Et Contristátus Immaculati Cordis Mariae aka the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary

If you haven't noticed already, I like Latin. A lot. But that's not what this post is about today, so let's move along. It would be a shame to end the month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus without contemplating its counterpart; the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary. The specific devotion to the Alliance of the Two Hearts is particularly special to me. This is the devotion that brought about my reversion. It has and continues to pour out many graces in my life and the lives of the dear people around me; my beloved family, friends and community. 

Since I've saved the best for last, let's move forward to further discover the hidden treasures of this beautiful Heart. The Two Hearts are so unified that they beat as one; nothing can ever separate them. What rings on the Sacred Heart of Jesus also rings on His mother's Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart. Being the mother of Jesus, His Heart is also hers, as He was formed in her womb, which makes the bond of the Two Hearts even stronger, because it is bonded by divine love and maternal/filial love. 

Not only their joys are shared, but also their pains. The pains which the Sacred Heart endures also affect the Immaculate Heart, as they are one. This is where the Sorrowful aspect comes in. The sword piercing her Immaculate Heart represents the prophecy of Simeon, which is also the first sorrow in the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary. (My Mater Dolorosa devotion is showing, isn't it?)

"And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother: Behold this child is set for the fall, and for the resurrection of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be contradicted; And thy own soul a sword shall pierce, that out of many hearts, thoughts may be revealed." Luke 2:34, DR

Simeon's prophecy foreshadowed Mother Mary and her Son's future suffering, for the sake of our salvation. For a sword to pierce her inner-most being; her pure and placid soul, her sufferings were to be great indeed. An example of this is during the Passion of Our Lord. While her pains were not physical like His, rather, they afflicted her gentle and ever-compassionate Heart. Since Our Blessed Mother is the epitome of absolute perfection, she is entirely untarnished throughout her whole being. Due to this wonderful work of God, Mother Mary feels and perceives everything much more acutely and powerfully than we ever could, including emotional anguish. She not only experienced deep sorrow in witnessing her only beloved Son suffer, but also to see her God suffering as well. To grasp how truly united the mother and Son are, think of the scourging at the pillar. On her tender Heart, Our Lady felt every single lash and strike that Jesus endured upon His bare flesh. When a mother sees her child suffering, she suffers even more. Regarding this, St. Alphonsus Ligouri says, "Two hung upon one cross." The sword penetrating her Heart not only reveals the suffering foreseen at the prophecy of Simeon, but all of her Seven Sorrows. The devotion to the Immaculate Heart is often combined with the devotion to Our Lady of Sorrows. I highly recommend taking up both, as they are recipes for sainthood and true love for Our Lord and Blessed Mother. 

While her Heart is Sorrowful, it is also bears the title of Immaculate. Besides Christ, there has been no other person to walk this earth, who loves as she loves. A perfect love that is pure, compassionate, endless and motherly. Her Immaculate Heart reveals her soul and interior life; like her Son it is also burning with love for us and the sword shows us her sorrows as the thorns reveal His. Her beautiful Heart is crowned in white roses, to expose her complete and total immaculate purity, in all she is and does. When faced with impurities, cling to the Immaculata for protection, she never fails to assist those in who humbly approach her. Not only is her Heart inflamed for love of us, most importantly, it is blazing with motherly love for her Son and a flawless, virginal love for God. With her Heart glowing and burning with perfect love for the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, think of how she may also ignite our hearts with love. 

"My Immaculate Heart will be your refuge
and the way that will lead you to God."

As we have seen thus far, Our Lady's Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart is very powerful. During the Fatima apparitions in 1917, after promising to take Jacinta and Francisco to Heaven soon, Our Lady said to Lucia, "Jesus wants to use you to make me known and loved. He wishes to establish the devotion to my Immaculate Heart throughout the world. I promise salvation to whoever embraces it; these souls will be dear to God, like flowers put by me to adorn His throne." Our Lady is inviting us to be her flowers, why not accept the invitation?

While this is the last post related to the Sacred Heart for the month of June, I encourage you to keep a fervent devotion to the Two Hearts throughout the whole year, and better yet, for the rest of your life. This devotion creates saints and brings souls to Heaven. The devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus alone is fantastic, but as the saying goes, two is better than one. Especially when Our Blessed Mother is involved. At times devotions can be difficult to keep, but never cease to persevere. In times of trials and tribulations, please remember what Our Lady of Fatima also said, "In the end my Immaculate Heart will triumph." 

