who insult her directly in her sacred images.

The Carmelites have their monthly 8:30am Mass at Assumption Grotto on First Saturdays - a time when others can take advantage of the special time (there is only a 7:30am Mass on the other Saturdays, but Fr. Perrone maintained the 8:30am on First Saturday for Carmelites to accomodate those commuting considerable distances.

Also, this is a good time to remind people about the special Passio Domini devotion held on Thursday nights at Assumption Grotto. Here again, is an opportunity to go to Mass at 7:00pm, then to spend time in front of the Blessed Sacrament exposed during a Rosary and meditations on Our Lord's passion. It runs until about 9:00pm. Please join us!

Related Links:

• Devotion to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary: Its Origin and History (Catholic Culture)
• The revelations of the Two Hearts in Modern Times (EWTN)
• Devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary (Catholic Encyclopedia)
• Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Mary (Catholic Encyclopedia)
  

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Novena to the Sacred Heart begins tomorrow - Wednesday, June 10th

The Feast of the Sacred Heart, which will open the Year for Priests, is June 19th. The novena of the Sacred Heart begins tomorrow - June 10th.

There are many forms of the Novena. This one is found on EWTN's site.

Efficacious Novena to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

I. O my Jesus, you have said: "Truly I say to you, ask and you will receive, seek and you will find, knock and it will be opened to you." Behold I knock, I seek and ask for the grace of...... (here name your request)
Our Father....Hail Mary....Glory Be to the Father....Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in you.

II. O my Jesus, you have said: "Truly I say to you, if you ask anything of the Father in my name, he will give it to you." Behold, in your name, I ask the Father for the grace of.......(here name your request) Our Father...Hail Mary....Glory Be To the Father....Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in you.

III. O my Jesus, you have said: "Truly I say to you, heaven and earth will pass away but my words will not pass away." Encouraged by your infallible words I now ask for the grace of.....(here name your request) Our Father....Hail Mary....Glory Be to the Father...Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in you.

O Sacred Heart of Jesus, for whom it is impossible not to have compassion on the afflicted, have pity on us miserable sinners and grant us the grace which we ask of you, through the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary, your tender Mother and ours.

Say the Hail, Holy Queen and add: St. Joseph, foster father of Jesus, pray for us.

-- St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

More Info:

• EWTN's page on the Sacred Heart
• Devotion to the Sacred Heart (Opus Angelorum)

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June is the Month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

The Month of Mary just concluded and June ushers in the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Few Catholics today probably know of this devotion which was promoted by the popes.  I am going to provide some links here for you to follow up with in reading this month.  Learn about it before arbitrarily dismissing it as something that belongs in the Smithsonian.

EWTN has a good overview, brief history and mediations.

 The Catholic Encyclopedia offers a detailed explanation of the doctrinal explanations. Likewise, Fr. Hardon also wrote on the doctrinal considerations on the devotion to the Sacred Heart.

Pope Leo XIII wrote the encyclical "Annum Sacrum" on the Consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus on May 25, 1899.

Pope Pius XI wrote the encyclical "Miserentissimus Redemptor" in 1928 on Reparation to the Sacred Heart.

Then, in 1956, Pope Pius XII wrote the encyclical, "Haurietis Aquas" on Devotion to the Sacred Heart.

Is the Sacred Heart Devotion Passé?

If you think that this is something which is passé, then you don't understand a key point about Magisterial teachings: They are timeless.  What was written by Pope Leo XIII, Pope Pius XI, and Pope Pius XII is still relevant today, if not more so.  Let's look at a few paragraphs from the last encyclical and keep in mind, it was written more than 50 years ago.

8. The Church has always valued, and still does, the devotion to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus so highly that she provides for the spread of it among Christian peoples everywhere and by every means. At the same time she uses every effort to protect it against the charges of so-called "naturalism" and "sentimentalism." In spite of this it is much to be regretted that, both in the past and in our own times, this most noble devotion does not find a place of honor and esteem among certain Christians and even occasionally not among those who profess themselves moved by zeal for the Catholic religion and the attainment of holiness. 

9. "If you but knew the gift of God."(7) With these words, venerable brethren, We who in the secret designs of God have been elected as the guardians and stewards of the sacred treasures of faith and piety which the divine Redeemer has entrusted to His Church, prompted by Our sense of duty, admonish them all. 

10. For even though the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus has triumphed so to speak, over the errors and the neglect of men, and has penetrated entirely His Mystical Body; still there are some of Our children who, led astray by prejudices, sometimes go so far as to consider this devotion ill-adapted, not to say detrimental, to the more pressing spiritual needs of the Church and humanity in this present age. There are some who, confusing and confounding the primary nature of this devotion with various individual forms of piety which the Church approves and encourages but does not command, regard this as a kind of additional practice which each one may take up or not according to his own inclination. 

11. There are others who reckon this same devotion burdensome and of little or no use to men who are fighting in the army of the divine King and who are inspired mainly by the thought of laboring with their own strength, their own resources and expenditures of their own time, to defend Catholic truth, to teach and spread it, to instill Christian social teachings, to promote those acts of religion and those undertakings which they consider much more necessary today. 

12. Again, there are those who so far from considering this devotion a strong support for the right ordering and renewal of Christian morals both in the individual's private life and in the home circle, see it rather a type of piety nourished not by the soul and mind but by the senses and consequently more suited to the use of women, since it seems to them something not quite suitable for educated men. 

13. Moreover there are those who consider a devotion of this kind as primarily demanding penance, expiation and the other virtues which they call "passive," meaning thereby that they produce no external results. Hence they do not think it suitable to re-enkindle the spirit of piety in modern times. Rather, this should aim at open and vigorous action, at the triumph of the Catholic faith, at a strong defense of Christian morals. Christian morality today, as everyone knows, is easily contaminated by the sophistries of those who are indifferent to any form of religion, and who, discarding all distinctions between truth and falsehood, whether in thought or in practice, accept even the most ignoble corruptions of materialistic atheism, or as they call it, secularism. 

