Our Morning Offering – 21 May – “The Month of the Blessed Virgin Mary”
St Robert Bellarmine’s Hymn to Mary the Virgin: Among St Robert’s extant writing, there is a short poem of twenty stanzas which he composed in the nature of a Litany to the Blessed Virgin. The text was first published in Italian some fifty years ago and to the best of the writer’s knowledge, has never been translated into English. Each verse-line begins with the name “Virgin,” joined to a title and petition to Our Lady, starting with the letter “A” and going down the Italian alphabet to “V.” Thus the first seven verses begin with the invocation: “Vergine adorna … Vergine Bella …Vergine casta … Vergine degna … Vergine eletta … Vergine felice … Vergine gradita …”
A translation to this tribute to the Virgin Mother reads as follows: – Servant of God Fr John A Hardon SJ (1914-2000).
Hymn to Mary the Virgin By St Robert Bellarmine (1542-1621) Doctor of the Church.
Virgin adored and clothed with the sun, grant me thine aid. Virgin most beautiful, mystical rose, take abode in my heart. Virgin most chaste, all undefiled, grant me true peace. Virgin deserving of all honour and praise, give me thy love. Virgin elect and full of all grace, lead me to God. Virgin most blessed, star of the sea, dispel the storms besetting me. Virgin most virtuous, holy and sweet, show me the way. Virgin illustrious, with thy burning light, enlighten thou my mind. Virgin more precious than jewels or gold, make reparation for me. Virgin most worthy of all praise, mother, daughter and immaculate spouse. Virgin and Mother, make me more pleasing to Jesus thy Son. Virgin most innocent of any stain or fault, make me more worthy of God. Virgin enriched with every gift and grace, obtain the remission of my sins. Virgin most pure, grant me to enjoy the bliss of heavenly love. Virgin, thou lily among thorns, I pray thee for the grace of a happy death. Virgin more rare than the rarest dream, bring joy to my heart. Virgin so great, there is none like thee on earth, bring peace to my soul. Virgin most true, loving Mother too, Virgin Mary. Amen.
St Peter Canisius SJ (1521-1597) – The Known as “The Hammer of Protestantism,” “Second Apostle of Germany” – Confessor, Doctor of the Church, Dutch Priest of the Society of Jesus, Reformer, Teacher, Writer, Apostle of Charity. Patronages – Catholic Press, Germany, Catechists. The restoration of the Catholic Church in Germany after the Protestant Reformation is largely attributed to the work there of the Society of Jesus, which he led. “Peter Canisius was the first publisher, the first author, the first editor of the Society of Jesus. By now, Jesuits have followed in his footsteps to the tune of having published in 400 years, thousands of books. From the time of Canisius, and his name is first in the bibliography of Jesuit writers, from Peter Canisius to the end of the l9th century, that is to 1900, there are about twenty volumes of bibliography, each volume about two inches thick, stands about eighteen inches high, filled just with authors and titles, thousands and thousands and thousands, no other religious institute in the Church publishes as much as members of the Society. It was all started by Peter Canisius.” (Ven Servan of God Fr John A Hardon SJ) His Feast day is 27 April (General Roman Calendar, 1926–1969. Biography: https://anastpaul.com/2017/12/21/saint-of-the-day-21-december-st-peter-canisius-s-j-1521-1397-doctor-of-the-church/ AND: https://anastpaul.com/2018/12/21/saint-of-the-day-21-december-st-peter-canisius-s-j-1521-1397-the-second-apostle-of-germany-doctor-of-the-church/
Our lady of Montserrat, patroness of Catalonia. The statue of the black Madonna is in the Church of Santa Maria de Montserrat Abbey, Catalonia, Spain. Photographed from 21.07.2015.
