Devotion to Jesus: the great promise of the Sacred Heart
What is the Great Promise?
It is an extraordinary and very special promise of the Sacred Heart of Jesus with which he assures us of the most important grace of death in the grace of God, hence eternal salvation.
Here are the precise words with which Jesus manifested the Great Promise to St. Margaret Maria Alacoque:
«I PROMISE YOU, IN THE EXCESS OF THE MISE MEMORY OF MY HEART, THAT MY ALMIGHTY LOVE WILL GIVE THE GRACE OF FINAL PENANCE TO ALL THOSE WHO WILL COMMUNICATE THE FIRST FRIDAY OF THE MONTH FOR NINE MONTHS FOLLOWING. THEY WILL NOT DIE IN MY DISCRETION, NOR WITHOUT RECEIVING THE HOLY SACRAMENTS, AND IN THE LAST MOMENTS MY HEART WILL GIVE THEM A SAFE ASYLUM ».
The promise
What does Jesus promise? He promises the coincidence of the last moment of earthly life with the state of grace, whereby one is eternally saved in Paradise. Jesus explains his promise with the words: "they will not die in my misfortune, nor without having received the Holy Sacraments, and in those last moments my Heart will be a safe refuge for them".
Are the words "nor without having received the Holy Sacraments" a security against sudden death? That is, who has done well on the first nine Fridays will be certain not to die without first confessing, having received the Viaticum and the Anointing of the Sick?
Important Theologians, commentators of the Great Promise, answer that this is not promised in absolute form, since:
1) who, at the moment of death, is already in the grace of God, by himself does not need the sacraments to be saved eternally;
2) who instead, in the last moments of his life, finds himself in God's misfortune, that is, in mortal sin, ordinarily, in order to recover himself in God's grace, he needs at least the Sacrament of Confession. But in case of impossibility to confess; or in case of sudden death, before the soul separates from the body, God can make up for the reception of the sacraments with inner graces and inspirations that induce the dying man to make an act of perfect pain, so as to obtain the forgiveness of sins, to have sanctifying grace and thus to be eternally saved. This is well understood, in exceptional cases, when the dying person, for reasons beyond his control, could not confess.
Instead, what the Heart of Jesus promises absolutely and without restrictions is that none of those who have done well on the Nine First Fridays will die in mortal sin, granting him: a) if he is right, final perseverance in the state of grace; b) if he is a sinner, the forgiveness of every mortal sin both through Confession and through an act of perfect pain.
This is enough for Heaven to be truly assured, because - without any exception - its lovable Heart will serve as a safe refuge for all in those extreme moments.
Therefore in the hour of agony, in the last moments of earthly life, on which eternity depends, all the demons of hell may arise and unleash themselves, but they will not be able to prevail against those who did well the Nine First Fridays requested by Jesus, because his Heart will be a safe refuge for him. His death in God's grace and his eternal salvation will be a consoling triumph of the excess of infinite mercy and the omnipotence of love of His Divine Heart.
The condition
Who makes a promise has the right to put the condition he wants. Well, in making his Great Promise, Jesus contented himself with putting only this condition into it: to make Communion on the first Friday of nine consecutive months.
To those who seem almost impossible that with such an easy means it is possible to obtain such an extraordinary grace as that of achieving the eternal happiness of Paradise, it must be taken into account that infinite Mercy stands between this easy means and such an extraordinary grace. the Almighty of God. Who can put limits on the infinite Goodness and Mercy of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and restrict entry to Heaven? Jesus is the King of Heaven and earth, consequently it is up to Him to establish the conditions for men to conquer his Kingdom, Heaven.
How should Jesus' condition for fulfilling the Great Promise be fulfilled?
This condition must be fulfilled faithfully and therefore:
1) there must be nine Communions and whoever has not done all nine has no right to the Great Promise;
2) Communions must be made on the first Friday of the month, and not on any other day of the week. Not even the confessor can commute the day, because the Church has not granted this faculty to anyone. Not even the sick can be dispensed from observing this condition;
3) For nine consecutive months without interruption.
Who after having made five, six, eight Communions, would then leave her a month, even involuntarily or because he was prevented or because he had forgotten, for this he would have done no lack, but would be obliged to start again the practice from the beginning and the Communions already facts, although holy and meritorious, could not be counted in the number.