14. Who does not see, venerable brethren, that opinions of this kind are in entire disagreement with the teachings which Our predecessors officially proclaimed from this seat of truth when approving the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.? Who would be so bold as to call that devotion useless and inappropriate to our age which Our predecessor of immortal memory, Leo XIII, declared to be "the most acceptable form of piety?" He had no doubt that in it there was a powerful remedy for the healing of those very evils which today also, and beyond question in a wider and more serious way, bring distress and disquiet to individuals and to the whole human race. "This devotion," he said, "which We recommend to all, will be profitable to all." And he added this counsel and encouragement with reference to the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus: ". . .hence those forces of evil which have now for so long a time been taking root and which so fiercely compel us to seek help from Him by Whose strength alone they can be driven away. Who can He be but Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God? 'For there is no other name under heaven given to men whereby we must be saved.'(8) We must have recourse to Him Who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life."(9) 

15. No less to be approved, no less suitable for the fostering of Christian piety was this devotion declared to be by Our predecessor of happy memory, Pius XI. In an encyclical letter he wrote: "Is not a summary of all our religion and, moreover, a guide to a more perfect life contained in this one devotion? Indeed, it more easily leads our minds to know Christ the Lord intimately and more effectively turns our hearts to love Him more ardently and to imitate Him more perfectly."(10) 

16. To Us, no less than to Our predecessors, these capital truths are clear and certain. When We took up Our office of Supreme Pontiff and saw, in full accord with Our prayers and desires, that the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus had increased and was actually, so to speak, making triumphal progress among Christian peoples, We rejoiced that from it were flowing through the whole Church innumerable and salutary results. This We were pleased to point out in Our first encyclical letter.(11) 

17. Through the years of Our pontificate--years filled not only with bitter hardships but also with ineffable consolations these effects have not diminished in number or power or beauty, but on the contrary have increased. Indeed, happily there has begun a variety of projects which are conducive to a rekindling of this devotion. We refer to the formation of cultural associations for the advancement of religion and of charitable works; publications setting forth the true historical, ascetical and mystical doctrine concerning this entire subject; pious works of atonement; and in particular those manifestations of most ardent piety which the Apostleship of Prayer has brought about, under whose auspices and direction local gatherings - families, colleges, institutions - and sometimes nations have been consecrated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. To all these We have offered paternal congratulations on many occasions, whether in letters written on the subject, in personal addresses, or even in messages delivered over the radio.(12) 

18. Therefore when We perceive so fruitful an abundance of healing waters, that is, heavenly gifts of divine love, issuing from the Sacred Heart of our Redeemer, spreading among countless children of the Catholic Church by the inspiration and action of the divine Spirit; We can only exhort you, venerable brethren, with fatherly affection to join Us in giving tribute of praise and heartfelt thanks to God, the Giver of all good gifts. We make Our own these words of the Apostle of the Gentiles: "Now to Him Who is able to do all things more abundantly than we desire or understand, according to the power that worketh in us, to Him be glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus unto all generations world without end. Amen."(13)

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it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!
- Diane M. Korzeniewski

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Archbishop Vigneron on First Friday Devotions

Te Deum archive photo:

Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament on August 15, 2009
- Assumption 2009 collection -

It's First Friday and that means there will be Exposition in the parish church all day today.  Please take some time out today and get to an adoration chapel or a church to sit before the Blessed Sacrament.  If you can't do that, set some time aside today for prayer at home.  Back in February of this year, Archbishop Vigneron made it know he wants to renew the practice of First Friday devotions in the Archdiocese of Detroit. 

First Friday devotions developed out of devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. In the 17th century, Jesus appeared to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, promising to those people who practiced the First Fridays Devotions that “they will not die in my displeasure,” among other promises, as approved by the Church. A person honoring the devotion goes to Mass each first Friday for nine months and receives Communion.

And, here is Archbishop Vigneron speaking about the subject:

"I have in mind that we should consider working together for a renewal of our practice of devoting the First Fridays especially to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, with a particular emphasis on joining together – priests and people – to ask the Lord to give our archdiocese priests 'after his own heart,'" the archbishop said in a Feb. 12 letter to priests, in which he cited language from Jeremiah 3:15.


"I see this approach as a particularly effective way to pray for holy priests: for those of us already ordained; and for those whom God is calling to join us, both the men in our seminary and the men who are being invited to enter formation," he continued.


The archbishop said he would be consulting with the Presbyteral Council about how to advance the idea.


Archbishop Vigneron made known his intention regarding the First Friday devotions in addition to announcing his plan for an afternoon of recollection for all priests on the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus on June 11.


The Friday afternoon event will include "a Eucharistic Holy Hour, during which we can renew the consecration of our priesthood – our lives and our ministry – to Christ, our High Priest, according to whose Priestly Heart the Holy Spirit shapes our hearts," he said in his letter.


"I look forward to this opportunity for shared prayer and a time for fraternity," the archbishop added regarding what he said would become an annual event.


Archbishop Vigneron shared his thinking that led up to the proposals, reminiscing about his days at Sacred Heart Seminary High School in Detroit, and how the priests who taught their strove to instill concepts of priestly life and ministry into himself and his fellow students.


"In the years since First High, I have found myself returning again and again – sometimes more quickly and sometimes less; sometimes more deeply and sometimes not as profoundly as I would like – but, nonetheless, returning again and again to the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus as the model for my heart, for me to be the priest I have for all these years aspired to be," he said.


"In looking back on my life, I see that this high ideal of priestliness which the priests at the seminary high school taught us was inextricably bound up with saying, at the end of night prayer every evening, the aspiration: 'Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, model of the priestly heart, have mercy on us,'" the archbishop continued.


