First Friday Devotions

The following article on the Origins & Purpose of the First Fridays will always remain posted for those who may be just starting their Nine First Fridays. The meditation for the current month is found below this introductory article, please scroll down.

CONTENTS OF THIS PAGE
1. INTRODUCTION FOR BEGINNERS: The Origins and Purpose of the "Nine First Fridays" Devotion
2. MEDIATION FOR THIS MONTH'S FIRST FRIDAY: Serialization from the book The Virtues of the Sacred Heart
3. PRAYERS: Various Prayers to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

This month's First Friday Meditations and Prayers can be found beneath the following introductory article

THE ORIGINS & PURPOSE OF THE "NINE FIRST FRIDAYS" DEVOTION

Honoring the Sacred Heart
There are many ways to honor the Sacred Heart of Jesus; for example, Prayers, Consecrations, Novenas, Pilgrimages, Enthronements, Night Adoration, The Thursday night Holy Hour, and in the Blessed Sacrament; remembering of course that Our Lord's Sacred Heart is present in the Blessed Sacrament. We also honor the Sacred Heart by keeping Our Lord's commandments and studying His words and teachings, and by being faithful to the traditional teachings of His Church.

In His great love for us, Our Lord and Savior remains in His Sacred Humanity, and His Heart of Flesh is for us the great reality and the great symbol of that great Love for us. During the revelations of His Sacred Heart to St. Margaret Mary, Our Lord said that He desired to be honored in all places under the figure of His Heart of Flesh, as: "a favor to men and to set them once more in these last ages — under the sweet liberty of the empire of His love" The figure of Our Lord's Heart of Flesh is shown in the pictures and statues of the Sacred Heart. Our Lord seeks for us to honor Him explicitly and implicitly in this way. By honoring His Heart, we honor the whole Christ.

The End Times or Last Ages
Notice the above reference of Our Lord to the "last ages." In His first revelation Our Lord explained how devotion to His Sacred Heart will obtain many graces, and that it was being given to draw men and women back from “the pit of perdition” — which perfectly portrays the great dangers of the times in which we now live. As an antidote to falling into sin, we are shown, in this revelation, that Our Lord offers to us “the sweet liberty of the empire of His Love.” The focus of our lives must be on Him, and not on unwanted worldly ways and distractions. Devotion to His Heart would draw men away from sin.

Fr. Culleton, in his book The Prophets And Our Times, states: “There is evidence that it was the will of Our Divine Lord that Devotion to the Sacred Heart be reserved for the last ages of the world, so that, in the last great struggle between Himself and Satan, the souls that He loves so dearly may be drawn to Him with renewed warmth, and thus strengthened against the final desperate attacks of the enemy” (Fr. Culleton, The Prophets and Our Times, ch. 4).

“In the times preceding the end of the world, Satan and his cohorts were to be loosed upon the earth in a mighty effort to draw as many souls as possible away from God, before the power of Hell would be remarkably restricted, if not completely broken. Satan's mission is one of hate. God wins souls through love. Our Blessed Savior knew that the hatred which would be rampant in those evil days could be best conquered by a devotion which would inspire love and charity in the hearts of men. It was to serve, as it were, as a magnet and a bulwark of strength by giving men a clearer knowledge of God's deep and abiding love and mercy. It would provide a harbor of peace and security in those days of confusion and anguish, when men's souls would be tried almost beyond endurance” (Fr. Culleton, The Prophets and Our Times, ch. 4).

“In all times of great distress or danger, God has provided men with the means of conquering evil, as evidenced by the history of the world, both before the time of Christ, but especially since the Redemption. To mention just one of the instances of Divine intervention when a special devotion was given to the world at a crucial period, let us consider the Rosary. In the 13th century when the Albigenses were preaching their vicious doctrines against marriage, and the spread of this heresy seriously endangered the morals of the people, St. Dominic began preaching against them. He had but little success until Our Blessed Lady appeared to him and told him to encourage devotion to the Rosary. This was done and the heresy quickly disappeared” (Fr. Culleton, The Prophets and Our Times, ch. 4).

“St. Gertrude, in the 14th century, who often conversed with the Beloved Disciple St. John, on one occasion asked him why he, who loved our Blessed Lord so fervently, had never written anything about the love of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. He explained to her his mission was to expound the Doctrine of the Incarnation and that as for the Love of the Incarnate Word as exemplified by His Divine Heart, it was reserved for the last ages to make it known, "so that the world, carried away by follies, may regain a little of the warmth of early Christian charity by learning of the love of the Sacred Heart."

It was on the feast of St. John the Evangelist, three centuries later in 1647, that Our Lord appeared to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque and made certain promises to those who had a special devotion to His Sacred Heart, which promises were destined to become the means of salvation to so many countless Christians. Regarding this vision, the Saint explained, "I understand that this devotion to the Sacred Heart was a last effort of His love towards Christians of these latter times, by proposing to them an object and a means so calculated to persuade them to love Him" (Fr. Culleton, The Prophets and Our Times, ch. 4).

“That devotion to the Sacred Heart … must consist of two essential acts: love and atonement” (Fr. Tanquerey, The Spiritual Life, §§ 1259)

The twofold nature of devotion to His Sacred Heart—that of love and reparation—is shown by Our Lord in His first revelation to St. Margaret Mary. It was December 27th, 1673, the feast of St John the Evangelist (and Apostle). St John is closely connected to the Sacred Heart on account of his laying his head on Our Lord's Heart at the Last Supper and because he was at the foot of the Cross on Calvary, when that Sacred Heart was pierced with a lance. The Sacred Heart Devotion is intrinsically linked to the Holy Eucharist (which is the fruit of the first Mass at the Last Supper) and the Sacrifice of the Mass (which is nothing other than the unbloody re-enactment of Calvary once again). The Holy Eucharist is both a Sacrament and a Sacrifice. Our Lord gives us Himself (His ‘Heart’) to eat in the Holy Eucharist; and He asks us to carry our cross and suffer with Him, as He did for us throughout His life, and especially on Calvary: “Greater love than this no man hath, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13).