I hope you all gained many blessings from the month of the Sacred Heart, and as always, you are in my prayers. I will be back soon with more reflections and ramblings on different Catholic-related topics, but for now I'll wait for the Holy Spirit to strike me with inspiration and then stay up very late typing away and making sure that I'm not saying anything heretical, relativistic, fallacious or nonsensical. Oh, the beauty of being confirmed (which was fairly recent, back in April, by the way). Veni Sancte Spiritus... until next time, pax. 

Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us,
Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us,
Mater Dolorosa, ora pro nobis.

-Yvonne Gemma

Saint Spotlight: St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

 Now that I have summer modesty covered for now, let's move back to the month of the Sacred Heart. I have mentioned St. Margaret Mary Alacoque several times since the beginning of June, but I have yet to really take a look into her life. As we know thus far, she was specially chosen by Our Lord to spread the devotion to His Sacred Heart, along with the First Friday devotion. Through her zeal, perseverance and great love, we now have this devotion, which is well-loved by many Catholics around the world. 

St. Margaret Mary was a French mystic born on July 22nd, 1647, in France in what is now known as the Commune of Verosvres. As a little girl, she developed an extraordinary love for the Blessed Sacrament. From the time she was a child into her adulthood, she practiced harsh corporal mortifications. During a serious illness, she consecrated herself to Our Blessed Mother and vowed to enter the religious life. Following this, she was immediately cured. Soon after she added "Mary" to her name, in honor of the Blessed Mother. Around this time, she began to have visions of Jesus, but in her holy simplicity she assumed that these visions were part of the norm for all. Even through difficult times, (the death of her father and sudden poverty) she maintained her great devotion to the Blessed Sacrament. After her family recovered financially, at the age of 17, her mother urged her to enter into society, which she did out of obedience. She had not forgotten her vow, but believed it to be no longer relevant because it was made in her childhood, and she was now a young woman. 

 When the Lord desires a soul to be only His, He makes it known in different ways; ways that always speak to the innermost being of the soul. This precisely happened to our dear saint. After a party, while still arrayed in her beautiful clothes and ornaments, she experienced an intense vision of Our Lord. He looked as if He had been scourged, with blood and fresh wounds. He told her that His Heart was brimming with love for her because of her past promise, and reproached her for not being mindful of Him. This experience deeply touched her; she fulfilled her vow and became a fully professed Visitation nun on November 6th, 1672 . Years later, through visions, Our Lord made it known to her that she was to be the one to make known the love and spread the devotion of His Sacred Heart. This was not an easy task. In the beginning many doubted the authenticity of these visions. This must have caused her interior sorrow and discouragement, but as I said before, she continued to persevere. Eventually the visions were accepted and pronounced to be genuine. After becoming the Novice Mistress to her convent, she saw the private practice of this devotion take place at the beginning of 1686, and two years later a chapel was built in honor of the Sacred Heart. Our Lord called His faithful servant home on October 17th, 1690. She did not live to see the devotion to the Sacred Heart spread around the world, but she successfully completed her divine mission. Her feast day is October 16th. She is the patron of those who have lost parents and those who are devoted to the Sacred Heart. 

 I find St. Margaret Mary's life to be very inspirational, especially the way she abandoned everything at her young age to follow Christ. Only the bravest and most devoted souls have the courage to do what she and many other religious have done. She is a wonderful model of leaving behind the allurements of this world, out of love for Christ.

While St. Margaret Mary was a Blessed, this great saint intercessed for my own dear patron, St. Gemma Galgani, while she was suffering severely from spinal meningitis. With the help of St. Gabriel Possenti of Our Lady of Sorrows (my other patron), St. Gemma completed a novena to St. Margaret Mary and the Sacred Heart. Although St. Gemma was not too familiar with St. Margaret Mary, St. Gabriel insisted that she loved St. Gemma dearly and desired her to carry out the novena, so as to heal and secure many graces for her. The novena was finished and very soon after, St. Gemma was spared death and fully healed. This novena began St. Gemma's profound devotion to the Sacred Heart, which greatly aided her in her process of becoming a victim soul and holy saint. 

 St. Gemma's story is only one of the fruitful experiences that has been borne through St. Margaret Mary Alacoque's work of spreading the devotion to the Sacred Heart. In my own life, His Sacred Heart has poured out innumerable graces, as He has used His most loving Heart to draw me to closer to Him and to the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary. But I'm not the only one. The souls which Our Lord has gathered through His Sacred Heart are countless. A myriad of graces have flowed and souls have been saved because St. Margaret Mary devoted her life to bringing this beautiful, holy devotion to us. It's utterly amazing what can happen when we forget ourselves, and say "Yes" to Our Lord. 