While acknowledging there were aspects of life at the high school seminary of which he none too fond, he said he loved the prayer life there. "I was introduced into new ways of communicating with God that were rich and bright with grace. It was like discovering new territory, just the sort of thing a high-schooler wants. This aspiration was part of that 'new territory.'


"I entered the seminary knowing about the Sacred Heart; I knew about making the First Fridays; but I learned there about the Priestly Heart of Jesus, about that being a Eucharistic Heart, and about His Heart being the model for my heart. And the blessing was that the seminary taught me this at the time when my heart was growing from being a child's heart into being the heart of a man," Archbishop Vigneron added.

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Opus Angelorum: Devotion to the Sacred Heart

I decided we would break, until next Thursday, on the prayers for priest series because the next prayer is intended for a Thursday.

Also, I am still having significant problems uploading any pictures in blogger. I upload, and nothing happens. Until this works itself out, or until I switch services, enjoy some news and spiritual articles.

Today, I would like to bring forward again, this article on the Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus by Fr. William Wagner, ORC. During this break I will bring extracts from this nice article as we approach the Feast of the Sacred Heart. Fr. Wagner opens by discussing devotion itself and it is a nice primer leading into an explanation of the devotion surrounding the Sacred Heart. Many of us born after Vatican 2 have not received catechesis on these devotions. Now's your chance if you never had a clue, or if you simply want to revisit something with which you were familiar years ago.

Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

The spiritual life is more than a spiritual doctrine, but if it were, it would be about Jesus: "I am the truth!", "in Him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" (Col 2,3), and Jesus would be our teacher, "We know that you are a teacher come from God" (Jn 3,2), "one only is your master, the Christ" (Mt 23, 10). The spiritual life is more than the practice of virtue; but if it were, Jesus presents Himself as our model: "Learn from Me for I am meek and humble of heart" (Mt 12, 29). Not only is Jesus the model but the source of our virtue, for "from His fullness, we have all received grace upon grace" (Jn 1, 16), and He assures us, "My grace is sufficient to you" (2 Cor 12, 9). The spiritual life is more than a pilgrimage, a journey towards heaven, but if it were, Christ is the way and the guide: "I am the way, ...no one comes to the Father but through Me" (Jn 14,6), and, "Come, follow Me!" (Mt 19, 21). The spiritual life is about eternal life, and therefore, about loving union and the knowledge (vision) of God. The development of the spiritual life, therefore, is inseparable from the development of devotion to Jesus. We hear, of course, about many different devotions based on different prayer practices. These are not our present concern; here we want to reflect upon the virtue of devotion and its chief expression, which is devotion to the Sacred Heart.

In order to better appreciate devotion to the Sacred Heart, we need to understand the true nature of devotion. What is meant by devotion? 'Devotion' derives from the Latin word meaning to make a vow. Accordingly, "devotion", Faber explains, "means a particular propension of the soul to God, whereby it devotes itself ['dedicates' would be a better word], commits itself, binds itself over, consecrates itself, to the worship and service of God. This it may do by vow, by oath or by simple sentiment."By its very nature devotion tends towards permanent commitment. Devotion, therefore, is a virtue most pleasing to God. After the theological virtues it belongs to the most important virtue of the spiritual life, to the virtue of religion. St. Francis de Sales warns that those who do not know the nature of true devotion will easily be deceived and led astray by their own proclivities. We need something greater than our own personal likes and dislikes to guide our spiritual life.

St. Thomas shows that devotion is not just an emotion ("feeling devotion") but that it is a virtue and act of the will whereby we readily dedicate ourselves to those things that have to do with the service of God.... [continue reading - Sacred Heart]

Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus; Full text of Pope's homily closing Year for Priests

An Act of Consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
by St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

I give myself and consecrate to the Sacred Heart of our Lord Jesus Christ, my person and my life, my actions, pains and sufferings, so that I may be unwilling to make use of any part of my being other than to honor, love and glorify the Sacred Heart. This is my unchanging purpose, namely, to be all His, and to do all things for the love of Him, at the same time renouncing with all my heart whatever is displeasing to Him. I therefore take You, O Sacred heart, to be the only object of my love, the guardian of my life, my assurance of salvation, the remedy of my weakness and inconstancy, the atonement for all the faults of my life and my sure refuge at the hour of death.

Be then, O Heart of goodness, my justification before God the Father, and turn away from me the strokes of his righteous anger. O Heart of love, I put all my confidence in You, for I fear everything from my own wickedness and frailty, but I hope for all things from Your goodness and bounty.

Remove from me all that can displease You or resist Your holy will; let your pure love imprint Your image so deeply upon my heart, that I shall never be able to forget You or to be separated from You.

May I obtain from all Your loving kindness the grace of having my name written in Your Heart, for in You I desire to place all my happiness and glory, living and dying in bondage to You.

Amen.

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MUST READS TODAY:

• Pope Benedict XVI's Full Text Homily from the Mass on the Feast of the Sacred Heart
• Pope answers priests' questions on celibacy, prayer, and vocations 
• World needs converted priests, not ecclesial engineers, Cardinal Meisner states
• Pope sees the Devil behind timing of sex abuse crisis

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PLENARY INDULGENCE TODAY
You can get a plenary indulgence today, which is the actual closing of the Year for Priests. The decree apparently contained an error, naming June 19th the closing date. It is actually today, the 11th. Here is what the decree reads, in part:

B. The Plenary Indulgence is granted to all the faithful who are truly repentant who, in church or in chapel, devoutly attend the divine Sacrifice of Mass and offer prayers to Jesus Christ the Eternal High Priest, for the priests of the Church, and any other good work which they have done on that day, so that he may sanctify them and form them in accordance with His Heart, as long as they have made expiation for their sins through sacramental confession and prayed in accordance with the Supreme Pontiff's intentions: on the days in which the Year for Priests begins and ends, on the day of the 150th anniversary of the pious passing of St John Mary Vianney, on the first Thursday of the month or on any other day established by the local Ordinaries for the benefit of the faithful.