Fr. Larkin in his book Enthronement of the Sacred Heart, under the heading: "Essential Elements of The Devotion," gives us an outline of the chief elements of this devotion: "Devotion to the Sacred Heart, then, is nothing else than love for the Person of Jesus [the Incarnate Word] whose infinite love is symbolized by His Heart. Or put it in another way. It is love for the Heart of Jesus, considered as the symbol of His love for us" (pp. 52-53). Fr. Larkin then lists the chief elements of this devotion according to mind of St. Margaret Mary and her director, Father Croiset. We will list them here and then make further explanatory comments upon them. They are as follows:

1. Worship of the Sacred Heart. He proposed His Heart for worship as "the inexhaustible source of all the treasures of love, mercy and grace, sanctification and salvation for men." "He asks that Its image be singularly honored."

“Our divine Lord assured me that He takes a singular pleasure in being honored under the figure of His Heart of flesh, the image of which He wishes to be exposed in public in order to touch the unfeeling hearts of men. He promised that He would pour out in abundance, into the hearts of all those who would honor His Heart, all the gifts with which it is filled, and everywhere this image is exposed and honored, it would draw down all kinds of blessings” (Fr. Larkin's Enthronement of the Sacred Heart, p. 78).

Do we have an image (statue or painting or print) of the Sacred Heart in our home? If we do, then well and good, but that is only the beginning—the planting of a seed. What honor do we show to that image by way of prayers and devotions? How often do we do so?

2. Belief in the merciful love of that Heart, for all men and for ourselves in particular, with all our shortcomings. "Behold this Heart which has so loved men that It has spared itself nothing, even to exhausting and consuming Itself to testify to them Its love."

Sometimes we may find the mercy of the Heart of Jesus hard to believe—we may think it unbelievable. Yet God is unbelievable in what He does—believe me! Here are some quotes of Our Lord’s, taken from the book by Fr. Bartholomew Gottemoller, Words of Love, which takes extracts from Our Lord’s messages to three mystics: Sr. Josefa Menendez, St. Consolata Bertone and Sr. Mary of the Trinity. These go to show the Sacred Heart’s unbelievable love for souls:

"Consolata, it often happens that good and pious souls, and, very frequently, also souls who are consecrated to Me, wound My Heart to Its very depths by some diffident phrase such as: 'Who knows whether I will be saved?' Open the Gospel and read there My promises. I promised to My sheep: 'I will give them life everlasting; and they shall not perish forever, and no man shall pluck them out of My Hand.' Do you understand, Consolata? No one can take a soul from Me!

"Now read on: 'That which My Father hath given Me, is greater than all; and no one can snatch them out of the Hand of My Father.' Do you understand, Consolata? No one can snatch a soul from Me.... In all eternity they will not perish ... because I give them eternal life. For whom have I spoken these words? For all the sheep, for all souls!

"Why then the insult, 'Who knows whether I will be saved?' I have given assurances, in the Gospel, that no one can pluck a soul from Me and that I will give that soul eternal life, and so the soul cannot perish. Believe Me, Consolata, into Hell go only those who really wish to go there; for, though no one can snatch a soul from Me, the soul may, through the free will granted her, flee from Me, may betray Me, deny Me, and so go to Satan of her own volition.

"You see, final impenitence is found only in a soul who purposely wishes to go to Hell and, therefore, obstinately refuses My mercy, for I never refuse to pardon anyone. I offer the gift of My immense compassion to all, for My Blood was shed for all! For all!

"No, it is not the multiplicity of sins which condemns a soul, for I forgive everything if she repents, but it is the obstinacy of not wishing to be pardoned, of wishing to be damned! Dismas, on the cross, had only one single act of faith in Me, but many, many sins; he was pardoned in an instant however; and, on the very day of his repentance, he entered into My kingdom and is a saint! Behold the triumph of My Mercy and of faith in Me!

"No, Consolata, My Father who has given Me the souls is greater and more powerful than all the demons. No one can snatch souls from the Hand of My Father!” (Fr. Bartholomew Gottemoller, Words of Love, chapter 5).

3. A generous return of love for Jesus Christ. "Our Lord gave me to understand that the great desire, which He had of being loved perfectly by men, had caused Him to form the design of manifesting His Heart and of making, in these last ages, this last effort of His love, by proposing an object and a means so proper to induce men to love Him and to love Him solidly" (St. Margaret Mary).

What does it mean to return love to Jesus? The first level of love is to keep His commandments: “If you love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15). Fr. Tanquerey, in his renowned classic The Spiritual Life, writes:

“The chief care of beginners is that of preserving charity. Their efforts, then, are directed toward the avoidance of sin, above all, mortal sin, and toward the conquest of evil inclinations, of the passions, and of all that could make them lose the love of God. This is the purgative way, the end of which is the purification of the soul.

“The chief concern of those already advanced, the proficients, is progress in the positive exercise of the virtues and growth in charity. The heart, already purified, is all the more open to divine light and to the love of God. The soul wishes to follow Jesus and to imitate His virtues, and since by following Him one walks in the Light, this is called the illuminative way. Here the soul strives to avoid not only mortal, but even venial sin.

“Perfect souls have but one concern to cling to God and to take their delight in Him. Ever seeking to unite themselves to God, they are in the unitive way. Sin fills them with horror, for they fear to displease God and to offend Him. The virtues that most attract them are the theological virtues, which unite them to God. Hence, the earth seems to them an exile, and, like St. Paul, they long to die to be joined to Christ.” (Fr. Tanquerey, The Spiritual Life, §§ 341-343).

