Returning Love for Love

     “The designs of His Heart are from age to age, to rescue their souls from death, and to keep them alive in time of famine.”
                    Entrance antiphon for the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus


     In France in 1673, Jesus appeared to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, revealing to her His great love for mankind and asking for reparation for those who reject His love. “See this Heart that has loved men so much and has spared itself nothing until it has exhausted itself and consumed itself in order to show them its love. I receive in return scarcely anything but ingratitude because of their irreverence and sacrileges, and because of the coldness and disdain they show towards Me in this sacrament of love. But what hurts Me more is that it is hearts who are consecrated to me who treat Me thus. This is why I ask you that on the first Friday after the octave of the Most Holy Sacrament a special feast may be dedicated to the honor of My Heart by receiving Communion on that day and making reparation with some act of atonement” (Jesus to St. Margaret Mary).


     Let us bring love and comfort to the Heart of Jesus today and every day, by pouring out our love, making sacrifices of reparation and spending time with Him before the Blessed Sacrament. May we make up for those who do not think about Jesus by consecrating ourselves to His Sacred Heart and loving Him deeply from the bottom of our hearts.

Act of Consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

To the Sacred Heart of our Lord, Jesus Christ, I give myself and I consecrate 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 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.

Concluding Prayer

Father, we honor the heart of Your Son, broken by our cruelty, yet symbol of love’s triumph, pledge of all that we are called to be. Teach us to see Christ in the lives we touch and to offer Him living worship by love-filled service to our brothers and sister. We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Jesus meek and humble of hearts, make our hearts like unto Thine. Amen.