Let us look to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque in thanks and ask her to teach us how to inflame our own hearts with love for the fiery furnace of love that is the Sacred Heart. 

"The Sacred Heart of Christ is an inexhaustible fountain and its sole desire is to pour itself out into the hearts of the humble so as to free them and prepare them to lead lives according to His good pleasure."

                                                                    -St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us,

St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, pray for us,

Mater Dolorosa, ora pro nobis.

-Yvonne Gemma

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It's Summer and I'm Covering Up

 Although I have been focusing on posts about the Sacred Heart for June, I'm going to veer off a bit and tackle a different subject, just for today. Since summer has begun, it seems appropriate to chit chat about modesty. Living in California, it can get pretty hot here on the West Coast, especially during the summer months. Although I throughly enjoy living in California, with all of its perks and posies, I do not take the heat very well. Some people thrive in the warm weather and look forward to summer, but not I, said the easily-overheated girl. I'm simply not a summer person. During the blissful autumn and winter months, cozy in my scarves and coats, I cringe at the thought of the uncomfortable heat rolling around again. Well here we are, at the beginning. 

 But aside from the excess warmth, my main reason for disliking summer is due to the fashions that emerge. The outfits (or small tattered pieces of cloth, call it what you want) that I see my fellow female peers strutting around in are simply scandalous. It saddens my heart to go out to the mall or any other public place, and catch boys (note: I say boys even though most are men, because real men aren't perverts) ogling and inappropriately staring at girls and women. We can blame it on the pornographic mentality of this culture all we want, but the bottom line is that the way women dress and behave also plays a huge roll. 

"To a great extent the level of any civilization is the level of its womanhood. When a man loves a woman, he has to become worthy of her. The higher her virtue, the more her character, the more devoted she is to truth, justice, goodness, the more a man has to aspire to be worthy of her. The history of civilization could actually be written in terms of the level of its women."
-Ven. Fulton J. Sheen

Yes, all men should be gentlemen and have respect for women, regardless of the way they dress. But women should also have enough respect for themselves and those around them as to not flaunt the distracting beauty which should remain hidden, preserving it for the only one worthy to fully behold it... their spouse. This also goes for men, even they should practice the virtue of modesty. If all women were to dress and behave modestly, a generation of gentlemen would rise up. Here is what the Catechism of the Catholic Church has to say on the matter of modesty. 

"Purity requires modesty, an integral part of temperance. Modesty protects the intimate center of the person. It means refusing to unveil what should remain hidden. It is ordered to chastity to whose sensitivity it bears witness.  It guides how one looks at others and behaves toward them in conformity with the dignity of persons and their solidarity." CCC, 2521

How I wish that all ladies would realize that their bodies are treasures to be revered, and not to be visually handed out everywhere. If we as women desire to be loved beyond our figures, then we should veil them to help our brothers focus on and value our whole selves, which goes way beyond the flesh. At the core of every woman is the yearning to be loved, not ogled at. The heart whispers for only one. To choose the first option is not easy and it is definitely counter-cultural. However, from experience I can promise you that it is the most rewarding of all. 

  It would seem that because I become easily overheated and I'm young with God-given physical beauty (which I say with all humility, all glory goes back to Him) that the solution would be to wear less or shorter clothes, and voila, problem solved. 

This is where I become a hipster and go against the machine. To that idea, I say no. I'll give an example. Simply because it is summer and I happen to be at the beach or pool, that doesn't give me the excuse to run around in a bra and underwear, aka a bikini. My logic is this; I would not be comfortable with anyone staring, looking or glancing at me in underwear. Therefore, I will not give anyone the opportunity to do so while wearing a bikini, or any other overly-revealing clothes. I find it interesting that the first woman to model a bikini was actually a prostitute, because the other models refused to wear it. I won't further ponder on that sentence, because it is self-explanotory. 

 As a young lady, I feel that it is my duty to protect my brothers in Christ visual and mental purity, as they do the same for me. By dressing immodestly and revealing what should remain hidden, I would become a stumbling block and open the door wide open for sin to enter. Because I care for my brothers souls and desire for them to be pure and holy, I refrain from the short-shorts, bikinis, spaghetti tanks and so on and so forth. Itty-bitty outfits probably would make me more physically comfortable in the warm weather, but to be uncomfortable for the sake of my brothers is a sacrifice that I'm willing to make. Another golden benefit of modesty, is that it also silently makes the modest woman a teacher. Through her modesty, she is teaching men to properly respect, love her and it challenges them to be gentlemen. But does that mean that I wear potato sacks and mumu's all the time? No way Jose. One misconception about modesty is that it equals frumpy, ugly clothes and swimwear. It doesn't have to be that way. It is very possible to dress in a modest yet becoming way. Just look at Leah Darrow and Jackie Francois! Aside from all of what I have spoken about, my favorite reason to practice modesty is because Our Blessed Mother is the perfect example of this virtue. In everything, she exudes flawless, feminine modesty.