4. This is the characteristic element of the devotion. Our Lord asks for reparation from His faithful friends to console Him for the coldness and indifference of so many, they are to make Communions of reparation, especially on the First Fridays, to make the Holy Hour, but above all to strive to love Him more and more in order to make up for those who do not love Him.

“That devotion to the Sacred Heart … must consist of two essential acts: love and atonement. Love is the first and the foremost of these duties, according to St. Margaret Mary as well as according, to St. John Eudes. St. Margaret Mary writes: "He made me see that it was the great desire He had of being loved by men, and of withdrawing them from the road of perdition, that induced Him to conceive this plan of making His Heart known to men … Let us, then, love this, the only love of our souls, since He has loved us first and loves us still so ardently that He continually burns with love for us in the Blessed Sacrament.”

“The second of these essential acts is atonement; for the love of Jesus is outraged by the ingratitude of men, as He Himself declared in the third great apparition to St. Margaret Mary: ‘Behold this Heart which has so loved men that it has spared nothing, even to exhausting and consuming itself, in order to testify its love. In return, I receive from the greater part only ingratitiide, by their irreverences and sacrileges, and by the coldness and contempt they have for Me in this Sacrament of love … My daughter, I come into the heart I have given you in order that, through your fervor, you may atone for the offences which I have received from lukewarm and slothful hearts, that dishonor me in the Blessed Sacrament.’” (Fr. Tanquerey, The Spiritual Life, §§ 1259-1260).

5. Special love and reverence for the Blessed Sacrament. “I have an ardent desire to be honored by men in the Blessed Sacrament."

In the fourth revelation of His Sacred Heart Our Lord said to St. Margaret Mary:
"Behold this Heart, Which has loved men so much, that It has spared nothing, even to exhausting and consuming Itself, in order to testify to them Its love; and in return I receive from the greater number nothing but ingratitude by reason of their irreverence and sacrileges, and by the coldness and contempt which they show Me in this Sacrament of Love. But what I feel the most keenly is that it is hearts which are consecrated to Me that treat Me thus. Therefore, I ask of thee that the Friday after the Octave of Corpus Christi be set apart for a special feast to honor My Heart, by communicating on that day and making reparation to It by a solemn act, in order to make amends for the indignities which It has received during the time It has been exposed on the altars. I promise thee that My Heart shall expand Itself to shed in abundance the influence of Its divine love upon those who shall thus honor It, and cause It to be honored."

This is very much focused on the Eucharist, and we should never forget that Our Lord's Body and Blood; the Eucharist, contains His Sacred Heart. And again we see in this revelation how Our Lord reveals His feelings to us. The focus here is very much on the indifference that is so offensive to Him. Our Lord God again emphasizes the importance of "repair" (reparation) and He asks for a special feast for this purpose. He is again drawing attention to Himself and what He does and does not expect from us, and here He very specifically draws attention to the Ministers and Religious of His Church. Who can fathom the magnificence of Our Lord's revelations and the great honor bestowed upon St. Margaret Mary, upon the Church and upon the whole of mankind? Our Lord also gave the First Fridays devotion:

"I promise you, in the excess of the mercy of My Heart, that Its all-powerful love will grant to all those who shall receive Communion on the First Friday of nine consecutive months the grace of final repentance; they shall not die under My displeasure nor without receiving the Sacraments, My Divine Heart becoming their assured refuge in that hour."

Besides going to Mass and Holy Communion on the First Fridays of the month, we can also visit Our Lord much more often in the Blessed Sacrament, present, yet often abandoned and alone, upon our altars. Visiting Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament is a reflection of the depth and strength of our Faith. If we really believe in His presence in the tabernacle, then what could keep us away? Or whatever keeps us away, has become more important to us than our God Himself.

St. Margaret Mary looked to the Blessed Virgin as being the way to Our Lord; to the Immaculate Heart being the way to the Sacred Heart:

"The most efficacious way to obtain devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus was through the Immaculate Heart of Mary." She taught this to her novices and also composed a prayer for them to pray."

Consider how Enthroning the Sacred Heart in our homes, parishes, work places etc. allows us to honor Our Lord in the way that He has requested. And even without or until an Enthronement we can still honor Him as the center of our lives. Our Lord deserves all of our Love, and when we honor Him under His Heart of Flesh in our prayers and in our ways we are responding to His great Love in a special way and which He has given to help us. Fr. Larkin wrote about the Enthronement of The Sacred Heart as follows:

"By installing or enthroning the image of the Sacred Heart in the place of honor in this room, you have told Our Blessed Lord you accept Him as your Master in all things and recognize His complete jurisdiction over your family "... "So you see, the Enthronement doesn't add any new obligations to the ones you already have; it simply renews in a striking and visible way the vows you made on the day of your baptism: to accept all of God's teachings and His laws and to renounce the devil and all his pomps and works."

Meanwhile, in the second/ third revelation of the Sacred Heart, St. Margaret Mary writes of Our Lord:
"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. "I feel this more," [He said] "than all that I suffered during My Passion. If only they would make Me some return for My love, I should think but little of all I have done for them and would wish, were it possible, to suffer still more. But the sole return they make for all My eagerness to do them good is to reject Me and treat Me with coldness. Do thou at least console Me by supplying for their ingratitude, as far as thou art able."

In using the comparison of the great sufferings He endured during His Passion, Our Lord is making us very aware of the extent of His feelings. This revelation also sees Our Lord asking St. Margaret Mary to make reparation; to supplicate as much as she can; Our Lord asked of her:

"And in order to bear Me company in the humble prayer that I then offered to My Father, in the midst of My anguish, thou shalt rise between eleven o'clock and midnight, and remain prostrate with Me for an hour, not only to appease the divine anger by begging mercy for sinners, but also to mitigate in some way the bitterness which I felt at that time on finding Myself abandoned by My Apostles, which obliged Me to reproach them for not being able to watch one hour with Me."

