Today's prayer: the powerful devotion to the Sacred Heart
Promises of Ns. Lord to the devotees of his Sacred Heart
Blessed Jesus, appearing to St. Margaret Maria Alacoque and showing her his Heart, made the following Promises for his devotees:
1. I will give them all the graces necessary for their state
It is the cry of Jesus which addresses the crowds of the whole world: "Come to me, all of you who are fatigued and oppressed, and I will refresh you". As his Voice reaches all consciences, so his graces reach wherever a human creature breathes, and renews himself with every beat of his Heart. Jesus invites everyone to quench their thirst at this source of Love, promising the grace of a very particular efficacy to fulfill the obligations of their state to those who, with sincere love, will practice devotion to his Sacred Heart.
Jesus makes a stream of internal help flow from his Heart: good inspirations, problem solving, inner action, unusual vigor in the practice of good. He also donates external help: useful friendships, providential affairs, escaped dangers, regained health. (Letter 141)
2. I will put and keep peace in their families
It is necessary for Jesus to enter the families, He will bring the most beautiful gift: Peace. A peace that, having the heart of Jesus as its source, will never fail and therefore can coexist also with poverty and pain. Peace occurs when everything is "in the right place", in perfect balance: the body subject to the soul, the passions to the will, the will to God, the wife in a Christian way to the husband, the children to the parents and the parents to God; when in my heart I am able to give to others, and to various things, the place established by God. Jesus promises special help, which will facilitate this struggle in us and will fill our hearts and our homes with blessings, and therefore with peace. (Letters 35 and 131)
3. I will console them in all their pains
To our sad souls, Jesus presents his Heart and offers his consolation. "As a mother caresses her child so I too will console you" (Isaiah 66,13).
Jesus will keep his promise by adapting to individual souls and giving what they need and to all he will reveal his adorable Heart that communicates the secret that gives strength, peace and joy even in pain: Love.
“On every occasion, turn to the adorable Heart of Jesus by laying down your bitterness and distress.
Make it your home and everything will be mitigated. He will console you and be the strength of your weakness. There you will find a remedy for your ills and a refuge in all your needs ".
(S. Margherita Maria Alacoque). (Letter 141)
4. I will be their safe haven in life and especially on the point of death
Jesus opens his Heart to us as an asylum of peace and refuge among the whirlwind of life. God the Father wanted "that his Only Begotten Son, hanging from the cross, be comfort and refuge of salvation." It is a warm and throbbing refuge of Love. A refuge that is always open, day and night, dug in the very strength of God, in his Love. Let us make our continuous and perpetual home in him; nothing will disturb us. In this Heart one enjoys an unalterable peace. That refuge is a haven of peace especially for sinners who want to escape divine anger. (Letter 141)
5. I will spread abundant blessings upon all their endeavors
Jesus promises a cascade of blessings to the devotees of his Sacred Heart. His blessing means: protection, help, opportune inspirations, strength to overcome difficulties, success in business. The Lord promises us blessings on all that we will undertake, on all our private initiatives, in the family, in society, on all our activities, provided that what we do is not harmful to our spiritual good. Jesus will guide things in order to enrich us mainly with spiritual goods, so that our true happiness, the one that lasts forever, is increased. This is what his Love desires for us: our true good, our sure advantage. (Letter 141)
6. Sinners will find in my Heart the source and the infinite ocean of mercy
Jesus says: “I love souls after the first sin, if they humbly come to ask me for forgiveness, I still love them after they have cried the second sin and if they fell I don't say a billion times, but millions of billions of times, I love them and I always lose them and I wash the last sin as the first in my own Blood. " And again: “I want my love to be the sun that illuminates and the heat that warms souls. I want the world to know that I am a God of love of forgiveness, of mercy. I want the whole world to read my ardent desire to forgive and to save, that the most miserable do not fear ... that the most guilty do not run away from Me! Let everyone come, I wait for them as a father with open arms…. ” (Letter 132)
7. Lukewarm souls will become fervent
Lukewarmness is a kind of languor, of numbness which is not yet the cold of the death of sin; it is a spiritual anemia that opens the way to the invasion of a dangerous germ, gradually weakening the forces of good. And it is precisely this progressive weakening of which the Lord complains so much with St. Margaret Mary. Lukewarm hearts embitter him more than the open offense of his enemies. Therefore devotion to the Sacred Heart is the heavenly dew that restores life and freshness to the withered soul. (Letters 141 and 132)
8. Fervent souls will soon reach great perfection
Fervent souls, through devotion to the Sacred Heart, will rise to great perfection without effort. We all know that when you love you don't struggle and that, if you struggle, the effort itself turns into love. The Sacred Heart is the "source of all holiness and it is also the source of all consolation", so that, bringing our lips closer to that wounded side, we drink holiness and joy.