 The point of this post was not to slam or belittle those who happen to dress immodestly. I hope that this will encourage my sisters in Christ to see that they have a greater worth that goes beyond their bodies, and also learn to treat their bodies with the dignity and reverence they deserve. When practicing modesty we are not only imitating the Blessed Mother, protecting our brothers and respecting ourselves, most importantly, we are honoring God. We are honoring He who created us in the image and likeness of His self. Until next time, the last quote I leave you with is from Jason Evert, "The woman who's modest is like a candle, there's something more mysterious about her, something more illuminating , warm and radiating, like she has humility of the body. Humility is the proper attitude towards greatness, and I think modesty is the proper attitude towards a woman's body: greatness."

Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us,
Mater Dolorosa, ora pro nobis.

-Yvonne Gemma

Promises, lists and more on love

  It feels like forever since I've hit the keyboard. With a marriage recently taking place in my family, finishing up school and life in general, I haven't had time to sit here at my computer desk, with my fingers clicking away on the keys. While I have been a busy bee, I have not forgotten about my little blog. Praise the Lord that I find time at nocturnal hours to type away. In other small news, I am renewing my personal consecration to Papa Joseph through a novena, and it's going wonderfully, Deo gratias. Sorry Future Husband, but this novena is all mine. ;) 

  Moving right along, by taking a look at your calendar, you will see that it is still the month of June. Which means that it's still the month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Aside from stating the obvious, today, tonight, this morning, evening, what have you, we will take a look at the 12 promises of the Sacred Heart, as I mentioned in my last post. 
My left-braininess is kicking in, so I must (really) begin with a list. 
Our Lord Jesus Christ, revealed these 12 promises to His faithful servant, St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, for those who hold a devotion to His Sacred Heart. 
They are as follows...

First Promise: I will give them all the graces necessary in their state of life. 
Second Promise: I will establish peace in their homes.
Third Promise: I will comfort them in all their afflictions.
Fourth Promise: I will be their secure refuge in life and above all, in death.
Fifth Promise: I will bestow abundant blessings upon all their undertakings.
Sixth Promise: Sinners will find in my Heart the source and infinite ocean of mercy.
Seventh Promise: Lukewarm souls shall become fervent.
Eighth Promise: Fervent souls shall quickly mount to high perfections.
Ninth Promise: I will bless every place in which an image of my Heart is exposed and honored.
Tenth Promise: I will give to priests the gift of touching the most hardened hearts.
Eleventh Promise: Those who promote this devotion shall have their names written in my heart.
Twelfth Promise: I promise you in the excessive mercy of my Heart that my all-powerful love will grant to all those who receive Holy Communion on the First Fridays in nine consecutive months the grace of final perseverance; they shall not die in my disgrace, nor without receiving their sacraments. My divine Heart shall be their safe refuge in this last moment.

  I don't know about you, but as I read these promises, my single awe-struck thought was this, "Wow."
Before anything else, I would like you to notice the language and words used in these promises. Over and over again, Our Lord uses the words, will, shall and promise. They are simple words, but they are not light or fleeting. Our Lord did not say might, perhaps, or maybe. Not at all. The words He used are strong, affirming and set in stone. By cultivating a devotion to His Sacred Heart, be rest assured that Our Lord is always faithful, keeps His word, and never disappoints those who place their trust in Him. For the skeptics out there, let me just tell you one simple fact. Had it not been for the Sacred Heart of Jesus (and Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary) I can say without a shadow of a doubt, that I would definitely not be where I am today. The thought of continuing my life without the Two Hearts is enough to bring me to tears. If the image of His Heart can revert the lukewarm and miserable sinner that I was, I'm confident that when given the chance He can bring anyone back into His loving embrace. 