Thus was instituted the Thursday night "Holy Hour” and which became an established devotion in the Church. Keeping our Lord company during His agony in the garden of Gethsemane, where He did sweat Blood for us; as St. Luke tells us: "...and being in agony He prayed the longer and His Sweat became as drops of Blood trickling down upon the ground." (Luke 22:43-44).

Our Lord knowing exactly what was ahead of Him, and the pain and suffering that this would bring. And indeed Our Lord had known of this for a long time. The Cross was planted in His human Heart from the very beginning of His incarnation. Only He, as God, could recompense for our sins; and so He became man for us; true God and true Man; He lay in our tombs for us as the saying goes. His love for mankind is an immense love; His Sacred Heart of flesh a proof of His love. In His agony in the garden He was seeking company in these moments; for His Apostles to be close to Him.

The Thursday night Holy Hour is linked to Night Adoration of The Sacred Heart. During the time when Fr. Mateo Crawley-Boevey was engaged in his great mission of seeking to bring every household in the world to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and from which developed the great Enthronement mission, Fr. Mateo also developed Night Adoration. Night adoration sees each member of a family typically spending one hour each week (or more) or each month in adoration of the Sacred Heart at home. This may well, of course, focus on the Thursday night Holy Hour. The family may all make Night Adoration simultaneously or in a relay, so as to cover as many hours as possible.

In his book Fr. Larkin tells of how Priests would keep a record of who was carrying out Night Adoration and when so as to try and ensure that every night hour of the month was covered in his parish. Night Adoration is a great way for an individual, a family and a parish to honor the Sacred Heart.

Meanwhile, in the fourth revelation of His Sacred Heart Our Lord said to St. Margaret Mary:
"Behold this Heart, Which has loved men so much, that It has spared nothing, even to exhausting and consuming Itself, in order to testify to them Its love; and in return I receive from the greater number nothing but ingratitude by reason of their irreverence and sacrileges, and by the coldness and contempt which they show Me in this Sacrament of Love. But what I feel the most keenly is that it is hearts which are consecrated to Me that treat Me thus. Therefore, I ask of thee that the Friday after the Octave of Corpus Christi be set apart for a special feast to honor My Heart, by communicating on that day and making reparation to It by a solemn act, in order to make amends for the indignities which It has received during the time It has been exposed on the altars. I promise thee that My Heart shall expand Itself to shed in abundance the influence of Its divine love upon those who shall thus honor It, and cause It to be honored."

This is very much focused on the Eucharist, and we should never forget that Our Lord's Body and Blood; the Eucharist, contains His Sacred Heart. And again we see in this revelation how Our Lord reveals His feelings to us. The focus here is very much on the indifference that is so offensive to Him. Our Lord God again emphasizes the importance of "repair" (reparation) and He asks for a special feast for this purpose. He is again drawing attention to Himself and what He does and does not expect from us, and here He very specifically draws attention to the Ministers and Religious of His Church. Who can fathom the magnificence of Our Lord's revelations and the great honor bestowed upon St. Margaret Mary, upon the Church and upon the whole of mankind? Our Lord also gave the First Fridays devotion:

"I promise you, in the excess of the mercy of My Heart, that Its all-powerful love will grant to all those who shall receive Communion on the first Friday of nine consecutive months the grace of final repentance; they shall not die under My displeasure nor without receiving the Sacraments, My Divine Heart becoming their assured refuge in that hour."

The nine first Fridays to be undertaken whilst observing due devotion to Our Lord, not being in mortal sin, and with the intention of making reparation to Him.

The Twelve Promises of the Sacred Heart
to St. Margaret Mary

1. I will give them all the graces necessary in their state of life.
2. I will establish peace in their homes
3. I will comfort them in all their difficulties
4. I will secure refuge during life, and above all, in death
5. I will bestow abundant blessings upon all their undertakings
6. Sinners will find in my Heart the source and infinite ocean of mercy
7. Lukewarm souls shall become fervent
8. Fervent souls will quickly mount to high perfection
9. I will bless every place in which an image of my heart is exposed and honored
10. I will give to priests the gift of touching the most hardened hearts
11. Those who promote this devotion shall have their names written in my Heart
12. I promise you in the excessive mercy of my Heart that my all powerful love will grant to those who receive Holy Communion.

MEDITATION AND SPIRITUAL READING
FOR THE FIRST FRIDAY OF THE MONTH OF MARCH
"Could you not watch one hour with Me?"

The following readings are from the book, The Virtues of the Sacred Heart. Over the course of the First Fridays of the month, these monthly postings will examine
the chief virtues of Our Lord, which are there for our imitation. For there can no true devotion without imitation. The readings are not for half-hearted,
nor faint-hearted, nor cold-hearted. They will like a class, given by a teacher, and will take you the time that a class would take.
Only enter if you wish to learn and deepen you love for the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

THE VIRTUES OF THE SACRED HEART (MARCH READING)
3. The Meekness and Humility of the Sacred Heart

“Son, humble thy heart and endure; and in thy humiliation keep patience” (Ecclesiasticus 2:2, 4)

Future Failure Without This Foundation
We have hardly crossed the threshold of the Paradise of the Sacred Heart, and yet we have already come upon two plants of such surpassing loveliness and of such sovereign healing virtue, that we need not regret having been delayed by them; and we may well permit them to detain us a little longer, not only that we may enjoy their refreshing beauty, but also that we may derive from them some lasting profit to our souls.

Indeed, it were useless to proceed, before having received the benefit of their healing virtue. We must learn well the first lesson we receive from the Sacred Heart of Jesus. We cannot learn any other until we have thoroughly mastered this.

Humility is the groundwork of all virtue, the foundation of all spiritual buildings. We must not attempt to raise the tower of perfection until we have laid this foundation; or else our labor will be vain, and our building will fall in ruins about, us long before it reaches its destined height.

