OUR LADY OF THE SACRED HEART, powerful devotion
The Feast of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart is the last Saturday of May
PRESENTATION
"Wanting the most merciful and wise God to accomplish the redemption of the world, 'when the fullness of time came, he sent his Son, made by woman ... so that we might receive adoption as children' (Gal 4: 4S). He for us men and for our salvation descended from heaven incarnated through the work of the Holy Spirit from the Virgin Mary.
This divine mystery of salvation is revealed to us and continued in the Church, which the Lord established as his Body and in which the faithful who adhere to Christ the Head and are in communion with all his saints, must also venerate the memory first of all of the glorious and ever Virgin Mary, Mother of God and Lord Jesus Christ "(LG S2).
This is the beginning of chapter VIII of the "Lumen Gentium" Constitution; entitled "The Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, in the mystery of Christ and the Church".
A little further on, the Second Vatican Council explains to us the nature and the foundation that the cult to Mary must have: “Mary, because the most holy Mother of God, who took part in the mysteries of Christ, by the grace of God exalted, after Son, above all angels and men, comes from the Church justly honored with special worship. Already since ancient times, in fact, the Blessed Virgin is venerated with the title of "Mother of God" under whose garrison the imploring faithful take refuge in all dangers and needs. Especially since the Council of Ephesus the cult of the people of God towards Mary grew admirably in veneration and love, in prayer and imitation, according to her prophetic words: "All generations will call me blessed, because great things has done in me the 'Almighty "(LG 66).
This growth of veneration and love has created "various forms of devotion to the Mother of God, which the Church has approved within the limits of sound and orthodox doctrine and according to the circumstances of time and place and the nature and character of the faithful. "(LG 66).
Thus, over the centuries, many and many different names have flourished in honor of Mary: a true crown of glory and love, with which the Christian people present a filial homage to her.
We Missionaries of the Sacred Heart are also very devoted to Mary. In our Rule it is written: “Since Mary is intimately united with the mystery of her Son's Heart, we invoke her with the name of OUR LADY OF THE SACRED HEART. Indeed, she has known the unfathomable riches of Christ; she has been filled with her love; it leads us to the Heart of the Son which is the manifestation of God's ineffable kindness towards all men and the inexhaustible source of a love that gives birth to a new world ".
And from the heart of a humble and ardent priest of France, Fr. Giulio Chevalier, Founder of our religious Congregation, who originated this title in honor of Mary.
The booklet that we present is intended above all to be an act of gratitude and fidelity to Mary Most Holy. It is intended for the countless faithful who, in every part of Italy, love to honor you with the name of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart and to those who we hope as numerous still wish to know the history and meaning of this title.
The Missionaries of the Sacred Heart
A BIT OF HISTORY
Julius Chevalier
March 15, 1824: Giulio Chevalier was born as a poor family in Richelieu, Tóuraine, France.
May 29, 1836: Giulio, after making his First Communion, asks his parents to enter the seminary. The answer is that the family has no chance of paying for their studies. “Well, I will take any job, since it is necessary; but when I have put aside something, I will go knock on the door of some convent. I will ask to welcome me to study and thus realize the vocation.
For five years the shop of M. Poirier, shoemaker from Richelieu, has among the boys a young man who works around the soles and uppers of his fellow citizens, but has his mind and heart turned to a great ideal.
1841: a gentleman offers Giulio's dad a position as a forester and gives the young man the opportunity to enter the seminary. It is the minor seminary of the diocese of Bourges.
1846: having passed the necessary studies, Giulio Chevalier enters the major seminary. The seminarian, seriously engaged in his formation, is struck by the thought of the spiritual and temporal evils of his time. France, in fact, was still affected by the religious indifference sown by the French Revolution.
A professor of theology speaks to the seminarians of the Heart of Jesus. “This doctrine went straight to the heart. The more I penetrated it, the more I enjoyed it. " The "modern evil" as Giulio Chevalier called it, therefore, had the remedy. This was his great spiritual discovery.
It was necessary to go into the world, to be missionaries of the Love of Christ. Why not create a missionary work to achieve this goal? But was this the will of God? “My spirit always returned to this thought. A voice, from which I could not defend myself, said to me incessantly: You will succeed one day! God wants this work! ... ”Two seminarians share, at that moment, his dreams. Maugenest and Piperon.
June 14, 1853: with great spiritual joy Giulio Chevalier receives priestly ordination from his Bishop. “I celebrated the first Mass in the chapel dedicated to the Virgin. At the time of the consecration, the greatness of the mystery and the thought of my unworthiness penetrated me so much that I burst into tears. The encouragement of the good priest who assisted me to complete the Holy Sacrifice was necessary. "
1854: after staying in some parishes of the diocese, the young priest receives a new obedience from his Bishop: coadjutor in Issoudun. Once there, he finds another young coadjutor: he is the friend Maugenest. Is it a sign that comes from God?
The two friends confide. We return to speak of a great ideal. “It is necessary that there are priests who dedicate themselves to this great purpose: to make the Heart of Jesus known to men. They will be missionaries: THE MISSIONARIES OF THE SACRED HEART.