St Adelelmus of Le Mans St Asicus of Elphin St Castor of Tarsus St Enoder St Floribert of Liege
Blessed Jakov Varingez OFM (c 1400–1496) Croatian professed religious of the Order of Friars Minor, Apostle of charity, Mystic with a great devotion to the Cross of Christ, Marian devotee, he was noted as a miracle worker and levitated. He was Beatified on 29 December 1700 by Pope Clement XIH. His body is incorrupt. His Life: https://anastpaul.com/2019/04/27/saint-of-the-day-27-april-blessed-jakov-varingez-ofm-c-1400-1496/
St John of Kathara (c770-c835) Priest, Abbot St Liberalis of Treviso St Maughold
St Peter Armengol OdeM (c 1238-1304) “The Martyr who Wasn’t,” “The Unconquerable Martyr of Jesus Christ,” “The Gangster Saint,”Spanish Priest of the Mercedarian Friars, Penitent, Mystic. Beatified on 28 March 1686, by Pope Innocent XI and Canonised on 8 April 1687, by the same Pope. His body was incorrupt until it was destroyed during the horrors of the Spanish Civil War. A Miraculous Life: https://anastpaul.com/2022/04/27/saint-of-the-day-27-april-saint-peter-armengol-odem-c-1238-1304-the-martyr-who-wasnt/
St Pollio of Cybalae St Simeon of Jerusalem St Stephen of Tarsus St Tertullian of Bologna St Theophilus of Brescia St Winewald of Beverley
St Zita of Lucca (1212-1272) Virgin, Laywoman, Apostle of the Poor. – Her reputation was such that Dante in the Inferno referred to the City of Luccam, her birthplace and home, as “Santa Zita.” P atronages – housewives, butlers, housemaid, domestic servants (proclaimed by Pope Pius XII), housemaid, lost keys, maids, manservants, people ridiculed for their piety, rape victims, servants, servers, single laywomen, waiters, Lucca, Italy. Her body is incorrupt. Biography:. https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/04/27/saint-of-the-day-27-april-st-zita-of-lucca/
Martyrs of Nicomedia: A group of Christians murdered together for their faith. In most cases all we have are their names – Dioscurus, Evanthia, Felicia, Felix, Germana, Germelina, Johannes, Julius, Laetissima, Nikeforus, Papias, Serapion and Victorinus. They died at Nicomedia, Bithynia, Asia Minor (modern Izmit, Turkey).
The Office of Tenebrae (Darkness from the Latin) The Funeral Service of the Lord on Spy Wednesday, Maundy Thursday and Good Friday
The public singing of part of the Divine Office, on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday evenings of Holy Week, anticipating Matins and Lauds of Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday. A custom that went back centuries, it acquired the name because of the mourning ritual surrounding the ceremony, which included a triangular stand with fifteen candles. These were put out one by one until, after the last candle was extinguished, a prayer was said in darkness, one candle was lighted, and the assembly dispersed in silence. — Fr John Hardon, Modern Catholic Dictionary
The Matins and Lauds of the Divine Office sung during the Triduum (Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday) are known as the Tenebrae services (“tenebrae” meaning “darkness or shadows”), which is basically a funeral service for Our Lord.
During the Matins on Good Friday, one by one, the candles are extinguished in the Church, leaving the congregation in total darkness and in a silence that is punctuated by the “strepitus” (a loud clang intended to evoke the earthquake that occurred at the moment of Our Saviour’s Death) meant to evoke the convulsion of nature at the Death of Christ. It has also been described as the sound of the tomb door closing.
Our Morning Offering – 3 August – “The Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary”
Hymn to Mary the Virgin By St Robert Bellarmine (1542-1621) Doctor of the Church.
Virgin adored and clothed with the sun, grant me thine aid. Virgin most beautiful, mystical rose, take abode in my heart. Virgin most chaste, all undefiled, grant me true peace. Virgin deserving of all honour and praise, give me thy love. Virgin elect and full of all grace, lead me to God. Virgin most blessed, star of the sea, dispel the storms besetting me. Virgin most virtuous, holy and sweet, show me the way. Virgin illustrious, with thy burning light, enlighten thou my mind. Virgin more precious than jewels or gold, make reparation for me. Virgin most worthy of all praise, mother, daughter and immaculate spouse. Virgin and Mother, make me more pleasing to Jesus thy Son. Virgin most innocent of any stain or fault, make me more worthy of God. Virgin enriched with every gift and grace, obtain the remission of my sins. Virgin most pure, grant me to enjoy the bliss of heavenly love. Virgin, thou lily among thorns, I pray thee for the grace of a happy death. Virgin more rare than the rarest dream, bring joy to my heart. Virgin so great, there is none like thee on earth, bring peace to my soul. Virgin most true, loving Mother too, Virgin Mary. Amen.
