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
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