The foundation
But is this really, what God wants? The two young priests recommend themselves to Mary Most Holy with the promise to honor her in a very special way in the future Congregation. A novena begins. On December 8, 1854, at the end of the novena, someone offered a nice sum, so that work could be started for the spiritual good of the faithful of the diocese and of the neighboring dioceses. It is the answer: it is the birthplace of the Congregation of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart.
September 8, 1855: Chevalier and Maugenest leave the parish house and go to live in a poor house. They have the permission and blessing of the Archbishop of Bourges. Thus began the great journey ... Shortly thereafter Piperon joined the two.
May 1857: Fr. Chevalier announces to the two Confreres that in their Congregation they will honor Mary with the title of OUR LADY OF THE SACRED HEART! "Humble and hidden in the beginning, this devotion remained unknown for several years ...", as Chevalier himself says, but it was destined to spread all over the world. It was simply enough to make it known. Our Lady of the Sacred Heart preceded and accompanied the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart everywhere.
1866: begins the publication of the magazine which is called: "ANNALES DE NOTREDAME DU SACRECOEUR". Today it is published in different languages, in various parts of the world. The magazine spreads devotion to the Sacred Heart and to Our Lady of the Sacred Heart. It makes known the life and apostolate of the Missionaries of the Holy Heart. In Italy, the "ANNALS" will be printed for the first time in Osimo, in 1872.
March 25, 1866: Fr. Giulio Chevalier and Fr. Giovanni M. Vandel, a holy priest who had recently joined the Congregation, place the first draft of the regulation of the SMALL WORK OF THE HEART on the altar of their Mass . Conceived by P. Vandel, this institution has been the mother of many vocations. In it most of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart grew up in the love of God and of souls.
August 30, 1874: Fr. Chevalier founded the Congregation of the Daughters of N. Signora del S. Cuore. In the future they will be collaborators, full of dedication and sacrifice, of the Missionaries of the Holy Heart and will have a large number of autonomous works in all parts of the world.
April 16, 1881: this is a great date for the small Congregation. Chevalier, with great courage, which is only hope in God, accepts the proposal made by the Holy See which offers the missionary apostolate in Oceania, in the apostolic Vicariates, then called Melanesia and Micronesia. For those lands, distant and unknown, three Fathers and two Brothers coadjutors leave on the first of September of that year.
July 1, 1885: Fr Enrico Verjus and the two Italian brothers Nicola Marconi and Salvatore Gasbarra set foot on New Guinea. A great missionary season begins for the Church and for the Missionaries of the Holy Heart.
October 3, 1901: P. Chevalier is over 75 years old and is not well in health. He leaves the office of Superior General to one of his younger confreres. Meanwhile, in France, the anti-religious persecution is unleashed. The Missionaries of the Sacred Heart must leave France. Fr Chevalier with some few others remains in Issoudun, as Archpriest.
January 21, 1907: the police force the door of the parish house of Issoudun and force P. Chevalier to leave the residence. The old religious is carried by the arms of a devout parishioner. All around, the indignant crowd shouts: “Down with the thieves! Long live P. Chevalier! ".
October 21, 1907: in Issoudun, after such cruel persecutions, comforted by the last sacraments and surrounded by friends and confreres, Fr. Chevalier blesses his congregation for the last time on this earth and entrusts his life to God, from whose love he he had always let himself be guided. His earthly day is over. His work, his heart continue in his children, through his children.
Our Lady of the Sacred Heart
Let us now go back in time to the early years of our Congregation, and precisely to May 1857. We have kept the record a testimony of that afternoon in which Fr. Chevalier, for the first time, opened his heart to the Confreres on the so that he had chosen to fulfill the vow made to Mary in December 1854.
Here is what can be obtained from the story of P. Piperon the faithful companion of P. Chevalier and his first biographer: “Often, in the summer, spring and summer of 1857, sitting in the shade of the four lime trees in the garden, during in his recreation time, Fr. Chevalier drew the plan of the Church he dreamed of on the sand. The imagination ran free rein "...
One afternoon, after a little silence and with a very serious air, he exclaimed: "In a few years, you will see a large church here and the faithful who will come from every country".
"Oh! replied a confrere (Fr. Piperon who remembers the episode) laughing heartily when I see this, I will cry out to the miracle and call you prophet! ".
"Well, you will see it: you can be sure of it!". A few days later the Fathers were at recreation, in the shade of the lime trees, together with some diocesan priests.
Fr. Chevalier felt ready to reveal the secret he had held in his heart for almost two years. At this time he had studied, meditated and above all prayed.
In his spirit there was now the profound conviction that the title of Our Lady of the Holy Heart, which he "discovered", contained nothing that was contrary to faith and that, indeed, precisely for this title, Maria SS.ma would receive new glory and would bring men to the Heart of Jesus.
So, on that afternoon, the exact date of which we do not know, he finally opened the discussion, with a question that seemed rather academic:
“When the new church is built, you will not miss a chapel dedicated to Maria SS.ma. And with what title will we invoke her? ".
Everyone said his own: the Immaculate Conception, Our Lady of the Rosary, the Heart of Mary etc. ...