It will be most appropriate, in cathedral and parish churches, for the same priests who are in charge of pastoral care to publicly direct these exercises of devotion, to celebrate Holy Mass and to hear the confession of the faithful.

The Plenary Indulgence will likewise be granted to the elderly, the sick and all those who for any legitimate reason are confined to their homes who, with a mind detached from any sin and with the intention of fulfilling as soon as possible the three usual conditions, at home or wherever their impediment detains them, provided that on the above-mentioned days they recite prayers for the sanctification of priests and confidently offer the illnesses and hardships of their lives to God through Mary Queen of Apostles.

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The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church; it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!

Feast of the Sacred Heart: Procession Out

This is the final post in a series of photo-related posts on the Sacred Heart 2006. It was approximatey 8:20pm when these were taken. First, Benediction, followed by the Procession out of the Grotto Cemetary.




Sacred Heart 2006 - Post 1

Sacred Heart 2006 - Post 2

Sacred Heart 2006 - Post 3

Sacred Heart 2006 - Post 4

Sacred Heart 2006 - Post 5

Sacred Heart 2006 - Post 6

Devotion to the Sacred Heart - Part 3

On the eve of the Feast of the Sacred Heart, I bring you to the last section of Fr. Wagner's article on Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

In this part, he leads us into meditating on the 8 Flames....

The Flames of Love issuing from the Heart of Jesus

The better we come to know the love of the Sacred Heart, the better our love will leap up like a flame in response to His love. Rather than try to acquire spiritual growth through asceticism, which is slow and painful, we should enkindle the fire of our love in the Heart of Jesus. This is not to deny the need for asceticism; asceticism is necessary, only it should be inspired by love. To this end, we want to consider how the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus reaches out to us in love from the tabernacle, in order to inflame our hearts with a reciprocal response of love. St. John Eudes discerns eight different flames of love which issue from our Lord's Heart in the tabernacle which are freely adapted here to our present needs.


The First Flame Impels Christ to Remain with us

"The first flame is the inconceivable love of the Sacred Heart of Jesus which impelled Him to abide there continuously night and day, for nearly 2000 years, to be always with us, so as to fulfill [His] promise." "Behold, He assures us, "I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world" (Mt 28,20). St. John Eudes, accordingly, understands this as a Eucharistic Promise. As he points out, this is an imprisonment of love. What loneliness, coldness and abandonment; never was there a lover so spurned and so neglected. "Could you not watch one hour with me?!" On the one hand -- when He finds Himself in the midst of friends -- it is a sheer delight: "It was my delight to be with the sons of men."


The Second Flame Repairs All Our Debts

The second flame of this fiery furnace is the love of our Lord's Heart which issues forth and rises up to heaven in order to pay our greatest debt. [continue reading the 8 flames and conclusion.......]


Post 1 and 2 originate from the same text. Tomorrow is Sacred Heart!!! Print this out and read it tonite and if possible, try to attend holy Mass.

For those who are local, the 7:00pm daily Mass on Friday at Assumption Grotto will feature the choir. I previously stated this would be our last Mass until August 15, but Fr. Perrone decided we would sing on Sunday at 9:30 as well before releasing us into the summer!

Novena to the Sacred Heart - Starts Today!

Sacred Heart is next Friday. The Novena begins today. It should be added soon to a new section on the Grotto website for Novenas. In the meanwhile, you can get the Novena that will be used at Assumption Grotto right here. There may be others better suited for private recitation, but some may want to follow along with this on the days they cannot make it to Grotto.

You can find some good info here....

EWTN's web page for the "Two Hearts"

Priest: Glory, love and thanksgiving to the Sacred heart of Jesus!

(All kneel)

People: O Lord Jesus Christ, meek and humble of Heart, who invites
those who labor and find life burdensome to come to you for rest and comfort;
may we comprehend the breadth, and length, height and depth of the mystery
of your divine love and obtain those life-giving waters of grace and mercy which
flow from your most Sacred Heart. May we seek to love you with our whole heart,
soul, mind and strength and to love others as you love them.

Priest: Jesus, meek and humble of Heart
People: make our hearts like unto thine.

Priest: Heart of Jesus, consumed with love for us:
People: set our hearts on fire with love for you.

Priest: Sacred Heart of Jesus, strengthened in your agony by an Angel:
People: strengthen all those who suffer.

Priest: Let us pray.
May your Holy Spirit, we beseech you, O Lord
enkindle in us that fire which our Lord Jesus Christ sent
upon the earth from the innermost recesses of his Sacred Heart,
and which He willed should burn with exceeding warmth:
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.

People: Amen.
Priest: In the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

People: Amen.


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Feast of the Sacred Heart: Brief Adoration

A few more photos from the Feast of the Sacred Heart - these are leading up to Benediction, which I will bring to you in the next post.







Sacred Heart 2006 - Post 1

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Sacred Heart 2006 - Post 5

New Auxiliary Bishops for Detroit!

The long wait for auxiliary bishops is finally over for Detroit with the appointment of Msgr. Donald Hanchon and Fr. Michael Byrnes - both from this archdiocese - to the posts.   That gives us four bishops: Archbishop Vigneron, Bishop Reiss, and on May 5th, these two men.

I must get off to work, so I'll pass along what is on the AoD's website for now.  Also, I do not really know either of them so I can't offer anything beyond what is here.  Please keep these men and all the priests of our archdiocese in your prayers.  May the Holy Spirit guide them and the Blessed Mother protect them.


From the Archdiocese of Detroit:

Pope Benedict XVI has named two local priests, Monsignor Donald Hanchon and Father Michael Byrnes, to be auxiliary bishops for the Archdiocese of Detroit. Bishop-designates Hanchon and Byrnes will be ordained as the archdiocese's 26th and 27th auxiliary bishops, respectively, on May 5 at the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Detroit. Auxiliary bishops aid the archbishop in the pastoral care of the archdiocese.