St Robert Bellarmine’s Hymn to Mary the Virgin: Among St Robert’s extant writing, there is a short poem of twenty stanzas which he composed in the nature of a Litany to the Blessed Virgin. The text was first published in Italian some fifty years ago and to the best of the writer’s knowledge, has never been translated into English. Each verse-line begins with the name “Virgin,” joined to a title and petition to Our Lady, starting with the letter “A” and going down the Italian alphabet to “V.” Thus the first seven verses begin with the invocation: “Vergine adorna … Vergine Bella …Vergine casta … Vergine degna … Vergine eletta … Vergine felice … Vergine gradita …”
A translation to this tribute to the Virgin Mother reads as follows: – Servant of God Fr John A Hardon SJ (1914-2000).
Our Morning Offering – 13 May – “The Month of the Blessed Virgin Mary” and the Memorial of St Robert Bellarmine SJ (1542-1621) Bishop, Confessor, Doctor of the Church.
St Robert Bellarmine’s Hymn to Mary the Virgin: Among St Robert’s extant writing, there is a short poem of twenty stanzas which he composed in the nature of a Litany to the Blessed Virgin. The text was first published in Italian some fifty years ago and to the best of the writer’s knowledge, has never been translated into English. Each verse-line begins with the name “Virgin,” joined to a title and petition to Our Lady, starting with the letter “A” and going down the Italian alphabet to “V.” Thus the first seven verses begin with the invocation: “Vergine adorna … Vergine Bella …Vergine casta … Vergine degna … Vergine eletta … Vergine felice … Vergine gradita …”
A translation to this tribute to the Virgin Mother reads as follows: – Servant of God Fr John A Hardon SJ (1914-2000).
Hymn to Mary the Virgin By St Robert Bellarmine (1542-1621) Doctor of the Church.
Virgin adored and clothed with the sun, grant me thine aid. Virgin most beautiful, mystical rose, take abode in my heart. Virgin most chaste, all undefiled, grant me true peace. Virgin deserving of all honour and praise, give me thy love. Virgin elect and full of all grace, lead me to God. Virgin most blessed, star of the sea, dispel the storms besetting me. Virgin most virtuous, holy and sweet, show me the way. Virgin illustrious, with thy burning light, enlighten thou my mind. Virgin more precious than jewels or gold, make reparation for me. Virgin most worthy of all praise, mother, daughter and immaculate spouse. Virgin and Mother, make me more pleasing to Jesus thy Son. Virgin most innocent of any stain or fault, make me more worthy of God. Virgin enriched with every gift and grace, obtain the remission of my sins. Virgin most pure, grant me to enjoy the bliss of heavenly love. Virgin, thou lily among thorns, I pray thee for the grace of a happy death. Virgin more rare than the rarest dream, bring joy to my heart. Virgin so great, there is none like thee on earth, bring peace to my soul. Virgin most true, loving Mother too, Virgin Mary. Amen.
I nearly forgot to remind you – please pray with me.
Devotion to the Most Precious Blood is not a spiritual option, it is a spiritual obligation and that, not only for Priests but for every follower of Christ. I really believe that one of the symptoms of modern society (and I would even include, sadly, modern Catholic society) one of the symptoms of a growing, gnawing secularism is the lessening and the weakening of devotion to the Precious Blood. Devotion, as we know, is a composite of three elements: -It is first- veneration, it is secondly- invocation, and it is thirdly- imitation. In other words, devotion to the Precious Blood of Christ, the Lamb of God who was slain, is first of all to be veneration on our part, which is a composite of knowledge, love and adoration. We are to study to come to a deeper understanding of what those two casual words, Precious Blood, really mean.
I found this passage in the oldest document, outside of Sacred Scripture, from the first century of the Christian era – to be exact, from Pope St. Clement I, dated about 96. Says Pope Clement: “Let us fix our gaze on the Blood of Christ and realise how truly precious It is, seeing that it was poured out for our salvation and brought the grace of conversion to the whole world.“
To understand the meaning of the Precious Blood, we must get some comprehension of the gravity of sin, of the awfulness of offending God because, it required the Blood of the Son of God to forgive that sin. We are living in an age in which to sin has become fashionable.
This veneration of the Precious Blood, which is the first element in our devotion to the Precious Blood, means, that we have a deep sensitivity to the awfulness of sin. Sin must be terrible. It must be awful. It must be the most dreadful thing in the universe. Why? Because it cost the living God in human form, the shedding of His Blood.
Lord Jesus, You became Man, in order, by Your Passion and Death and the draining of Your Blood on the Cross, might prove to us, how much You, our God, love us. Protect us, dear Jesus, from ever running away from the sight of blood. Strengthen our weak human wills so that we will not only, not run away from the Cross but welcome every opportunity to shed our blood in spirit, in union with Your Precious Blood, so that, dying to ourselves in time. we might live with You in Eternity. Amen
ANNOUNCING the NOVENA to the SACRED HEART BEGINS Wednesday 10 JUNE
This devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ is nothing more than an exercise of love towards this amiable Saviour.