The “Twins” of Meekness and Humility
In this chapter we place meekness and humility together, because when speaking of practice, it is difficult to separate them. Meekness is the fruit of humility, the exterior, visible effect of the hidden virtue. Meekness is the garb in which humility appears. Humility is the root, buried deep in the earth; the inner portion or heart of the tree.

Meekness is the outer part, the leaves, blossoms and fruit. It is that which we first perceive and from it we can trace the root; we know that the root is there, and that all the growth and vigor and beauty and wealth of the lovely plant come from it and are due to it. It is for this reason that meekness precedes humility in the first lesson given us by the loving Heart of Jesus.

No Meekness Without Humility
The effect is seen before the cause; the exterior virtue is seen before the secret source from which it springs. But for us, the disciples of the Sacred Heart, for us who come, destitute of virtue, to Him from whom we may acquire it, humility must be the first study, because we can never be meek until we are humble; we cannot enjoy the fruit, until we have planted the root and developed it into the tree which will bear the coveted burden.

An Attractive Virtue
There is something indescribably beautiful in the character of the Saints; something irresistibly attractive in the manner of persons whose souls are filled with the Spirit of God. They are so meek, so gentle, so unselfish; there is about them such an atmosphere of peaceful serenity, a halo of soft and delicious cheerfulness, that we cannot help wondering why it is that they are so different from other men; we cannot help thinking that they must be blessed with more than earthly happiness.

It is the sweetest repose to be with them, it is refreshment after labor, consolation in sorrow, encouragement in affliction. Their smile is ever cheering, their sympathy is never at fault; they seem to have no sorrows of their own to divert their thoughts to themselves, but to hold all their zealous interest, all their soothing compassion, all their active solicitude, entirely at our service, and that with such artless candor and unselfish sincerity, that we feel almost as if we were conferring a favor on them, by pouring our sorrows into their bosoms, and permitting them to wipe our tears away.

They are not to be wearied by importunity; nor soured by ingratitude; nor saddened by failure. We may sometimes think that they are not equally kind and attentive to others as to ourselves; we may happen to be of the favored few, whose position, wealth or influence merits for us that distinguishing affability. It is not so.

The true man of God is all to all, ever mild and gentle and compassionate, whether he is frequented by the great ones of the earth, or surrounded by the poor and the ignorant. He does not spurn the ragged beggar, nor the unlettered and bad-mannered child. He smiles on all alike, he draws all hearts to him, and wins the confidence of all that approach him.

Humble Charm
What is that hidden charm? What is that wondrous magic? Whence comes that sweetly irresistible attraction? The Saints are meek and humble of heart; this is their magic and their charm. They have banished from their hearts the unfeeling selfishness which pride engenders; they have schooled their hearts to meekness by endurance. They care not for the honors of earth, nor do they fear its frown. The world cannot harm them, because they care neither for what it can give, nor for what it can take away. Their hearts are like the Heart of Jesus; they have learned of Jesus to be meek and humble of heart.

Learn the Lesson
But we too must learn the same lesson; for we have entered the same school and are listening to the same heavenly Teacher. We have been admitted into the same Paradise, and may eat of the same fruit. So, far from being forbidden to eat of it, we are invited and urged to partake. Here the history of the ancient Paradise is reversed.

There God forbade and Satan commanded to eat. There, the inordinate ambition to be like unto God was punished with a fall from the state and grace which God had bestowed. There, the taste of the fruit brought pride, cruelty and death: pride which has ruled the world; cruelty, which, born of pride and jealousy in Cain’s bosom, has ever since deluged the earth with blood; death, which crushes with its power all the empty baubles of the pride of man, and sends him, poor and naked, to the punishment which pride deserves. Here, on the contrary, we are commanded to be like to God; for, “whom God foreknew, He also predestined to be made conformable to the image of His Son” (Romans 8:29).

Fruits
And this likeness is to be produced in us by the imitation of His examples, by the practice of His virtues. The taste of this fruit brings health and life; it changes cruelty into meekness, pride into humility; it raises us from our fall and restores us to our lost inheritance. But, as meekness is the spontaneous offspring of humility, we need not dwell on the practice of that virtue; and hence, we may here dismiss it and occupy ourselves henceforth with humility alone.

This we must strive to acquire by practice, according to the advice of the wise man: “Son, humble thy heart and endure; and in thy humiliation, keep patience.” And here, at the very outset, let us be forewarned that it is no easy task that we are undertaking. Our nature revolts against it with all its power; and nature must be subdued, nature must die, before we can secure the coveted prize.

Contempt of Self
The beginning of humility is the knowledge of ourselves, and therefore the contempt of ourselves. We must then be intimately convinced that we are nothing of ourselves; we have nothing that we can call our own, except our sins, our excesses, our shame. All that we have comes from God, and is left to us only by His sufferance, in spite of our unworthiness.

If we had been dealt with according to justice, we should, long since, have been cast away to share in the reprobation of Lucifer, whom we had imitated in his pride. Hence it follows, that whatever ill-treatment we may receive, whatever humiliation we may be subjected to, we shall always be less unhappy, than we deserve; that we have no right to complain of the injuries we suffer, the insults offered to us, the pains we endure. “I have sinned, and I have not received what I have deserved” (Job 33:27).

Besides thus knowing ourselves as we are and estimating ourselves accordingly, we must know God, our Sovereign Lord, and remember that all honor and glory belong exclusively to Him. “He has made all things for Himself,” and all His creatures must necessarily give Him glory. If, therefore, He has bestowed on us talents and gifts, excellencies of body or mind, endowments of nature or fortune; it is for His glory.

Woe to us if we divert any of His treasures to our own use; if we are not ready to return to Him what He has entrusted to us, principal and interest, whenever He may demand our account. Our fate will be that of the wicked servant, who had buried his talent in the earth, and who was cast into exterior darkness. “To God alone be honor and glory for ever and ever” (1 Timothy 1:17). “I will not give my glory to another,” says the Lord (Isaias 48:11).

