In Catholic tradition, June is dedicated to the Sacred Heart. The Sacred Heart of Jesus is a devotional image that represents the compassionate and loving heart of Jesus Christ. It is often depicted as a flaming heart, pierced and surrounded by thorns, symbolizing the depth of Christ’s love and the sacrifices He made for humanity. The devotion to the Sacred Heart has a long history in the Catholic Church, with Its Feast serving as a time for the faithful to reflect on and honor the love and mercy of Jesus.
Our Lord appeared to St. Margaret Mary Alaquoque offering her His Heart, explaining the great graces, love, and mercy it holds for all mankind, and urging her to promote the Sacred Heart devotion for the spiritual benefit of all who practice it, bringing consolation and joy to this Heart, aflame with love for us. Let’s look further into this Devotion with its Feast so that we may grow in love and reverence for the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Why is June Dedicated to the Sacred Heart?
June is dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus in the Catholic tradition because of the Feast of the Sacred Heart, which is celebrated on the Friday that follows the second Sunday after Pentecost. This feast commemorates the intensity of love and compassion of Jesus Christ as symbolized by His heart, fervently burning with love for humanity.
The devotion to the Sacred Heart has a rich history within the Catholic Church dating back to the 12th and 13th centuries. Dedicating the month of June to this devotion reminds us of Our Lord’s desire through His Heart to enfold us and the whole world in His love and grace, so badly needed in our time. In the Sacred Heart images, we see Our Lord holding out His Heart to us as if to give it wholly and completely to any who would accept It as a source of forgiveness and life. The Church desires her children to grow in this devotion as it bestows many spiritual benefits.
Key Catholic Feast Days in June
In addition to the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, there are several other related feasts in June.
The Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary is celebrated on the Saturday following the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The two Hearts of Jesus and Mary are loved and venerated by the faithful as inseparable in their sacrifice and love for the divine will and the salvation of humanity. Mary loved the Blessed Trinity with perfect resignation and devotion. She is our pattern of fidelity to the Sacred Heart.
The Feast of Corpus Christi is celebrated on June 16th. It is also known as the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ honoring the Real Presence of the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. This Solemnity further confirms Our Lord’s divine humanity. Many Catholic prayers refer to Our Lord’s Sacred Heart in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar. Our Lord’s Heart is inseparable from His body that we adore and receive in the Holy Eucharist. A signal blessing of God regarding the reality of His Sacred Heart in the Most Blessed Sacrament is given in the scientific studies of the Eucharistic miracles around the world. These secular investigations of bleeding consecrated Hosts have revealed that the living flesh in the Blessed Sacrament is made of the cells of the human heart.
The Feast of St. Anthony on June 13 honors the saint known as the Wonderworker and the Hammer of Heretics. Saint Anthony excelled at preaching the Gospel to all who would listen. It is reported that when men would not hear him, he preached to the animal world – all of which miraculously stood or knelt attentively as the saint spoke to them of the love of God. Saint Anthony had a particular devotion to the heart of the Christ Child and said,
“If we seek gold, pure and unalloyed, we must approach the interior altar, the very Heart of Jesus and there study the untold riches of His love.”
Catholic Saints and the Sacred Heart
Numerous saints and popes have held a deep devotion to the Sacred Heart, among them are St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, St. Gertrude the Great, Peter Julian Eymard, and Pope Leo XIII.
Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque received visions of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in the 17th century and was chosen by God to make known His desire to share the devotion to His Heart with the world. Jesus said to Saint Margaret Mary:
“My Divine Heart is so inflamed with love for men, and for you in particular that, being unable any longer to contain within Itself the flames of Its burning Charity, It must spread them abroad by your means, and manifest Itself to them [mankind] in order to enrich them with the precious graces of sanctification and salvation necessary to withdraw them from the abyss of perdition.”
Through this saint, Jesus established the Nine First Fridays Devotion in reparation for the sins of profanity, indifference, and ingratitude committed against Our Lord’s Sacred Heart in the Holy Eucharist. The gift of this devotion came with 12 powerful promises to those who practice it.
However, long before Saint Margaret Mary received these revelations, Saint Gertrude the Great of the 13th century, known for her devotion to the Holy Souls, also received revelations from Our Lord regarding the treasures residing in His Sacred Heart. In these mystical visions, Christ encouraged Saint Gertrude to confidently trust in His Heart, inviting It to accomplish in her what she could not accomplish by her own efforts. He asked St. Gertrude to spread this devotion so that others would be awakened to the merciful love and power in His Heart. In response, Saint Gertrude wrote this prayer:
“O Sacred Heart of Jesus, fountain of eternal life, Your Heart is a glowing furnace of Love. You are my refuge and my sanctuary. O my adorable and loving Savior, consume my heart with the burning fire with which Yours is aflamed. Pour down on my soul those graces which flow from Your love. Let my heart be united with Yours. Let my will be conformed to Yours in all things. May Your Will be the rule of all my desires and actions.”