Detroit Archbishop Allen Vigneron will introduce both men at 11:30 a.m. today at Sacred Heart Major Seminary. In their roles as bishops, Bishop-designate Hanchon will retain his administrative responsibilities for the parishes and priests of the Central Region. Bishop-designate Byrnes will assume administrative responsibilities for the Northeast Region beginning July 1.

"It's a great blessing for the archdiocese to have auxiliary bishops to lead two of the pastoral regions, as well as to perform other pastoral duties inherent in a bishop's role," Archbishop Vigneron said. "Certainly it's an honor for a priest to be selected for this level of responsibility. More than an honor, it's about new capacity for sharing Christ with others."

Bishop-designate Donald Hanchon

Bishop-designate Hanchon, 63, was born in Jackson, attended St. Mary grade school in Wayne and Sacred Heart Seminary High School in Detroit. He attended Sacred Heart Seminary, St. John's Provincial Seminary, University of Notre Dame, and University of Detroit, and was ordained a priest Oct. 19, 1974 at St. Mary Church in Wayne by Bishop Joseph Imesch. He has spent his priesthood serving at a number of parishes in Detroit, Monroe, Warren and Port Huron. He has been pastor of Holy Redeemer in Detroit since 1999 and in 2009 was named episcopal vicar for the archdiocese's Central Region. He also has taught at Sacred Heart Major Seminary and has served as archdiocesan coordinator for Hispanic ministries.

"I renew my confidence in God's grace, and humbly accede to the Holy Father's wish to appoint me as a bishop to work under Archbishop Vigneron in the service of the people of the Archdiocese of Detroit," said Bishop-designate Hanchon. "I promise obedience because I believe that the God who began this good work in me all those years ago will indeed bring it to fulfillment. I thank Archbishop Vigneron for his trust in me, and his joyful encouragement to serve."

Bishop-designate Michael Byrnes

Bishop-designate Byrnes, 52, was born in Detroit and went to St. Mary of Redford grade school and Detroit Catholic Central High School, and went on to earn a Bachelor of Science degree in microbiology from the University of Michigan. He began ministerial work in campus ministry at Eastern Michigan University, became involved in the Charismatic Renewal, and entered Sacred Heart Major Seminary in 1990. He was ordained a priest May 25, 1996, by Cardinal Adam Maida at the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Detroit. He later received a doctorate in sacred theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. He has taught at the seminary and ministered at parishes. He has been vice rector of Sacred Heart Major Seminary and pastor of Presentation/Our Lady of Victory Parish in Detroit since 2004.

"I am honored that the Holy Father and Archbishop Vigneron have such confidence in me to make this appointment. I will do my best not to let them down," said Bishop-designate Byrnes. "I love being a priest of Jesus Christ, and I have loved my work helping young men discern and prepare for the priesthood, and as the pastor of Presentation/Our Lady of Victory Parish to enable the ministry of administrator Deacon Hubert Sanders. Archbishop Vigneron mentioned to me that my assignment as auxiliary bishop will entail 'helping parishes and helping priests.' I place my trust in God's providence that these experiences, along with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, will help me to do that."

In the Detroit archdiocese, Bishop-designates Hanchon and Byrnes join Auxiliary Bishop Francis Reiss and retired Auxiliary Bishops Moses Anderson, SSE, and Thomas Gumbleton. Archbishop Allen Vigneron serves as chief shepherd for the 1.4 million Catholics who reside in Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Monroe, Lapeer and St. Clair Counties.

The Michigan Catholic online has more information.

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Feast of the Sacred Heart: Tantum Ergo Sacramentum

"....veneremur cernui"

What followed 7:00pm holy Mass, was Benediction, then a procession to the large outdoor Grotto, as we do on all good-weather, summer Sundays following our 9:30am.

I'm going to stop here for the photo of the day, and bring more pictures from the Feast of the Sacred Heart in later posts. I want to focus on this for a moment. Note the priest bowing as he kneels. We had just begun the Tantum Ergo and I would like to highlight this "Sacred Moment".

From New Advent, the online Catholic Encyclopedia:

TANTUM ERGO

The opening words of the penultimate stanza of the Vesper hymn (see PANGE LINGUA GLORIOSI, II) of Corpus Christi. This stanza and the closing one, or doxology ("Genitori" etc.), form a separate hymn which is prescribed for Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament (q.v.).

In private exposition, where permission has been obtained to give benediction with the pyx, the two stanzas are recited by the priest (or sung by a choir, if this is feasible: "si fieri potest, optandum est", says Van der Stappen). In other expositions they must always be sung. Customs vary in respect of the method of singing. In some places the choir sings the two stanzas; in others, the celebrant sings the opening words of each stanza, the choir continuing. The Ritual (Tit. IX, c.5) speaks of all the clergy present singing the stanzas, and Scholber (Caeremoniae missarum solemnium et pontificalium), commenting on this, suggests that either the celebrant and assisting clergy should intone the first line of the stanza, or the choir alone should sing both stanzas. A profound inclination of the head is made at the words "veneremur cernui" (Wapelhorst). The "American Ecclesiastical Review" (XXI, 1889, 644) points out that the rubrics do not prescribe an inclination of the head at the words "veneremur cernui", although the practice is frequent. Gardelllini, in his "Commentary on the Clementine Instruction" (XXIV, 9-10), cites the custom of the churches of Rome; and the Rituals before his day make mention of the profound inclination at the Tantum ergo down to the word "cernui": "nam in verbo cernui completur dictionis sensus, qui inclinationem postulat".

Continue reading Tantum Ergo...