"No! resumed Fr. Chevalier we will dedicate the chapel to OUR LADY OF THE SACRED HEART! ».
The phrase provoked silence and general perplexity. No one had ever heard this name given to the Madonna among those present.
"Ah! I understood finally P. Piperon was a way of saying: the Madonna who is honored in the church of the Sacred Heart ".
"No! It is something more. We will call this Mary because, as Mother of God, she has great power over the Heart of Jesus and through it we can go to this divine Heart ".
“But it's new! It is not lawful to do this! ”. "Announcements! Less than you think ... ".
A big discussion ensued and P. Chevalier tried to explain to everyone what he meant. The hour of recreation was about to end and Fr. Chevalier closed the animated conversation by jokingly turning to Fr. Piperon, who more than any other had shown himself, doubtful: “For penance you will write around this statue of the Immaculate Conception (a statuette that was in the garden): Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, pray for us! ".
The young priest obeyed with joy. And it was the first external homage paid, with that title, to the Immaculate Virgin.
What did Father Chevalier mean by the title he had "invented"? Did he just want to add to the crown of Mary a purely external embellishment, or did the term "Our Lady of the Holy Heart" have a deeper content, meaning?
We must have the answer above all from him. And here is what you can read in an article that appeared in the French Annals many years ago: “By pronouncing the name of N. Lady of the Holy Heart, we will thank and glorify God for having chosen Mary, among all creatures, to form in his virginal womb the adorable Heart of Jesus.
We will especially honor the sentiments of love, of humble submission, of filial respect that Jesus brought to his Heart for his Mother.
We will recognize by means of this special title which somehow summarizes all the other titles, the ineffable power that the Savior has given her over his adorable Heart.
We will beg this compassionate Virgin to guide us to the Heart of Jesus; to reveal to us the mysteries of mercy and love that this Heart contains within itself; to open for us the treasures of grace of which it is the source, to make the riches of the Son descend on all those who invoke her and who recommend themselves to her powerful intercession.
Furthermore, we will join our Mother to glorify the Heart of Jesus and repair with Her the offenses that this divine Heart receives from sinners.
And finally, since Mary's intercession power is truly great, we will confide to her the success of the most difficult causes, of the desperate causes, both in the spiritual and in the temporal order.
All this we can and want to say when we repeat the invocation: "Our Lady of the Holy Heart, pray for us".
Diffusion of devotion
When, after long reflections and prayers, he had the intuition of the new name to give to Mary, Fr. Chevalier had not thought at the moment if it was possible to express this name with a particular image. But later, he also worried about this.
The first effigy of N. Signora del S. Cuore dates back to 1891 and is imprinted on a stained glass window of the church of S. Cuore in Issoudun. The church had been built in a short time for the zeal of P. Chevalier and with the help of many benefactors. The chosen image was the Immaculate Conception (as it appeared in Caterina Labouré's "Miraculous Medal"); but here the novelty standing before Mary is Jesus, in the age of a child, while showing his Heart with his left hand and with his right hand he indicates his Mother. And Mary opens her welcoming arms, as if to embrace her Son Jesus and all men in a single embrace.
In the thought of P. Chevalier, this image symbolized, in a plastic and visible way, the ineffable power that Mary has on the Heart of Jesus. Jesus seems to say: “If you want the graces of which my Heart is the source, turn to my Mother, she is its treasurer ”.
It was then thought to print pictures with the inscription: "Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, pray for us!" and its diffusion began. A number of them were sent to the various dioceses, others were spread personally by Fr. Piperon, in a great preaching tour.
A real bombardment of questions turned on the tireless Missionaries: “What does Our Lady of the Sacred Heart mean? Where is the sanctuary dedicated to you? What are the practices of this devotion? Is there an association with this title? " etc. … etc. ...
The time had now come to explain in writing what was required by the pious curiosity of so many faithful. A humble pamphlet entitled "Our Lady of the Holy Heart" was published, published in November 1862.
The May 1863 issue of the "Messager du SacréCoeur" of the PP also contributed to the diffusion of these first news. Jesuit. It was Fr. Ramière, Director of the Apostolate of Prayer and of the magazine, who asked to be able to publish what Fr. Chevalier had written.
The enthusiasm was great. The fame of the new devotion ran everywhere for France and soon exceeded its borders.
It is to be noted here that the image was later changed in 1874 and out of Pius IX's desire in what is known and loved by everyone today: Mary, that is, with the Child Jesus in her arms, in the act of revealing her Heart to faithful, while the Son indicates to them the Mother. In this double gesture, the fundamental idea conceived by P. Chevalier and already expressed by the most ancient type, remained in Issoudun and in Italy as far as we know only in Osimo.
Pilgrims began to arrive from Issoudun from France, attracted by the new devotion to Mary. The ever increasing turnout of these devotees made it necessary to place a small statue: they could not be expected to continue praying to Our Lady in front of a stained glass window! The construction of a large chapel was then necessary.