But as to the principal object of this devotion, the spiritual object is the love with which the Heart of Jesus Christ is inflamed towards men, because love is generally attributed to the heart, as we read in many places of Scripture: My son, give Me thy heart. [Prov. xxiii. 26] My heart and my flesh have rejoiced in the living God. [Ps. lxxxiii. 3] The God of my heart and the God that is my portion forever. [Ps. lxxii. 26] The charity of God is poured forth in our hearts by the Holy Ghost Who is given to us. [Rom. v. 5]
The material or sensible object is the most Sacred Heart of Jesus, not taken separately by Itself but united to His sacred humanity and, consequently, to the Divine Person of the Word.
“How do we serve God faithfully? We serve Him only as faithfully as we serve Him lovingly, by giving ourselves to the needs of everyone whom God puts into our lives. No-one reaches heaven automatically. Heaven must be dearly paid for. The price of reaching heaven is the practice of selfless love here on earth.
… Devotion of the Sacred Heart is the solution to the gravest problem in the modern world today. How can we give ourselves to those who do not love us, who even positively hate us? We can love them, with the help of divine grace, by following the example of Jesus Christ, who died on the Cross out of love for a sin-laden human race.” … Ven Servant of God Fr John A Hardon SJ (1914-2000)
Sunday Reflection – 7 June – “Month of the Sacred Heart” – The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity
The Sacred Heart is the Holy Eucharist
By Ven Servant of God John A Hardon SJ (1914-2000)
It is impossible to identify the Holy Eucharist too closely with Jesus Christ. We should remember He is in the Holy Eucharist not merely with His substance.
I have corrected many of my students over the years who tell me “Transubstantiation means that the substance of bread and wine become the substance of Jesus Christ.”
I reply, “No, transubstantiation means the substance of bread and wine are no longer there. The substance of bread and wine is replaced, not only by the substance of Christ’s Body and Blood. What replaces the substance of bread and wine is Jesus Christ!”
Everything that makes Christ, Christ replaces what had been the substance of bread and wine.
The substance of bread and wine become the whole Christ.
Therefore, Christ in the Holy Eucharist is there with His human heart.
Is it a living heart? Yes! That is why the revelations our Lord made to St Margaret Mary about promoting devotion to the Sacred Heart were all made from the Holy Eucharist.
Why do we equate the Sacred Heart with the Holy Eucharist?
Because the Holy Eucharist is the whole Christ with His human heart. According to St Margaret Mary, the Sacred Heart is the Holy Eucharist.
So it follows, that devotion to the Sacred Heart is devotion to the Holy Eucharist.
It is infinite Love Incarnate living in our midst in the Blessed Sacrament.
Quote/s of the Day – 21 February – the Memorial of St Peter Damian OSB (1007-1072) Doctor of the Church and St Robert Southwell SJ (1561-1595) Priest and Martyr
The Burning Babe, by Saint Robert Southwell
As I in hoary winter’s night stood shivering in the snow, Surprised I was with sudden heat which made my heart to glow; And lifting up a fearful eye to view what fire was near, A pretty babe all burning bright did in the air appear; Who, scorchëd with excessive heat, such floods of tears did shed As though his floods should quench his flames which with his tears were fed. Alas, quoth he, but newly born in fiery heats I fry, Yet none approach to warm their hearts or feel my fire but I! My faultless breast the furnace is, the fuel wounding thorns, Love is the fire, and sighs the smoke, the ashes shame and scorns; The fuel justice layeth on, and mercy blows the coals, The metal in this furnace wrought are men’s defiled souls, For which, as now on fire I am to work them to their good, So will I melt into a bath to wash them in my blood. With this he vanished out of sight and swiftly shrunk away, And straight I called unto mind that it was Christmas day.
It’s not surprising, it’s one of the great poems of the English language.
