Sacred Heart of Jesus

Veneration to the heart of Jesus is actually directed to the love of Jesus of which the heart is the symbol. Jesus, as the proof of God's love for us, is the object of devotion to Sacred Heart.

The earliest devotions to the Sacred Heart of Jesus can be found in the "Vitis mystica" from the 11th or 12th century. St. Mechtilde (d. 1298) and St. Gertrude (d. 1302) both wrote prayers and exercises devoted to the Sacred Heart. It is said that St. Gertrude, in a vision, placed her head near the wound on Jesus' side and heard his heart beat.

It is through the visions of St Margaret Mary (d.1690) that we learn the most about devotion to the Sacred Heart. Our Lord, appeared to her frequently and conversed with her, confiding to her the mission to establish the devotion to His Sacred Heart. Margaret Mary was inspired by Christ to establish the Holy Hour and to pray lying prostrate with her face to the ground from eleven till midnight on the eve of the first Friday of each month, to share in the mortal sadness He endured when abandoned by His Apostles in His Agony, and to receive holy Communion on the first Friday of every month. In the first great revelation, He made known to her His ardent desire to be loved by men and His design of manifesting His Heart with all Its treasures of love and mercy, of sanctification and salvation. He appointed the Friday after the octave of the feast of Corpus Christi as the feast of the Sacred Heart.

The Promises of the Sacred Heart of Jesus to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque:

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 their afflictions."
4. "I will be their secure refuge during life, and above all in death."
5. "I will bestow a large blessing upon all their undertakings."
6. "Sinners shall find in My Heart the source and the infinite ocean of mercy."
7. "Tepid souls shall grow fervent."
8. "Fervent souls shall quickly mount to high perfection."
9. "I will bless every place where a picture of My Heart shall be set up and honored."
10. "I will give to priests the gift of touching the most hardened hearts."
11. "Those who shall promote this devotion shall have their names written in My Heart, never to be blotted out."
12. "I promise thee in the excessive mercy of My Heart that My all-powerful love will grant to all those who communicate on the First Friday in nine consecutive months, the grace of final penitence; they shall not die in My disgrace nor without receiving the Sacraments; My Divine heart shall be their safe refuge in this last moment."

Click on left for the stained glass door of St. Joseph.

Click on right for the stained glass window of the Sacred Heart.

Click on bottom for full view right front of church.