Growing the enthusiasm and insistent solicitation of the faithful themselves, Fr. Chevalier and the confreres decided to ask Pope Pius IX for the grace to be able to solemnly crown the statue of Our Lady. It was a great party. On September 8, 1869, twenty thousand pilgrims flocked to Issoudun, led by thirty Bishops and about seven hundred priests and celebrated the triumph of N. Lady of the Holy Heart.
But the fame of the new devotion had crossed the borders of France very early and had spread almost everywhere in Europe and even beyond the Ocean. Even in Italy, of course. In 1872, forty-five Italian bishops had already presented and recommended it to the faithful of their dioceses. Even before Rome, Osimo became the main propaganda center and was the cradle of the Italian "Annals".
Then, in 1878, the Missionaries of the Holy Heart, also requested by Leo XIII, purchased the church of S. Giacomo, in Piazza Navona, closed to worship for more than fifty years and so Our Lady of the Holy Heart had her Shrine in Rome, rededicated on December 7, 1881.
We stop at this point, also because we ourselves are not aware of the many places in Italy where devotion to Our Lady has arrived. How many times have we had the happy surprise of finding one (image in cities, towns, churches, where we, Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, had never been!
MEANING OF DEVOTION TO OUR LADY OF THE HEART
1. The Heart of Jesus
Devotion to the Heart of Jesus had its great development in the last century and in the first half of this century. Over the past twenty-five years, this development has taken over as a pause. A pause which, however, was a reflection and a new study, following the Encyclical "Haurietis aquas" by Pius XII (1956).
It must be said that the "popular" diffusion of this devotion is, undoubtedly, linked to the revelations that St. Margaret Maria Alacoque had and, at the same time, to the activity of many zealots, especially of the PP. Jesuits, initiator of P. Claudio de la Colombière, spiritual director of S. Margherita Maria. However, its "root", its foundation, is ancient, as old as the Gospel, indeed we could say as old as ancient God. Because it leads us to recognize the eternal primacy of God's love over all things and for the sa made visible in the person of Christ. The heart of Jesus is the source of this love. What John wanted to warn us about, calling us back to the discovery of the "pierced heart" (Jn 19, 3137 and Zc 12, 10).
In fact the gesture of the soldier, on the level of the record, appears a circumstance of very relative importance. But the evangelist, enlightened by the Spirit, reads instead a profound symbolism, sees you as the culmination of the mystery of redemption. Thus, to guide John's testimony, this event becomes an object of contemplation and a reason for response.
The Savior with a pierced heart and from whose side blood and water flow, is truly the supreme manifestation of redemptive love, the act with which Christ, through the total gift of himself to the Father, makes the new covenant in the outpouring of his blood ..., and at the same time it is the supreme manifestation of the salvific will, that is, of the merciful love of God who, in his only begotten, attracts believers, so that they too, through the gift of the Spirit, become "one" in charity. And so the world believe.
After a long period of time, in which the contemplative gaze towards the emptiness of Jesus was reserved for the spiritual "elite" of the Church (let's remember just to name a few of the most illustrious names, S. Bernardo, S. Bonaventura, S. Matilde, S. Gertrude ...), this devotion broke out among the common faithful. This happened after, following the revelations to S. Magherita Maria, the Church thought it possible and useful to make them participate too.
Since then, devotion to the Heart of Jesus has contributed significantly to bringing Christians closer to the sacraments of Penance and the Eucharist, ultimately to Jesus and his Gospel. Today, however, we are looking for a pastoral renewal plan to put all those forms of devotion that appear more emotional and sentimental in the second line, to rediscover above all the great values that are actually recalled and proposed by the spirituality of the Heart of Christ. Values that, as Pius XII affirms in his encyclical, are eminently found in Scripture, in the comments of the Fathers of the Church, in the liturgical life of the People of God, more than in private revelations. Thus, we return to the centrality of the person of Christ, the "Savior with a pierced heart".
More than devotion to the "Sacred Heart", therefore, we should speak of worship, of loving dedication to the Lord Jesus, whose wounded heart is a symbol and manifestation of an eternal love that seeks us and realizes wonderful works for us up to a death on the cross.
In short, as we have said from the beginning, it is a question of recognizing everywhere the primacy of love, of the love of God, of which the Heart of Christ is a manifestation and at the same time the source of redemption. By directing one's life on this contemplation of Christ, considered in the mystery of his redemptive and sanctifying love, it becomes easy to read all the infinite, gratuitous love of God who, in Christ, reveals himself and gives himself to us. And it becomes easy to read the whole Christian life as a vocation and commitment to respond to this "mercy" by loving God and the brothers.
The Heart of Jesus pierced is the "way" that leads us to these discoveries, it is the source that the Holy Spirit gives us, which makes it possible for us to realize them later in our life.
2. Foundation of devotion to Our Lady of the Sacred Heart
Paul VI, at the end of the third period of the Council, in proclaiming Mary "Mother of the Church", said: "Above all we want it to be clearly highlighted as Mary, humble servant of the Lord, is entirely relative to God and to Christ, unique Our Mediator and Redeemer ... Devotion to Mary, far from being an end in itself, is instead an essentially ordered means of directing souls to Christ and thus uniting them to the Father, in the love of the Holy Spirit ”.