St Robert Southwell S.J. (1561-1595) Martyr, Religious Priest, Poet, Hymnodist, Writer, clandestine missionary was born in 1561 in Horsham Saint Faith, Norfolk, England and he was martyred by being hanged, drawn and quartered on 21 February 1595 (aged 33) in Tyburn, London, England. St Robert was Canonised on 25 October 1970 by Blessed Pope Paul VI. “His poetry – we don’t know exactly when he began to write but it must have been very young because he wrote a great deal of which we have the record and by now the English speaking world knows Robert Southwell. His two outstanding poems are ‘The Burning Babe’ and ‘The Virgin Mary to Christ On The Cross.’” (Ven Fr John A Hardon SJ)
Thought for the Day – 21 June – The Memorial of St Aloysius de Gonzaga SJ (1568-1591)
Excerpt from Ven Servant of God John A Hardon’s SJ (1914-2000)
‘Life of St Aloysius’
“To the one virtue which the Church has chosen and on account of which has chosen him ‘the universal patron of youth,’ was his chastity. All the evidence we have, indicates that he had very strong sexual passions. We know that from his own writing, we know that from people who knew him and we know that from what is called penance from one view-point, what is really, you might say, ‘preventive austerity’ from another. He simply believed that unless he mortified his body and I didn’t tell you one tenth of what he did, he just would not get that passion under control.
The lesson for us in a sex-mad world is obvious. You do not control that passion without mortification, you just don’t. As a result, the Church has held him up as a model of what even the most passionate personality can achieve, always with God’s grace. We may not be able to, given our temperament of the circumstances in which we are living, be able to cope with temptation–we need grace. Very well, how do you get the grace? –through prayer and mortification. And Christ’s words about a certain demon not being able to be driven out except through penance. Well, it’s a non-title to give the devil but, he is the demon of lust, though being without a body himself, he knows how, by stirring this passion, he can lead people into any kind of sin. That’s the first and towering lesson of the life of St Aloysius.
As we look at the short life of Aloysius, depending on the person’s view point, it may seem oppressive. It shouldn’t be but, in modern jargon, it has so much (pardon the expression) of the negative, you know, penance, mortification, sin–and a world that has gone mad, drunk with sin, doesn’t realise, that already this side of eternity, we are to be what Aloysius was literally, we are to be, if it is God’s will, ecstatically happy of that. We are not to be sad. We are not, God forbid, to be unhappy.
The secret and what an open secret it is in the life of Aloysius, is to find the happiness in the right place. That’s all, yes but that’s everything.
In other words, as a closing observation, Aloysius showed that’s why the Church Canonised him, that when Christ gave us the eight Beatitudes, which are eight promises of happiness, He meant it.
The condition for being happy, well, that’s part of the Covenant, that’s what we do but if we do our part, God comes through.
St Robert Bellarmine who knew him well, observed he was sure that Aloysius had never committed a mortal sin.
Saint Aloysius, pray for us.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.”
Announcing the NOVENA to the SACRED HEART BEGINS Wednesday, 19 June
Devotion to the Sacred Heart
By Ven Servant of God John A Hardon SJ (1914-2000)
Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is as old as Christianity. When the side of Christ was pierced on Calvary, there immediately flowed out blood and water. The Church has interpreted this to mean, the outpouring of grace through the Church, which began the moment that Christ expired on the Cross.
Over the centuries, the gratitude of the faithful for this manifestation of divine love has centred on the physical Heart of Jesus as the symbol of God’s love for man. We may, therefore, say, that devotion to the Sacred Heart is really devotion to the love of God as revealed in the person of Jesus Christ.
When God became man, it was God – who is love – who became man. In the languages of all nations, the heart is identified with love. Consequently, our devotion to the Heart of Jesus is directed to the love of Jesus in different ways. We love Him as our God, who has loved us from all eternity and out of selfless love brought us into existence and destined us to possess Him for all eternity. We love Him as our God Incarnate, who loved us so much that He assumed our human nature and by His bodily death redeemed us from the eternal death we deserved for our sins. We love Him as our Redeemer who rose from the dead and ascended into heaven where He is preparing a place for us. Where He is, our God united with His human body and soul, we hope to be in His blessed company. We love Him as our Eucharistic Lord who is on earth in His humanity, in the Blessed Sacrament. He offers Himself in the Mass through which He now communicates the graces He won for us on the Cross. By His Real Presence, He invites us to offer Him our adoring love and ask Him to work the miracles He performed during His visible stay in Palestine. To be emphasised is the unique character of devotion to the Sacred Heart. It is nothing less than a synthesis of Catholic Christianity in its loving response to the unspeakable love of God for the sons and daughters of the human family.