So, what we have is a pious custom and a good one I believe. When I noticed the priests doing this, it led me to ponder the words I had put to memory. What did they mean? I had seen the English on the facing page many times, but never bothered much, until now.

Here is the first stanza in Latin:

Tantum ergo Sacramentum
veneremur cernui:
et antiquum documentum
novo cedat ritui:
praestet fides supplementum
sensuum defectui

Here it is in English.

Down in adoration falling,
Lo! the sacred Host we hail;
Lo! o'er ancient forms departing,
newer rites of grace prevail;
faith for all defects supplying,
where the feeble sense fail.

Looking at the first two lines, I can understand why we would want to bow.

Sacred Heart 2006 - Post 1

Sacred Heart 2006 - Post 2

Sacred Heart 2006 - Post 3

First Friday Devotions, Dawn Eden on Catholic Answers, and Cardinal Dolan's Prayer at DNC

Today is First Friday. The first Friday of every month is when many make devotions to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Go to an Adoration chapel if you can get to one today. Assumption Grotto holds Adoration in the parish church rather than in the small chapel today, until about 6:30.  

Sacred Heart devotion fell by the wayside along with many other time-tested devotions, but has been making a big comeback. I wrote a lengthy post about the need to make reparation, especially before making petitions. Specifically, if we are going to ask God to sanctify the United States, ought we not first make an act of reparation for what we and others have done to offend God? Here is a portion of what was in my post on this:

Pope Pius XI on Reparation

Pius XI wrote extensively about reparation in his 1928 encyclical, Miserentissimus Redemptor (on Reparation to the Sacred Heart), it is hard not to imagine that it was written for today. In fact, it is truly timeless and something worth revisiting considering the problems we now face.  While the Month of the Sacred Heart (June) is now behind us, devotion to the Sacred Heart is performed around the year, particularly on the First Friday of each month. This particular encyclical treats the subject of reparation very deeply, and it is a relatively short read.

Near the beginning, in paragraph 4, Pope Pius XI says something that caught my attention, given our current situation here in the United States. Remember, this was written in 1928.

"...But since in the last century, and in this present century, things have come to such a pass, that by the machinations of wicked men the sovereignty of Christ Our Lord has been denied and war is publicly waged against the Church, by passing laws and promoting plebiscites repugnant to Divine and natural law,..."

Paragraphs 16 and 17 are worth quoting in full because they too seem remarkably written for today:

16. But it is yet more to be lamented, Venerable Brethren, that among the faithful themselves, washed in Baptism with the blood of the immaculate Lamb, and enriched with grace, there are found so many men of every class, who laboring under an incredible ignorance of Divine things and infected with false doctrines, far from their Father's home, lead a life involved in vices, a life which is not brightened by the light of true faith, nor gladdened by the hope of future beatitude, nor refreshed and cherished by the fire of charity; so that they truly seem to sit in darkness and in the shadow of death. Moreover, among the faithful there is a greatly increasing carelessness of ecclesiastical discipline, and of those ancient institutions on which all Christian life rests, by which domestic society is governed, and the sanctity of marriage is safeguarded; the education of children is altogether neglected, or else it is depraved by too indulgent blandishments, and the Church is even robbed of the power of giving the young a Christian education; there is a sad forgetfulness of Christian modesty especially in the life and the dress of women; there is an unbridled cupidity of transitory things, a want of moderation in civic affairs, an unbounded ambition of popular favor, a depreciation of legitimate authority, and lastly a contempt for the word of God, whereby faith itself is injured, or is brought into proximate peril. 

17. But all these evils as it were culminate in the cowardice and the sloth of those who, after the manner of the sleeping and fleeing disciples, wavering in their faith, miserably forsake Christ when He is oppressed by anguish or surrounded by the satellites of Satan, and in the perfidy of those others who following the example of the traitor Judas, either partake of the holy table rashly and sacrilegiously, or go over to the camp of the enemy. And thus, even against our will, the thought rises in the mind that now those days draw near of which Our Lord prophesied: "And because iniquity hath abounded, the charity of many shall grow cold" (Matth. xxiv, 12).

Of course, abortion was not legal in the U.S. in 1928 and in many other countries. While there were always some abortions happening illegally, since Roe v. Wade more than 54 million persons were deprived of the opportunity to know, love, and serve God giving us more then 54 million acts of reparation to make collectively.  This says nothing of the children they were destined to have, and their offspring.  From among these discarded people were priests and religious who could have served our parishes and schools (keeping them open), scientists who could have discovered cures for cancer, engineers who could have solved the problems of famine, diplomats who could have prevented wars, musicians and artists, and many ordinary people. Abortions don't end when they become illegal; they end when hearts are won over to Christ!  Moreover, no one is beyond God's mercy for those who seek it, including women who have had abortions, and for those who encouraged them.

In paragraph 18, Pius XI writes, "Now, whosoever of the faithful have piously pondered on all these things must need be inflamed with the charity of Christ in His agony and make a more vehement endeavor to expiate their own faults and those of others, to repair the honor of Christ, and to promote the eternal salvation of souls."  In the next paragraph, we are reminded of how the Angel consoled Jesus in the garden.  When we make acts of reparation - big and small -  they are consoling to Our Lord because He is not confined by time.


There is a Prayer of Reparation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus at the end of the encyclical, Miserentissimus Redemptor.  And, there are a number of other prayers associated with this devotion.

When you have time, visit my post on reparation and see what others had to say about reparation including Fr. John Hardon, SJ, and how St. Dominic Savio made reparation a part of his life, and some discussion of Fatima and Divine Mercy. 

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On another topic, Dawn Eden, who visited Detroit this past spring to talk about her new book, My Peace I Give You: Healing Sexual Wounds with the Help of the Saints, will be on Catholic Answers Live with Patrick Coffin tonight at 7 PM Eastern.  If you don't get it on the radio, you can tune in online.  