Double Knowledge a Double Foundation
This double knowledge of God and of ourselves, of His infinite greatness and of our infinite baseness, is the foundation of humility. When our souls are fully informed with this knowledge and, as it were, permeated by it, pride has received a severe blow within us; the ground gives way under it and it totters to its downfall. This is because pride takes for granted that we are something, even independently of God, and here we see that we are nothing and even less than nothing.

Our reason alone then makes it evident that pride should have no place within us. Our eyes are opened, our ideas are corrected; we see things as they are, and esteem them as they deserve. Without this light, it would be impossible for us to learn humility; and we must be thoroughly enlightened by it, if we would succeed in our undertaking.

Humility in Practice
And now we are prepared to proceed in our study. The knowledge we have acquired will enable us to make the proper use of the means for acquiring humility, which will be at our disposal. These are indicated by the wise man as above quoted: “endure … in humiliations have patience.”

Humiliation, then, is the path that leads to humility; and this path is neither smooth nor pleasant to walk in. But on the use we make of such humiliations, as fall to our lot, it depends whether we shall be humble and meek like the Heart of Jesus and like His Saints, or revengeful and cruel against the source of the humiliation and prouder because we have been humbled.

Look at the model before you; see how Jesus, who was humble of heart for your sake, bore the insults, the slanders, the glaring injustices, to say nothing of coldness, or indifference, or in gratitude, of which He was the object.

Enduring Humility
“Endure“ as He did; “humble thy heart“ as He did. Be deaf to the clamors of self-love, wounded to the quick and crying out that you did not merit such treatment; that this one and that one should have been the last to inflict it upon you; that your reputation is endangered and you must defend it; that your position must be maintained and your authority and credit supported for the good of others. “Endure; humble thy heart.”

Be silent in your own justification, and you will gradually become humble like the Heart of Jesus. This fruit is bitter to the taste; but its effects are most sweet and wholesome. Our Lord’s reputation was of more importance than yours; the interests which rested upon His authority were of greater value than any which might suffer by your discredit.

Yet He was silent and said never a word. He left His honor in the hands of His Father. “I seek not My Own glory, there is One that seeks it and judges” in His own good time” (John 8:50). He allowed His light to go out in utter darkness, and His life in the most dismal disgrace, that He might enforce by example, what He had taught by word, when He said: “Blessed are ye when men shall revile you and speak all that is evil against you” (Matthew 5:11).

Besides thus humbling our heart and enduring the humiliations, which come from others, we must likewise endure such as have their origin in ourselves. Your fortune is humble, your station not honorable; your lot in life is cast with those who do not figure in the world; or you fail in some enterprise; from a higher position, which you are found unfit to hold, you must descend to a lower; you are blamed when expected approval; you have, in a word, not fulfilled the expectations which were formed of you and which you had formed of yourself.

Pride Detests Humility and Humiliation
Pride will brood over this as the greatest of evils; it will be miserable and inconsolable; surly and full of bitterness. It covets high stations, splendor and display, it dreads nothing so much as the reproach of failure; and therefore when it is kept in an inferior sphere, or deposed from a higher, when it has begun to build and been unable to finish the work, it is in a mortal agony of vexation and anguish.

Humility, on the contrary, comes down gracefully and gladly from the station which it occupied with regret; it is more contented in a lower grade, because there it finds its own native atmosphere. It is not dejected by lack of success, nor abashed by the reproach which it receives. Its serenity is not disturbed; nor is its bosom ruffled with agitation.

Does Failure Bring Success?
Is it then very strange that blindness should stumble, weakness fall before it reaches the goal? That ignorance should mistake, cowardice tremble and turn back? That human nature should err? That nothing should come to nothing? We are all that blindness, ignorance, nothing; hence we must expect the natural result of such causes.

Are you to be always in the right? Is there no one in the world wiser than you, more enlightened, more prudent, less liable to err? Why then must you have an excuse for every fault? A reason for every misstep? An argument, whether true or false, to prove that you were not in the wrong?

Thus, when pride entered into the world, its first manifestation was an excuse for evil done. Adam was not to blame, because “the woman gave him of the tree;” Eve pleaded not guilty and threw the blame on the serpent who deceived her. Yet both were deeply guilty, and their excuses did not save them from the sentence of condemnation.

Success or Failure is God’s Decision
Here, then, we have another source of humiliation, and therefore other means for acquiring the great virtue of humility. Let us do what we can to comply with our obligations, not to disappoint the hopes built upon us; let not failure be the result of culpable negligence or sloth.

But if, after all our best endeavors, it should please God not to crown us with success, let us not whine, much less accuse others and resort even to falsehood and slander in our own defense. We are eating again of the bitter fruit; but it is gradually transforming our hearts into a resemblance to the humble Heart of Jesus. We are making progress in the science of the Saints; we are laying a solid foundation for the tower of our perfection.

Handling Success
And now let us see how to deal with success and prosperity in our undertakings. In this, pride finds its nourishment, its choice morsels; and the danger to humility is neither slight, nor easy to avoid. Here our self-knowledge, and the knowledge of what is due to God, must be our strongest barrier against the inroads of the enemy. If we can do anything, it is certainly not by our own virtue or power. “Without Me,” says Our Lord, “you can do nothing” (John 15:5).

You are learned, eloquent, gifted with power of mind and grace of body; you are courted, flattered, admired. Whatever you undertake succeeds; what you recommend is accepted and approved, and experience confirms the recommendation. You are high in the esteem of men, elevated to a distinguished position; you are blessed with the gifts of fortune, and surrounded by all the splendor and magnificence which befit your station. Nature can desire no more; vanity and self-love are satisfied; and you are in great danger from pride.