For the sake of convenience, we may divide the terms “Sacred Heart” and “Devotion” into two parts: Sacred Heart stands for the love of God, which means the love that is God, the love that God has shown for us from the dawn of creation until now and the love that God will continue to pour out on us into the endless reaches of eternity. Devotion stands for our grateful return of love for love, which is shown in loving sacrifice by the total surrender of our wills to the mysterious and demanding will of God, in loving imitation of Jesus Christ, whose virtues as man, are so many manifestations of His divine attributes as God, in loving worship of Mary’s Son, who is present with His living, pulsating human Heart in the Blessed Sacrament, in loving petition for the graces that we and others, need to serve Him faithfully, here on earth and enjoy Him in the life that will never end.
A simple but very effective way of growing in devotion to the Sacred Heart, is to recite daily the very old morning offering, used for centuries within the Catholic heart:
O Jesus, through the Most Pure Heart of Mary and in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world today, I offer You all my prayers, works, joys and sufferings of this day, for all the intentions of Your Sacred Heart, I offer them for the salvation of souls, the reparation of sins, the intentions of all our bishops, priests, apostles of prayer and our Holy Father, the Pope. Amen
Among the promises made by our Lord to St Margaret Mary, was the assurance that, “Those who shall promote this devotion shall have their names written in my Heart, never to be blotted out.”
“The month of June is traditionally dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the highest human expression of divine love. The Heart of Jesus is the ultimate symbol of God’s mercy – but it is not an imaginary symbol, it is a real symbol, which represents the centre, the source from which, salvation for all humanity gushed forth.”
Pope Francis
Devotion to the Sacred Heart
By Ven Servant of God John A Hardon SJ (1914-2000)
Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is as old as Christianity. When the side of Christ was pierced on Calvary, there immediately flowed out blood and water. The Church has interpreted this to mean the outpouring of grace through the Church, which began the moment that Christ expired on the Cross.
Over the centuries, the gratitude of the faithful for this manifestation of divine love has centred on the physical Heart of Jesus as the symbol of God’s love for man. We may, therefore, say, that devotion to the Sacred Heart is really, devotion to the love of God as revealed in the person of Jesus Christ.
When God became man, it was God – who is love – who became man. In the languages of all nations, the heart is identified with love. Consequently our devotion to the Heart of Jesus is directed to the love of Jesus in different ways.
We love Him as our God, who has loved us from all eternity and out of selfless love brought us into existence and destined us to possess Him for all eternity. We love Him as our God Incarnate, who loved us so much that He assumed our human nature and by His bodily death redeemed us from the eternal death we deserved for our sins. We love Him as our Redeemer who rose from the dead and ascended into heaven where He is preparing a place for us. Where He is, our God united with His human body and soul, we hope to be in His blessed company. We love Him as our Eucharistic Lord who is on earth in His humanity, in the Blessed Sacrament. He offers Himself in the Mass through which He now communicates the graces He won for us on the Cross. By His Real Presence, He invites us to offer Him our adoring love and ask Him to work the miracles He performed during His visible stay in Palestine.
To be emphasised is the unique character of devotion to the Sacred Heart. It is nothing less than a synthesis of Catholic Christianity in its loving response to the unspeakable love of God for the sons and daughters of the human family.
For the sake of convenience, we may divide the terms “Sacred Heart” and “Devotion” into two parts: Sacred Heart stands for the love of God, which means the love that is God, the love that God has shown for us from the dawn of creation until now and the love that God will continue to pour out on us into the endless reaches of eternity. Devotion stands for our grateful return of love for love, which is shown in loving sacrifice by the total surrender of our wills to the mysterious and demanding will of God; in loving imitation of Jesus Christ, whose virtues as man are so many manifestations of His divine attributes as God; in loving worship of Mary’s Son, who is present with His living, pulsating human Heart in the Blessed Sacrament; in loving petition for the graces that we and others, need to serve Him faithfully here on earth and enjoy Him in the life that will never end.
A simple but very effective way of growing in devotion to the Sacred Heart is to recite daily the traditional Morning Offering:
O Jesus, through the Most Pure Heart of Mary and in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world today, I offer You all my prayers, works, joys and sufferings of this day, for all the intentions of Your Sacred Heart, I offer them for the salvation of souls, the reparation for sins, the intentions of all our bishops, priests, apostles of prayer and our Holy Father, the Pope. Amen
Among the promises made by our Lord to St Margaret Mary was the assurance that, “Those who shall promote this devotion shall have their names written in my Heart, never to be blotted out.”
AnaStpaul 
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