Visit Dawn's blog to see where she has been on her book tour, to hear audio, see video, and get more information about where she is visiting next. 

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Now, if you missed Cardinal Dolan's benediction at the Democratic National Convention, you can watch it here. I think Fox News and C-Span were the only two that carried it. The networks bowed out. You will find some of this pleasantly surprising and bold.

 

Here is the full text of Cardinal Dolan's prayer for those who want to read it.

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The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church;
it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!
- Diane M. Korzeniewski

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Feast of the Sacred Heart: Procession

Here are a few pics of the procession into the Grotto following holy Mass. It was around 8:00pm. Pictures in the Grotto are best at dusk.








I'll throw in one picture from the grotto itself and will bring more photos of Benediction in another post.



Sacred Heart 2006 - Post 1

Sacred Heart 2006 - Post 2

Sacred Heart 2006 - Post 3

Sacred Heart 2006 - Post 4

Fr. Perrone: Don't Make God only an object of study

This homily was delivered by Fr. Perrone at the 9:30 am Mass on October 9, 2011 which was the 17th Sunday after Pentecost in the 1962 Missal.  He speaks about loving God with our whole heart, soul and mind.

I’ve been waiting for two long years to preach a sermon on the 17th Sunday after Pentecost. When it came round last year I did not have the Tridentine Mass. The reason for my zeal to have a word about it was the reading of Saint Bernard’s Commentary on the Song of Songs which was my spiritual book at the time. In the final chapter of the first volume there’s found the Saint’s thoughts on three key words of the Gospel today: heart, soul and mind. The greatest commandment, in the words of our Lord, is to “love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul and with thy whole mind.” His second commandment, as is well-known, is “to love thy neighbor as thyself.” Sermons easily gravitate towards the latter commandment but less frequently explain the primary one. I thought it wise to share my enthusiasm for Saint Bernard’s thoughts with you since the ‘greatest commandment’ is so often slighted in preaching.


These three words of Christ–heart, soul, mind–have a distinctively Hebraic ring to them. By this I mean that they would probably have been received by Jewish ears as synonyms, as three words meaning basically the same thing, their repetition lending intensification or emphasis, just as when we say that the summer’s weather is “hot, muggy, and uncomfortable.” Thus, to love God with the whole of one’s heart, soul and mind would have amounted to saying “with all you’ve got.” Yet one cannot so easily exhaust the divine word of God in this way. As commentators over the centuries have pondered the meaning of every syllable uttered by Christ, they have uncovered shades of meaning and divine intentions not so facilely suspected upon first hearing. And so we come to the Commentary of Saint Bernard ready to learn from his mind so well immersed in the word of God.


To begin with, let us review that anyone who does not love the Lord is accursed, according to the teaching of Saint Paul. Indeed, we ought to love the One through whom we have our being, our life, and our ability to know. If we are ungrateful to God, we are unworthy of Him. We were created for the express purpose of Himself, and so, whoever lives for himself and not for God is as nothing. The other motivation that arouses in us the love for Christ is the chalice of suffering that He drank to the full in His passion and death in order to win the salvation of our souls. This should add a sweetness to our love for Him since He labored so hard in us, whereas in creating us He merely spoke His word, effortlessly.


I turn now to a consideration of those three words–heart, soul, mind–which express the qualities of our love for God. We learn from Christ how it is that we ought to love Him. We can’t allow the undeniably attractive things of the world or the pleasures of the flesh to lead us astray. Christ is a greater good than the deceits that beguile so many. There is this threefold love commanded by our Lord: The love of the heart refers (according to Saint Bernard) to the warmth of affection. The love of soul relates to the judgment of reason. The love of strength to our constancy and vigor of spirit. Accordingly, one should love God will the full and deep affection of his heart. One should love Him with a mind fully alert; and one should love Him with such strength so as not to fear even to die for love of Him.


The Saint deepens his insights. Your affection for your Lord Jesus, the love of the heart, should be both tender and intimate. In this way it will be able to oppose the sweet enticements of the sensual life. This is how one sweetness can conquer another sweetness, just as the way one nail drives out another. Loving Christ with your mind means that He is the guiding light of your thoughts, not only by your rejection of false religion and heretical beliefs, but even by shaping of the words of your conversations. The strength and constancy of that love means that one need have no fear at the sometimes hard-work there is in Christian living. In sum then, one should love Christ affectionately, wisely and intensely. All three are needed: affection without reason can be carried astray in emotional fantasy; a wise love is good but alone it is too fragile without the added strength.

Loving Christ with the heart means being touched by His every word, by His sacred humanity. The soul at prayer, says the Saint, should have before it a sacred image of the God-man, in His birth or infancy, or as He was teaching, or dying on the cross, or rising or ascending into heaven. This image of Christ helps bind one’s soul with the love of virtue and helps it expel impure vices, eliminate temptations, and quiet the raging desires of the flesh. Bernard himself believes that this may have been the principal reason why the invisible God wished to come and to be seen in the flesh and to converse with men who would have been unable to love Him in any other way than by first drawing them to His own humanity and then gradually to raise them to a deeper spiritual love. The measure of our love for Christ can easily be calculated by whether we prefer Him to someone else, or to some sensual pleasure. This would prove in us a love divided. As He said, however, “whoever loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me.” To love with the whole heart means to put love of His sacred humanity before everything that may tempt us, either from within or without.