It must be well understood what the great and unforgettable Pope means. Mary is not, and cannot be, for the Christian people, an "absolute". Only God is. And Jesus Christ is the only Mediator between us and God. However, Mary has a very particular, singular place in the Church, in that she is "entirely relative to God and Christ".
This means that devotion to Our Lady is a privileged, very special means of "directing souls to Christ and thus joining them to the Father in the love of the Holy Spirit". The premise allows us to conclude that, just as the mystery of his Heart is part of the mystery of Christ, so too does the fact that Mary is a privileged and very special means of orientating the faithful to the Heart of the Son.
And as the mystery of the pierced Heart of Jesus is the ultimate and maximum manifestation of the love of Christ for us and of the love of the Father who gave the Son for our salvation, so we can say that Mary is the very particular means desired by God to let us know in all "the breadth, length, height and depth" (cf. Eph 3:18) the mystery of the love of Jesus and the love of God for us. Indeed, no one better than Mary knows and loves the Heart of the Son: no one better than Mary can lead us to this rich source of grace.
This is precisely the foundation of the devotion to Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, as was understood by P. Chevalier. He, therefore, giving this appellative to Mary, did not intend to find a new name for her and then enough. He, digging into the depths of the mystery of the Heart of Christ, had the grace to understand the wonderful part that the Mother of Jesus has in it. The name, the title of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart must be considered, indeed, the consequence of this discovery.
To fully understand this devotion, it is therefore necessary to examine carefully and lovingly the various aspects of the relationship that binds Mary to the Heart of Jesus and, of course, to everything of which this Heart is a symbol.
3. Legitimacy of this devotion
If the foundation of this devotion is well understood, there is no doubt about the legitimacy of its doctrinal value and its pastoral interest. Why it is our duty to ask ourselves: after all the clarifications that from Vatican II before and from the "Marialis cultus" (Exhortation of Paul VI 1974), came to the Christian people on true devotion to Mary, it is still allowed to honor you with the title of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart?
Now, the very precise doctrine that comes to us from Vatican II is that every true devotion to Mary must be founded on the relationship that exists between Mary and Christ. "The various forms of devotion to the Mother of God that the Church has approved ... mean that while the Mother of God is honored, the Son, to whom all things are aimed and in which it 'pleased the Eternal Father to reside all fullness' (Col 1:19), be duly known, loved, glorified, and its commandments are observed "(LG 66).
Well, the devotion to Our Lady of the Holy Heart is such both for her name and above all for her content that she always unites Mary to Christ, to her Heart, and to lead the faithful to him, through her.
For his part, Paul VI, in the "Marialis cultus", gives us the characteristics of an authentic Marian cult. Not being able to elaborate here to verify them one by one, we limit ourselves to reporting the conclusion of this exposition of the Pope, believing that it is already sufficiently explanatory: “We add that the cult to the Blessed Virgin has its ultimate reason in the unfathomable and free will of God who, being eternal and divine charity, does everything according to a plan of love: he loved her and worked great things in her, loved him for himself and loved him for us too he gave it to himself and gave it to us too "(MC 56).
Comparing these words with what has been said and with what will still be said in the following pages, it seems to us that it can be said in all truth that devotion to Our Lady of the Sacred Heart is not "a sterile and passing sentimentalism" or "a certain as vain credulity ", but on the contrary it illustrates" the offices and privileges of the Blessed Virgin rightly, which always have for their purpose Christ, origin of all truth, holiness and devotion "(cf. LG 67).
Devotion to Our Lady of the Sacred Heart appears current, solid, rich in fundamental Christian values. We must rejoice and we must thank God for having inspired Fr. Chevalier and for allowing us to be able to invoke his Mother with this title so theologically right, bearer of hope and capable of truly guiding and renewing our Christian life.
4. Glorification of God and thanksgiving
The first act to which we are invited, honoring Mary with the name of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, is the adoration and glorification of God who, in his infinite goodness and in his plan of salvation, chose Mary, our sister, because the adorable Heart of Jesus was formed in his womb by the work of the Holy Spirit.
This heart of flesh, of flesh like the heart of every man, was destined to contain within itself all the love of God for us and all the response of love that God expects of us; for this love he had to be pierced, as an indelible sign of redemption and mercy.
Mary was chosen by God, in sight and for the merits of the Son of God and his Son; for this reason she was adorned with gifts, so much so that she could be called the "full of grace". With her "yes" she totally adhered to the will of God, becoming the Mother of the Savior. In her womb the body of Jesus was "woven" (cf. Ps 138, 13), in her womb began to beat the Heart of Christ, destined to be the Heart of the world.
Mary "full of grace" is forever a thanksgiving. His "Magnificat" says so. By joining all the generations who will proclaim her blessed, we are invited to contemplate in silence and keep in our hearts the wonders accomplished by God, with Mary adoring her mysterious and lovable designs, with Mary glorifying and thanking. "How great your works are, Lord: you have done everything with wisdom and love!". "I will sing the graces of the Lord without end" ...