But beware of attributing to yourself any portion of this good fortune. Remember that from God it came and to God it must return. If much has been given to you, it was given to a beggar at the best, and it will all be required from you again. Be deaf to adulation, callous to admiration, insensible to applause.

Give to God what be longs to Him and take to yourself what alone is yours—your secret littlenesses, your conscious deficiencies, your many sins, your natural nothingness. Purify your intention, give glory to God; and when you have done all you could, still say: “We are unprofitable servants, we have done that which we ought to do” (Luke 17:10). “Not to us, Lord, not to us, but to Thy Name give glory.” (Psalm 113:9).

The Leech of Vain-Glory
Vain-glory is the natural attendant upon success. There are some, it is true, of whom it may be said that they are too proud to be vain. They gloat over their honors in secret, they feast their pride upon their own excellence and greatness: but they are too wary to expose themselves to the ridicule which vanity brings upon itself.

These are the strong-minded proud ones. Let us hope that they are few in number; because their pride is more satan-like than that of others. In general, men are too weak to conceal the satisfaction which success gives them. We are fond of ostentation; we love to rehearse our exploits, to display our trophies, to point out our merits to the notice of others. We can converse for hours, with anyone who will listen to us, on what we did and how we did it; what dangers we foresaw, and how skillfully we avoided them; what hardships we underwent, what obstacles we surmounted.

What is Vanity?
We can never forget what honors were bestowed on us; what signal marks of favor we received from great personages; what praises were said or written of us, what compliments addressed to us, what tokens of confidence, gratitude and veneration were lavished upon us. Poor human nature! And what is the value of all this? What does it weigh in the scales of God s judgment? Quid hoc ad vitam aeternam? Of what avail is it for eternity? The word “vanity” comes from the Latin vanus—which means “empty”! Vanity of vanities; empty shadows; painted nothings; that is what it amounts to.

If, then, we desire sincerely to become humble like the Sacred Heart of Jesus, we must mortify our vanity and not indulge in vain-glory. What we have done was done for God alone and for the increase of His glory. There let it rest. It is written in the Book of Life, and our reward will come to us in due time. Meanwhile, there is work enough to be done for the same good cause to take up all our time and all our attention.

Live in the Future, Not the Past
We have no leisure to look back at the past, or the good that belongs to it. We must hasten forward; for, the way is long and the day is declining. “Forgetting the things that are behind, and stretching forth myself to those that are before, I press towards the mark” (Philippians 3:13), says the great Apostle who had done so much for God; and we should imitate him in this and, thus, escape the danger to which success would otherwise expose us.

Let us forget ourselves, speak little of ourselves, and faithfully deposit, at the feet of Our Lord, all the treasures we gain, all the crowns which are placed on our brows. “To God alone be honor and glory.”

The First and Foremost
We have thus passed in review some of the principal means for the acquisition of the first virtue which the Sacred Heart proposes to us.

We have seen that the painful path of humiliation is the only one by which we can reach humility; and, as we can neither pursue our course in the Paradise of God, to view its remaining beauties and taste its other fruits, nor even be permitted to linger within its happy enclosure, unless we are humble of heart: let us hope that our resolution is taken and firmly fixed: we will submit to humiliation for the sake of humility: the pearl is of sufficient value to warrant the expense.

We will then “humble our hearts and endure,” and when an occasion of humiliation is presented, we will “keep patience.” If we are generous, and disposed to be large-hearted with God, we will not be satisfied with waiting for such occasions as may occur; but we will seek for them ourselves, we will go to meet them as they approach; we will embrace them with joy.

We may even be disgusted with the vanities of the world, throw aside its yoke, put on the livery of Our Lord and go to live with Him in humble poverty and obscurity and labor in the Nazareth of Religious Life. And, thus, we shall sooner be humble and more perfectly humble: the foundation of our edifice will be deeper and stronger, and the tower of our sanctity will reach a greater elevation.

Humility Leads to Glory
For our encouragement and support, in the practice of this difficult virtue, let us remember that there is “an immense weight of true and lasting glory“ awaiting us in Heaven, where pride cannot rob us of it nor vanity destroy it. The desire of excellence was given us by our Creator, and as He planted it in our souls, He must have provided for its fulfillment. It is the inordinate desire alone that is criminal and vicious.

But, since we are a fallen race, since we strayed from God through the path of pride, we must return to Him by the path of humiliation; we must suffer the penalty of our fall, and merit, by our similarity to Him, in whom alone there is plentiful redemption, our restoration to the dignity of children of God. It is on this account that our life is beset with trials, that the service of God is an unceasing struggle against nature.

Our home is not here, nor is our triumph in this world. But when life has been spent in the humble imitation of the Sacred Heart of Jesus; when the struggle against nature is terminated by the death of nature; when the work is finished which God has given us to do; when we have glorified Him, as His Divine Son had glorified Him: then God will glorify us as He glorified His first-born; then the desire of excellence, which we feel in our souls, will find its full gratification. We shall be crowned with glory among the Saints of God, and shall shine as stars for all eternity; we shall reign with Christ for evermore.

PRAYERS TO THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS

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

O Sacred Heart of Jesus, to Thee I consecrate and offer up my person and my life, my actions, trials, and sufferings, that my entire being may henceforth only be employed in loving, honoring and glorifying Thee. This is my irrevocable will, to belong entirely to Thee, and to do all for Thy love, renouncing with my whole heart all that can displease Thee.

I take Thee, O Sacred Heart, for the sole object of my love, the protection of my life, the pledge of my salvation, the remedy of my frailty and inconstancy, the reparation for all the defects of my life, and my secure refuge at the hour of my death.

Be Thou, O Most Merciful Heart, my justification before God Thy Father, and screen me from His anger which I have so justly merited. I fear all from my own weakness and malice, but placing my entire confidence in Thee, O Heart of Love, I hope all from Thine infinite Goodness. Annihilate in me all that can displease or resist Thee. Imprint Thy pure love so deeply in my heart that I may never forget Thee or be separated from Thee.