While there is a good deal more to the teaching of Saint Bernard on this subject, I inject here a reflection of my own. There is a huge danger in proposing the Catholic faith without a tender affection for Christ. A number of things have leagued together to create an affective vacuum in our spirituality: one of which has been the removal of uplifting sacred images from our churches, the scarcity of printed holy cards, crucifixes and absence of pious images form our homes. Another has been making Christ’s words a source of didactic instruction without any corresponding love for them. It’s wholly significant, I think, that Christ did not say that we are to know or to learn about God with our whole heart, soul and mind but rather that we must love Him so. Religion can be a pretty chilly exercise of the mind and will when piety is removed from it. Such a religion would be, I think, incapable of shunning the sinful attractions everywhere proposed to us and would fail to make us ascend unto sanctity of life. The Lord once uttered a provocative word when He asked whether upon His return to earth the love of God in men’s hearts would have become cold. The spiritual atmosphere has certainly cooled in recent years and there is little left to make us devout Christiansother than discovering, or rediscovering, the love of Christ through affection for His sacred humanity: through His Sacred Heart, through the Divine Mercy, through His cross. This is the very Christ who comes to us in Holy Communion: His obstinately faithful way of proving His love.

People easily err today in regard to religion by making it too much a cerebral thing, making God only an object of study. As a consequence, many feel spiritually disengaged and think they are losing their faith, when in fact that may indeed be the case. Re-enkindling the love of Christ is the remedy for recurring sinfulness and for waning devotion. That totality which Christ speaks of–the whole heart, soul and mind–is the goal of anyone aspiring to eternal life. Catholics have much to relearn about the love of God that comes to us through the sacred humanity of God-become-man in Christ.

Given on the 17th Sunday after Pentecost, 2011 - October 9, 2011 (1962 Missal)

Photo note:  Fr. Perrone meditating at the organ during readings at the Noon Mass on Easter Sunday, 2006.  He had conducted an orchestra Mass at 9:30 am, and assisted with singing at the Noon Mass, filling in at the organ.

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The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church; it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!

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Sacred Heart of Jesus

Today is the Sacred Heart of Jesus.  I have written some detailed posts in the past.  You can read them if you scroll here.

I have an affection for vintage holy cards.  The level of detail in them shows how much love went into them.  This one came from a site named after the Sacred Heart where there are more vintage cards for the day.

Sacred  Heart of Jesus, make my heart like unto thine!

I have some photos from a wedding last weekend in process.  I should have them posted this weekend. I've been deeply engrossed in finishing an important project on a deadline.  God-willing, I'll get to share it with you some months from now.

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For interesting news items I don't have time to blog on, check out my Twitter Feed: @TeDeumBlog

Te Deum Laudamus! Home

The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church;
it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!
- Diane M. Korzeniewski

Note: The recommended links below are automatically generated by the tool, so they are not necessarily related content.

Photos: Seven Men Ordained Transitional Deacons in Detroit

Yesterday, seven men were ordained transitional deacons by the Most Reverend Michael J. Byrnes, Auxiliary Bishop of Detroit, at Sacred Heart Major Seminary. This is the last stop before priestly ordination.  One of the men ordained yesterday, is a fellow parishioner at Assumption Grotto, Rev. Mr. Louis Lapeyre.

I took many stock photos at the chapel of Sacred Heart Major Seminary (SHMS) yesterday, but I will save those for another post some time within the next week.  As you will see in these photos, there was some real craftsmanship that went into this old building.

What follows are just a sampling of the many photos taken.  At the bottom you will find a link that will take you to the full gallery.

The environment was much darker than that to which I am accustomed.  No flash is used during liturgical events, so natural lighting is all there is to work with.  Regrettably, I did not use a white card to set white balance before-hand, so they may be "warmer" in appearance.  I use Adobe Lightroom and can still tinker with quality, but two computers show me two different hues and exposures.  It's hard to tell which one is right.

There were many religious orders represented among those watching, including some of the S.O.L.T. brothers who are studying at SHMS.

The Mass got underway. Roughly 50 priests were there for the ordinations.  I've been told that the window seen in the Sanctuary was made by the same man who crafted the stained-glass windows at Assumption Grotto.

Bishop Byrnes delivers his homily

From left to right: Rev. Mr. Joseph Kirkconnell (St. Ignatius, Cayman Islands), Rev. Mr. Jeffery Allan (St. Colette, Livonia), and Rev. Mr. Ryan Adams (Holy Redeemer, Detroit)

Rev. Mr. John Kopson (St. Mary Queen of Creation, New Baltimore) , Rev. Mr. Louis Lapeyre (Assumption Grotto, Detroit), Rev. Mr. Gregory Piatt (St. Sylvesters, Warren), Rev. Mr. Joseph Tuskiewicz (St. Josaphat, Detroit)

The promise of respect and obedience to the Ordinary of the diocese and successors

The Litany of the Saints

Laying on of Hands and Prayer of Ordination

Investiture with Stole and Dalmatic

Handing on of the Book of the Gospels

Kiss of peace

Incensing the Altar as we entered Offertory

The Sacred Heart Seminary Choir after singing a beautiful "O Cor Jesu" by Rossini

Rev. Mr. Greg Piatt is seen kneeling here

Rev. Mr. John Kopson holds the Sacred Chalice

Rev. Mr. Louis Lapeyre

Rev. Mr. Jeffery Allan spoke on behalf of the newly ordained

Pure cuteness got in the way of my camera lens

I had never been in the gym at Sacred Heart Major Seminary, but even that shows the craftsmanship of a previous era.  The reception was held here. This doesn't do it justice, but gives you a glimpse. 

Please pray for these new transitional deacons for Detroit, and all of the seminarians in the Archdiocese of Detroit working towards the priesthood. (see more at DetroitPriest.com including social media options)

There are many more photos from this event in my Smugmug account.  

• Gallery (several pages of thumbnails you can go through)
• Slideshow (this is a good way to view them, but I recommend setting it to "fast" in the upper left corner)

Want Prints?

Newly ordained deacons should see Rev. Mr. Louis Lapeyre who will have a disk for you and your families, with my compliments. Perhaps you could include me in your prayers.

All others are welcome to purchase photos through the Smugmug site.  Purchases help mitigate the cost of uploading high resolution photos to a quality site that offers a quality service.  If you have problems, please let me know.

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The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church;
it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!
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