5. Contemplation and imitation of the feelings that united the hearts of the Son and the Mother
When we speak of Mary as Mother of Jesus, we cannot limit ourselves to considering this motherhood as a pure physiological fact, almost as if the Son of God had to be born of a woman to truly be our brother God was forced, by force of circumstances , to choose one, enriching it with supernatural gifts to make it somehow worthy of the task that it should have had. But that's all: begotten the son, you on your own and him on his own.
Mary's motherhood is the cause and the beginning of a series of relationships, both human and supernatural, between her and the son. Like every mother, Mary transfuses something of herself to Jesus. Starting from the so-called hereditary characteristics. We can therefore say that the face of Jesus resembled the face of Mary, that the smile of Jesus recalled the smile of Mary. And why not say that Mary gave her kindness and sweetness to the humanity of Jesus? That the Heart of Jesus resembled the heart of Mary? If the Son of God wanted in all things to be like men, why should he have excluded these bonds which invariably unite every mother to her own son?
If then we broaden our horizon to the relationships of a spiritual and supernatural order, our gaze has a way of glimpsing how much the Mother and the Son, the heart of Mary and the heart of Jesus, have been and are united with mutual feelings, such as never they will be able to settle among any other human creature.
Well, the devotion to Our Lady of the Sacred Heart urges and encourages us towards this knowledge. Knowledge that, of course, cannot derive from sentimentality or simple intellectual study, but which is a gift of the Spirit and therefore must be asked for in prayer and with the desire aroused by faith.
By honoring Her as Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, we will then learn what Mary has received in grace and love from the Son; but also all the richness of his answer: he received everything: he gave everything. And we will learn how much Jesus received of love, attention, vigilance from his Mother and the totality of love, respect, obedience with which he corresponded to her.
This will push us not to stop here. It will be Mary herself who will grow in our hearts the desire and the strength to realize these feelings too, with a daily commitment. In the encounter with our God and the Heart of Christ, in the encounter with Mary and with our brothers, we will try to imitate how great and wonderful there was between the Mother and the Son.
6. Mary leads to the Heart of Jesus ...
In the image of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, Fr. Chevalier wanted Jesus with one hand to indicate his heart and with the other the Mother. This is not done by chance, but has its precise meaning: the gesture of Jesus wants to express many things. The first of which is this: look at my Heart and look at Mary; if you want to get to my heart, she is the safe guide.
Can we refuse to look at the Heart of Jesus? We have already meditated that if we do not want to drop the invitation of Scripture, we must look at the "pierced heart": "They will turn their gaze to the one who has pierced". John's words, which repeat the words of the prophet Zechariah, are prediction of a fact that will happen from that moment on, but above all they are a strong and pressing invitation: to non-believers to believe; to believers to grow their faith and their love day by day.
Therefore, we cannot ignore this invitation which comes from God through the mouth of Zechariah and John. It is the word of God who wants to be translated into an operation of mercy and grace. But how many obstacles often stand between us and the Heart of the Lord Jesus! Obstacles of all kinds: life's problems and labors, psychological and spiritual difficulties, etc. ...
So, we ask ourselves: is there a way that will facilitate our journey? A "shortcut" to get there first and better? A person to "recommend" to get to contemplate the "heart" full of grace for all men in this world? The answer is yes: yes, there is. It's Maria.
By calling her Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, we only emphasize and affirm it because this title reminds us of Mary's particular mission of being an infallible guide to the Heart of Christ. With how much joy and love will you carry out this task, you who, like no one else, can know how much there is, at our disposal, in this inexhaustible "treasure"!
"Come invite us Our Lady of the Sacred Heart will draw water from the springs of salvation" (Is 12, 3): the water of the Spirit, the water of grace. Truly it "shines before the wandering People of God as a sign of hope and consolation" (LG 68). By interceding for us with the Son, It leads us to the source of living water that springs from his Heart, which spreads hope, salvation, justice and peace on the world ...
7.… because our heart resembles the Heart of Jesus
Christian contemplation, the true one that comes, as grace, from the Spirit always translates into coherent concrete life. It is never alienation, drowsiness of energies, forgetfulness of life's duties. Much less is the contemplation of the Heart of Christ. If Mary accompanies us in the discovery of this Heart, it is because nobody like you wants our hearts of us, of whom at the foot of the Cross, has become a mother to resemble the Heart of the Son. It is as if she wanted to generate in herself, as it was for Jesus, our heart, the "new heart" promised by God to all believers, through the mouth of Ezekiel and Jeremiah.
If we entrust ourselves to Mary N. Lady of the Sacred Heart, Jesus' capacity for love, dedication, obedience will flood our heart. It will be filled with mildness and humility, courage and fortitude, as the Heart of Christ was superabundant of it. We will experience in ourselves how much obedience to the Father coincides with love for the Father: in such a way that our "yes" to the will of God will no longer be bowing our head for a resigned impossibility to do otherwise, but it will be rather an understanding and embracing, with all your might, the merciful love that wants the good of all men.
And our meeting with our brothers and sisters will no longer be mixed with selfishness, a will to overcome, to lie, to misunderstanding or to injustice. On the contrary, the good Samaritan who bends down, full of goodness and forgetfulness of himself, to relieve fatigue and pain, to soothe and heal the wounds that the cruelty of so many situations inflicts on them, will be revealed to us for them.