I beseech Thee, through Thine infinite Goodness, grant that my name be engraved upon Thy Heart, for in this I place all my happiness and all my glory, to live and to die as one of Thy devoted servants. Amen.

Acts of Reparation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
O sweet Jesus, Whose overflowing charity for men is requited by so much forgetfulness, negligence and contempt, behold us prostrate before Thy altar eager to repair by a special act of homage the cruel indifference and injuries, to which Thy loving Heart is everywhere subject.

Mindful alas! that we ourselves have had a share in such great indignities, which we now deplore from the depths of our hearts, we humbly ask Thy pardon and declare our readiness to atone by voluntary expiation not only for our own personal offenses, but also for the sins of those, who, straying far from the path of salvation, refuse in their obstinate infidelity to follow Thee, their Shepherd and Leader, or, renouncing the vows of their baptism, have cast off the sweet yoke of Thy law.

We are now resolved to expiate such and every deplorable outrage committed against Thee; we are determined to make amends for the manifold offenses against Christian modesty in unbecoming dress and behavior, for all the foul seductions laid to ensnare the feet of the innocent, - for the frequent violation of Sundays and holy days, and the shocking blasphemies uttered against Thee and Thy Saints.

We wish also to make amends for the insults to which Thy Vicar earth and Thy priests are subjected, - for the profanation, by conscious neglect or terrible acts of sacrilege, of the very Sacrament of Thy divine love; and lastly for the public crimes of nations who resist the rights and the teaching authority of the Church which Thou hast founded.

Would, O Divine Jesus, we were able to wash away such abominations with our blood! We now offer, in reparation for these violations of Thy divine honou, the satisfaction Thou didst once make to Thine eternal Father on the cross and which Thou does continue to renew daily on our altars; we offer it in union with the acts of atonement of Thy Virgin Mother and all the Saints and of the pious faithful on earth; and we sincerely promise to make recompense, as far as we can with the help of Thy grace, for all neglect of Thy great love and for the sins we and others have committed in the past.

Henceforth we will live a life of unwavering faith, of purity of conduct, of perfect observance of the precepts of the Gospel and especially that of charity. We promise to the best of our power to prevent others from offending Thee and to bring as many as possible to follow Thee.

O loving Jesus, through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary our model in reparation, deign to receive the voluntary offering we make of this act of expiation; and by the crowning gift of perseverance keep us faithful unto death in our duty and the allegiance we owe to Thee, so that we may all one day come to that happy home, where Thou with the Father and the Holy Ghost livest and reignest God, world without end. Amen.

Litany of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Lord, have mercy!
Christ, have mercy!
Lord, have mercy!
Christ, hear us!
Christ, graciously hear us!
God the Father of Heaven, Have mercy on us!
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, Have mercy on us!
God the Holy Ghost, Have mercy on us!
Holy Trinity, one God, Have mercy on us!

Heart of Jesus, Son of the eternal Father, Have mercy on us!
Heart of Jesus, formed by the Holy Ghost in the Virgin Mother’s womb, Have mercy on us!
Heart of Jesus, substantially united to the Word of God, Have mercy on us!
Heart of Jesus, of infinite Majesty, Have mercy on us!
Heart of Jesus, holy Temple of God, Have mercy on us!
Heart of Jesus, tabernacle of the Most High, Have mercy on us!
Heart of Jesus, house of God and gate of Heaven, Have mercy on us!
Heart of Jesus, glowing furnace of charity, Have mercy on us!
Heart of Jesus, vessel of justice and love, Have mercy on us!
Heart of Jesus, full of goodness and love, Have mercy on us!
Heart of Jesus, abyss of all virtues, Have mercy on us!
Heart of Jesus, most worthy of all praise, Have mercy on us!
Heart of Jesus, King and center of all hearts, Have mercy on us!
Heart of Jesus, wherein are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, Have mercy on us!
Heart of Jesus, wherein dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead, Have mercy on us!
Heart of Jesus, in Whom the Father is well pleased, Have mercy on us!
Heart of Jesus, of Whose fullness we have all received, Have mercy on us!
Heart of Jesus, desire of the everlasting hills, Have mercy on us!
Heart of Jesus, patient and rich in mercy, Have mercy on us!
Heart of Jesus, rich unto all who call upon Thee, Have mercy on us!
Heart of Jesus, fount of life and holiness, Have mercy on us!
Heart of Jesus, propitiation for our offenses, Have mercy on us!
Heart of Jesus, overwhelmed with reproaches, Have mercy on us!
Heart of Jesus, bruised for our iniquities, Have mercy on us!
Heart of Jesus, obedient even unto death, Have mercy on us!
Heart of Jesus, pierced with a lance, Have mercy on us!
Heart of Jesus, source of all consolation, Have mercy on us!
Heart of Jesus, our life and resurrection, Have mercy on us!
Heart of Jesus, our peace and reconciliation, Have mercy on us!
Heart of Jesus, victim for our sins, Have mercy on us!
Heart of Jesus, salvation of those who hope in Thee, Have mercy on us!
Heart of Jesus, hope of those who die in Thee, Have mercy on us!
Heart of Jesus, delight of all the Saints, Have mercy on us!

Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world,
Spare us, O Lord!

Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world,
Graciously hear us, O Lord!

Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world,
Have mercy on us!

V. Jesus, meek and humble of Heart,
R. Make our hearts like unto Thine.

Let us pray
Almighty and everlasting God, look upon the Heart of Thy wellbeloved Son and upon the praise and satisfaction which He offers unto Thee in the name of sinners; and do Thou, of Thy great goodness, grant them pardon when they seek Thy mercy, in the Name of the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee for ever and ever. R. Amen.