The practice of the Nine First Fridays can be started in that period of the year that is more comfortable, important is not to interrupt it.
4) The nine communions must be made in God's grace, with the will to persevere in the good and to live as a good Christian.
A) It is clear that if one made Communion knowing that he was in mortal sin, not only would he not secure Heaven, but, abusing so unworthily of divine mercy, he would make himself worthy of great punishments because, instead of honoring the Heart of Jesus would outrage her horribly by committing a very serious sin of sacrilege.
B) Whoever made these nine Communions in order to then be able to freely abandon himself to a life of sins would demonstrate with this perverse intention of being attached to sin and therefore his Communions would all be sacrilegious and certainly could not claim to have secured Heaven.
C) Who instead had started the first nine Fridays with good dispositions, but then for weakness came to fall into a serious sin, provided that he repents from his heart, regains the sanctifying grace with the Sacramental Confession and continues without interruption the nine Communions, he will achieve the Great Promise.
5) In making the nine Communions one must have the intention of doing them according to the intentions of the Heart of Jesus to obtain his Great Promise, that is, eternal salvation.
This is very important because, without this intention, made at least in starting the exercise of the First Fridays, one could not say that the pious practice was well fulfilled.
What should be said of the one who, after having done well the first nine Fridays of the month, with the passage of time became bad and lived badly?
The answer is very consoling. Jesus, in making the Great Promise, has not excepted any of those who have fulfilled the conditions of the First Nine Fridays well. Indeed it is to be noted the fact that Jesus, in revealing his Great Promise, did not say that it is a trait of his ordinary mercy, but expressly declared that it is an excess of the mercy of his Heart, that is, an extraordinary mercy that he will accomplish with omnipotence of his love. Now these expressions so energetic and solemn make us understand clearly and confirm us in the sure hope that his most loving Heart will grant even these poor misguided the ineffable gift of eternal salvation. That if to convert them it was also necessary to perform extraordinary miracles of grace, He will accomplish this excess of the mercy of his almighty love, giving them the grace to convert before dying, and granting them forgiveness, he will save them. So whoever does the nine First Fridays well will not die in sin, but will die in God's grace and will certainly be saved.
This pious practice assures us of victory over our capital enemy: sin. Not just any victory but the ultimate and decisive victory: that on the deathbed. What a sublime grace of the infinite Mercy of God!
Does this Nine First Friday practice not favor presumption, a sin against the Holy Spirit?
The question would be embarrassing if it were not in the way:
1) on the one hand the unconditional promise of Jesus who wanted to induce us to place all our confidence in Him, making Him guarantor of our salvation for the merits of his most loving Heart;
2) and on the other hand the authority of the Church which invites us to take advantage of this easy way to reach eternal life.
Therefore, we do not hesitate to reply that it does not in any way favor the presumption of well-intentioned souls, but revives their hope of reaching Heaven despite their miseries and weaknesses. Well-intentioned souls know very well that no one can be saved without his free correspondence to the grace of God who urges us gently and strongly to observe the divine law, that is, to do good and to flee evil, as the Doctor of the Church S. Augustine teaches : "Whoever created you without you will not save you without you." This is precisely the grace that the one who is about to make the Nine First Fridays with right intention intends to obtain.
This is the collection of all the promises made by Jesus to Saint Margaret Mary, in favor of the devotees of the Sacred Heart:
1. I will give them all the graces necessary for their state.
2. I will bring peace to their families.
3. I will console them in all their afflictions.
4. I will be their safe haven in life and especially in death.
5. I will spread the most abundant blessings over all their endeavors.
6. Sinners will find in my Heart the source and the infinite ocean of mercy.
7. Lukewarm souls will become fervent.
8. Fervent souls will quickly rise to a great perfection.
9. I will bless the houses where the image of my sacred Heart will be exposed and honored.
10. I will give priests the gift of moving the most hardened hearts.
11. The people who propagate this devotion will have their name written in my Heart and it will never be canceled.
12. I promise in the excess of the mercy of my Heart that my almighty love will grant to all those who communicate on the first Friday of the month for nine consecutive months the grace of the final penance. They will not die in my misfortune, nor without receiving the sacraments, and my Heart will be their safe haven in that extreme hour.