Like Christ, we will be able to lift our and others' "daily burden", which has become "light and gentle yoke" on our shoulders. Like the Good Shepherd, we will go in search of the lost sheep and we will not be afraid to give our lives, because our faith will be communicative, a source of confidence and strength for ourselves and for all those close to us.
8. With Mary we praise the Heart of Christ, we repair the offenses that Jesus receives
Jesus is brother among the brothers. Jesus is the "Lord". He is supremely lovable and adorable. We must transform our prayer in praise of the Heart of Christ. "Hail, o admirable Heart of Jesus: we praise you, glorify you, we bless you ...". The Missionaries of the Holy Heart following Fr. Chevalier repeat this beautiful prayer every day, inspired by a great devotee of the Heart of Jesus, St. John Eudes.
Since the Heart of Christ is a manifestation of all the love that He has had for us and, consequently, a manifestation of the eternal love of God, the contemplation of this Heart brings us, it must lead us, to praise, to glorification, to say every good. Devotion to N. Signora del S. Cuore invites us to do this, uniting us with Mary, to her praise. As in the Upper Room with the Apostles, Mary joins us in prayer so that a new outpouring of the Spirit may come from us for this prayer.
Maria still asks us to join her in the repair. At the foot of the Cross, She offered herself again and again repeated: "Behold the handmaid of the Lord, do me according to your word". He combined his "yes" to the "yes" of Jesus his Son. And this is not because there was a need for the salvation of the world, but because Jesus, in the merciful goodness of his Heart so wanted, associating the Mother with what she did. His presence next to Jesus is always his mission. Her free and loving acceptance of God's will makes her a faithful Virgin. Faithful to the end, of a silent and strong fidelity, which questions us about our faithfulness: because it is possible that God simply asks us this too: to be there when and where He wants to need us.
We too, therefore, even in our misery, can join our "yes" to that of Mary, so that the world may convert to God, return to the ways of God, through familiarity with the Heart of Christ. We too are called to endure suffering and tribulations to complete in us "what is lacking in the Passion of Christ" (cf. Col 1:24). What will this act of ours ever be worth? Yet it is pleasing to the Heart of Jesus, it is pleasing to God. It is pleasing and requested. It will be even more so if it is offered to him by the hands of Mary, by her who is N. Lady of the Holy Heart.
9. The "ineffable power"
Let us return once again to the image of N. Signora del S. Cuore. We have considered the gesture of the hands of Jesus: he presents us his Heart and his Mother. Now we observe that the Heart of Jesus is in the hands of Mary. "Since the power of intercession of Mary is truly great, Fr. Chevalier explains to us, we will confide to her the success of the most difficult causes, of the desperate causes, both in the spiritual and in the temporal order".
St. Bernard exclaimed, thoughtfully this mystery: “And who more suitable than you, O happy Mary, to speak to the heart of Our Lord Jesus Christ? Speak, O Lady, because your Son listens to you! " It is the "suppliant omnipotence" of Mary.
And Dante, in his admirable poetry: “Woman, if she is so great and so worthy that what she wants grace and does not have recourse to her misfortune, she wants to fly without wings. Your kindness does not help those who ask, but many days freely to ask ahead. "
Bernardo and Dante, like many and many others, thus express the constant faith of Christians in the strength of Mary's intercession. The only mediator between God and men, Jesus Christ, in his goodness, wanted to unite Mary with his mediation. When we invoke her with the title of N. Lady of the Holy Heart, we renew our faith in this mystery, giving particular emphasis to the fact that Mary has an "ineffable power" over the Heart of the Son. Power granted to you by the will of your divine Son.
For this reason, devotion to Our Lady is devotion to prayer and hope. For this reason, we turn to you, confident that you cannot receive any refusal. We will beg you for all the intentions that we carry in our hearts (also thanks to a temporal order): a mother understands better than anyone else the worries and sufferings that occasionally distress us, but let's not forget that N. Signora del S. Cuore first of all, he wants us to participate in the supreme gift that flows from the Heart of Christ: his Holy Spirit, which is Life, Light, Love ... This gift surpasses all others ...
So certainly, Mary's condescension and prayer to the Heart of Jesus will be realized in thanks for us. Grace to get what we ask, if this is for our good. Grace to obtain the strength to accept and transform our apparently unacceptable situation for good, if we cannot obtain what we ask because it would distance us from the ways of God. "Our Lady of the Holy Heart of Jesus, pray for us!".
MASS IN HONOR OF OUR LADY
(NB. Text approved by the Congregation of Rites on 20121972)
ENTRY ANTIFON Ger 31, 3b4a
I loved you with eternal love, for this I still pity you; thou shalt be filled with joy, O Virgin of Israel.
COLLECTION
O God, who revealed the unfathomable riches of your love in Christ and wanted to associate the Blessed Virgin Mary with the mystery of his love, grant, we pray you, that we too are partakers and witnesses of your love in the Church. For our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who is God, and lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, for ever and ever. Amen
FIRST READING
You will see it and your heart will rejoice.