  With that being said, let's slide on over to my next train of thought. 
How do we obtain these promises?
The answer is easy. We obtain these promises through love; love for His Sacred Heart. If you look in a dictionary, some of the synonyms for the word "devotion" are, zeal, ardor, love and commitment. How sublime is it of Our gracious Lord to offer these 12 amazing promises to us and in return, He only asks of our unconditional love and devotion to His Sacred Heart. 
Hold on. Unconditional you say? Yes, but let me elaborate.
When you truly love someone you naturally want to forget yourself and give everything to them, even the moon, if it was possible. Our Lord desires us to love Him to the point where we give Him every bit of ourselves, as He did for us during His Passion. To help form a clearer picture, imagine this: you unconditionally love someone totally and completely to the point of dying to yourself, but they only reciprocate a small fraction of that affection. In a sense, that happens to Jesus every single day, and even worse, some souls do not even respond with a fragment of love.
To truly develop a sincere love for the Sacred Heart, let it be motivated by love, and love alone.
This echoes 1 Corinthians 13:1-3, "If I speak with the tongues of men, and of angels, and have not charity*, I become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And if I should have prophecy and should know all mysteries, and all knowledge, and if I should have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing." (D.R edition)
What I am trying to say, with the help of Sacred Scripture, is to love Christ while being inspired and motivated by His Divine love; it is so unfathomably great and endless that the deeper we plunge, the closer He will lead us to Himself, and home... Heaven. 


Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.
Mater Dolorosa, ora pro nobis,

-Yvonne Gemma 

*charity is a synonym for love

The Sacratissimo Corde Iesu, aka the Sacred Heart of Jesus

I can't believe that it's already June. Which means that the year is halfway over. It's amazing how quickly time flies. While pausing to reminisce about where I was only a year ago, I can only praise and thank God for everything. It's funny (not in a comical sense, but you know what I mean) that when we are in the midst of the situations that life throws at us, we (at least I do) wonder, "How am I ever going to get through this?". But when looking back, the way things fall into place usually ends up making sense... we just couldn't see it at the time. Nonetheless, even if things don't make sense, we should still praise and thank God, because they will make sense in His time, which is always perfect. 

Now back to the month of June. Summer is beginning and school is ending, but that's not what makes it a special month. Most importantly, June is the month dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. It's a simple image, yet can still be profoundly meditated on.

                                                 

Cor Iesu, bonitate et amore plenum, miserere nobis

This particular devotion was spread by St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, after He appeared to her, and instructed her to make known the love of His Sacred Heart. On His hands, Our Lord visibly bears the wounds that He so selflessly endured for our sake, while also revealing His great love for us. With one look, we can gather that His Sacred Heart is burning and radiating with love. When was the last time someone's heart literally burned with flames and shone light with love for you? There's no love on Earth comparable to the ever-flaming, fervent love Jesus carries for us. My own weak words are not enough to convey the depth of this Divine love. As Our Lord said Himself, "Behold the Heart which has so loved men that it has spared nothing."

Let's take a minute to reflect on His hand gestures. 

As Jesus holds His Sacred Heart, He is also offering it to us. 

With the other hand, He is extending it as an invitation to be drawn closer to Him. So, as He offers Himself and His Divine love to each and every one of us, will we accept it?

Notice how His Heart is also circled with a crown of thorns. They serve as a reminder that while Our Lord loves us dearly, we must remember that He also suffered immensely for our sake, and our sins still hurt Him. The way I see it is that every time we sin, we are pushing the thorns deeper into His tender heart. We should have a repugnant attitude towards sin, so as not to cause Our dear Lord any more pain. How dismal it is to think of the souls who go day by day endlessly offending Him, without repenting.

However, there is a solution to the wave of unrepentant souls, as instructed to St. Margaret Mary by Jesus. 

Adoration. But not just any adoration, the Devotion of First Friday Adoration.

Our Lord instructed St. Margaret Mary Alacoque to receive Him on the First Friday of the month and to make reparation to His Sacred Heart for the outrages and offenses committed against Him. Not only will this appease the divine anger, but it will also console Our Lord in the sorrow He felt when the Apostles could not watch with Him for an hour. (A more in-depth read on all of this can be found here, which I highly recommend to all.)

Lo and behold, this upcoming Friday, the 7th, is the First Friday of June. How Divinely Providential. If you have not practiced the First Friday Devotion, this is the perfect opportunity to begin. If you have, please continue to do so. One cannot completely fathom the joy and consolation it must bring Our Lord when those with intent of reparation, approach Him in the Sacrament of the Altar. 

Like I have said before, when practicing piety, you have nothing to lose, and all the more to gain. 

For the remainder of the month, I will continue to focus on Sacred Heart related topics, such as St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, the promises of the Sacred Heart and so on. Stay tuned.

Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy of on us. 

Mater Dolorosa, ora pro nobis,

-Yvonne Gemma

P.S- check out this amazing Litany of the Sacred Heart of Jesus