St. Margaret Mary writes: “I don't know if there is another exercise of devotion in the spiritual life that is more purposefully to raise a soul in a short time to the highest perfection and to make it taste the true sweetnesses that are found in the service of Jesus Christ". (Letter 132)
9. My blessing will also rest on the houses where the image of my Heart will be exposed and honored
In this Promise Jesus makes us know all his sensitive Love, just as each of us is moved by seeing his own image preserved. However, we must immediately add that Jesus wants to see the Image of his Sacred Heart exposed to public veneration, not only because this delicacy satisfies, in part, his intimate need for concern and attention, but above all because, with that Heart of his pierced by love, he wants to hit the imagination and, through fantasy, to conquer the sinner who looks at the Image and open a breach in him through the senses.
"He promised to imprint his love in the hearts of all those who will carry this Image and to destroy any unruly movement in them". (Letter 35)
10. I will give the priests the grace to move the hardened hearts
Here are the words of Saint Margaret Mary: “My divine Master has made me known that those who work for the salvation of souls will work with marvelous success and will know the art of moving the most hardened hearts, provided they have a tender devotion to Sacred Heart, and strive to inspire it and establish it everywhere. "
Jesus secures the salvation of all those who consecrate themselves to Him in order to procure for him all the love, honor, glory that will be in their power and takes care to sanctify them and make them as great before his Eternal Father, as they they will be concerned to expand the Kingdom of his Love in hearts. Fortunate those he will employ for the execution of his designs! (Letter 141)
11. The people who propagate this devotion will have their name written in my Heart and it will never be canceled.
Having your name written in the Heart of Jesus means enjoying an intimate exchange of interests, that is, a high degree of grace. But the extraordinary privilege that makes the Promise the "pearl of the Sacred Heart" lies in the words "and will never be canceled". This means that the souls who carry the name written in the Heart of Jesus will be continually in a state of grace. To obtain this privilege, the Lord put an easy condition: to spread devotion to the Heart of Jesus and this is possible for everyone, in all conditions: in the family, in the office, in the factory, among friends…. Just a little of goodwill. (Letters 41 - 89 - 39)
THE GREAT PROMISE OF THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS:
THE FIRST NINE FRIDAY OF THE MONTH
12. "To all those who, for nine consecutive months, will communicate on the first Friday of each month, I promise the grace of final perseverance: they will not die in my misfortune, but will receive the Holy Sacraments and my Heart will be safe for them asylum in that extreme moment. " (Letter 86)
The twelfth promise is called "great", because it reveals the divine mercy of the Sacred Heart towards humanity. Indeed, he promises eternal salvation.
These promises made by Jesus have been authenticated by the authority of the Church, so that every Christian can confidently believe in the faithfulness of the Lord who wants everyone safe, even sinners.
To be worthy of the Great Promise it is necessary:
1. Approaching Communion. Communion must be done well, that is, in the grace of God; if you are in mortal sin you must first confess. Confession must be made within 8 days before the 1st Friday of each month (or 8 days later, provided that the conscience is not stained by mortal sin). Communion and Confession must be offered to God with the intention of repairing the offenses caused to the Holy Heart of Jesus.
2. Communicate for nine consecutive months, on the first Friday of each month. So whoever had started the Communions and then forgotten, sickness or other reason, had left out even one, must start again.
3. Communicate every first Friday of the month. The pious practice can be started in any month of the year.
4. Holy Communion is reparative: it must therefore be received with the intention of offering suitable reparation for too many offenses caused to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.