From the book of the prophet Isaiah 66, 1014
Rejoice with Jerusalem, exult those who love her for it. All of you who participated in her mourning sparkle with joy. Thus you will suck on his breast and be satisfied with his consolations; you will be delighted by the abundance of her breast.
For thus says the Lord: “Behold, I will make prosperity flow towards it like a river; like a torrent in full the riches of the peoples; his children will be carried in his arms, they will be caressed on his knees.
As a mother comforts a son, so I will console you; in Jerusalem you will be comforted. You will see it and your heart will rejoice, your bones will be luxuriant like fresh grass. The hand of the Lord will be made manifest to his servants ”.
Word of God We thank God
RESPONSORIAL PSALM From Psalm 44
R / In you, Lord I have placed my joy.
Listen, daughter, look, give ear, forget your people and your father's house will love your beauty.
He is your Lord: pray to him Rit.
The King's Daughter is all splendor, gems and golden fabric is her dress. And presented to the King in precious embroideries, with her the virgin companions to you are led. Rit.
Guided in joy and exultation, they enter the King's palace together. Your children will succeed your fathers; you will make them leaders of all the earth. Rit.
SECOND READING
God sent the Spirit of his Son.
From the letter of St. Paul the Apostle to Galatians 4, 47
Brothers, when the fullness of time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, because and then to the other who had been crucified with him. we received adoption to children. And that you are children is proof of this the fact that God has sent into our hearts the Spirit of the Son who cries out: Abbà, Father! So you are no longer a slave, but a son; if then son, you are also heir by the will of God.
Word of God We thank God
SONG TO THE GOSPEL Lk 11, 28
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it. Alleluia!
GOSPEL
Here is your Mother.
From the Gospel according to John 19,2537
At that hour, they stood at the cross of Jesus his mother, his mother's sister, Mary of Cléofa and Mary of Magdala. Then Jesus, seeing the Mother and there beside her, the disciple whom he loved, said to the Mother: "Woman, behold your son!". Then he said to the disciple, "Here is your Mother!" And from that moment the disciple took her into his home.
After this, Jesus, knowing that everything had now been accomplished, said, to fulfill the Scripture: "I am thirsty". There was a jar full of vinegar there, so they placed a sponge soaked in vinegar on top of a barrel and placed it close to his mouth. And after receiving the vinegar, Jesus said: "Everything is done!". And, bowing his head, he expired.
It was the day of Parasceve and the Jews, so that the bodies would not remain on the cross during the Sabbath (it was in fact a solemn day, that Sabbath), asked Pilate that their legs were broken and taken away. So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first. Then they came to Jesus and seeing that he was already dead, they did not break his legs, but one of the soldiers hit his side with the spear and immediately blood and water came out.
Whoever has seen bears witness to it and his testimony is true and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you too may believe. This in fact happened because the Scripture was fulfilled: "No bone will be broken". And another passage of the Scripture still says: "They will turn their gaze to the one who pierced".
Word of the Lord Praise to you, O Christ
On the day of Solemnity the Creed is said
ON OFFERS
Accept, Lord, the prayers and gifts that we offer to you in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary, so that by virtue of this holy exchange, we too can, like her, have the same sentiments as your Son Jesus Christ,
He lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen
Preface of the Blessed Virgin Mary I (venerating Our Lady of the Sacred Heart) or II
COMMUNION ANTIPHON 1 Jn 4, 16b
God is love; whoever is in love lives in God and God lives in him.
AFTER COMMUNION
Satiate at the Savior's sources in this celebration of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we beg you, Lord: for this sign of unity and love, make us always willing to do what you like and serve our brothers.
For Christ our Lord Amen
(Those who want copies of this Mass, in missal format or in sheets, can request it at our address.) "ANNALI" direction Corso del Rinascimento 23 00186 ROME
PRAYER TO OUR LADY
We present two prayers to Our Lady. The first goes back to our Founder; the second takes up the themes. fundamentals of the first, but adapting them to the renewal of the Marian cult required by the Second Vatican Council.
Remember, O Our Lady of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the ineffable power that your divine Son has given you over his adorable Heart.
Full of confidence in your merits, we come to invoke your protection.
O heavenly Treasurer of the Heart of Jesus, of that Heart which is the inexhaustible source of all graces and which You can open at your pleasure, to make all the treasures of love and mercy, light and health that descend upon men It contains within itself.
Grant us, we beg you, the favors that we ask of you ... No, we cannot receive from you any refusal, and since you are our Mother, or Our Lady of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, welcome our prayers benignly and deign to answer them. So be it.
We turn to you, O Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, remembering the wonders that the Almighty has accomplished in you. He chose you for Mother, he wanted you near his cross; now he makes you participate in his glory and listen to your prayer. offer him our praise and our thanksgiving, present our questions to him… Help us to live like you in the love of your Son, so that his Kingdom may come. Lead all men to the source of living water that flows from his Heart and spreads hope and salvation, justice and peace over the world. Look to our trust, respond to our plea and always show yourself our Mother. Amen.
Recite the invocation once in the morning and once in the evening: "Our Lady of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, pray for us".