Saint Peter Julian Eymard, known as the Apostle of the Eucharist, wrote extensively on the Real Presence of Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. He also wrote a series of reflections on the Sacred Heart. He explained,
“Devotion to the Sacred Heart has a twofold object: it honors first with adoration and public worship the Heart of flesh of Jesus Christ, and secondly the infinite love with which this Heart has burned for us since its creation, and with which it is still consumed in the Sacrament of our altars.”
Pope Leo XIII promoted the Sacred Heart devotion throughout his papacy. He issued the encyclical “Annum Sacrum” in 1899, consecrating the entire world to the Sacred Heart. In this encyclical, Pope Leo XIII emphasized the importance of devotion to the Sacred Heart as a means of seeking God’s mercy and grace for the world,
“And since there is in the Sacred Heart a symbol and a sensible image of the infinite love of Jesus Christ which moves us to love one another, therefore is it fit and proper that we should consecrate ourselves to His most Sacred Heart – an act which is nothing else than an offering and a binding of oneself to Jesus Christ, seeing that whatever honor, veneration and love is given to this divine Heart is really and truly given to Christ Himself.”
7 Ways to Grow in Devotion to the Sacred Heart this June
Let’s participate with the Church in dedicating June to the Sacred Heart in our lives and homes so that our love and devotion to Jesus will grow deeper. Here are a few things we can do to answer Our Lord’s call to honor His Heart.
- Pray the Sacred Heart of Jesus Novena. We can start this 9 days before the Feast of the Sacred Heart.
- Consecrate yourself and your family to the Sacred Heart. This is a wonderful conclusion to the Novena and can be prayed on the Feast Day. Many families renew their consecration on each anniversary.
- Learn the 12 Promises of the Sacred Heart that Jesus gave to Saint Margaret Mary. We can pray these promises when are worried or we experience other trials.
- Make frequent visits to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. In the Eucharist, we encounter the heart of Christ and unite ourselves to this Heart by receiving Holy Communion. We love and console His Heart during adoration.
- Enthrone your home to the Sacred Heart of Jesus by placing an image or icon of the Sacred Heart in a prominent place and having your priest visit to bless your home and pray the Enthronement prayers.
- Participate in the First Fridays Devotion by attending Mass, going to Confession, and receiving Jesus in the Eucharist on the first Friday of 9 consecutive months. Your can start in June or on the first Friday of any month.
- Lastly, strive to live a life that reflects the virtues of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Seek to imitate, by God’s grace, the self-giving, sacrificial love of Jesus for the Father and for humanity.
Further Reading on the Sacred Heart
Several books provide valuable insights for those interested in deepening their understanding of this devotion.
- Behold This Heart by Fr. Thomas F. Dailey, shows you how to experience the way of prayer that formed St. Margaret Mary — the visionary to whom the devotion was revealed.
- The Letters of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque includes the most powerful writings on the Sacred Heart devotion.
- Secrets of the Sacred Heart by Emily Jaminet explains each of the twelve promises Christ made to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque and the profound spiritual benefits of placing the Sacred Heart of Jesus at the center of your home.
- The Enthronement of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Edited and published under the direction of His Eminence Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke, guidance for enthroning the Sacred Heart in one’s home, school, or office.
Prayers Honoring the Sacred Heart
Catholic prayers composed to honor the Sacred Heart include:
Prayer of Consecration to the Sacred Heart by Pope Leo XIII
Most sweet Jesus, redeemer of the human race, look down upon us, humbly prostrate before your altar. We are yours and yours we wish to be; but to be more surely united with you, behold each one of us freely consecrates himself today to your most sacred heart. Many, indeed, have never known you, many too, despising your precepts, have rejected you. Have mercy on them all, most merciful Jesus, and draw them to your sacred heart. Be king, O Lord, not only of the faithful who have never forsaken you but also of the prodigal children who have abandoned you; grant that they may quickly return to their father’s house, lest they die of wretchedness and hunger. Be king of those who are deceived by erroneous opinions, or whom discord keeps aloof, and call them back to the harbor of truth and unity of faith, so that soon there may be but one flock and one shepherd. Be king also of all those who sit in the ancient superstition of the Gentiles, and do not refuse to deliver them out of darkness into the light and kingdom of God. Grant, O Lord, to your Church, assurance of freedom and immunity from harm; give peace and order to all nations, and make the earth resound from pole to pole with one cry: Praise to the divine heart that wrought our salvation; to it be glory and honor forever. Amen.
Memorare to the Sacred Heart
Remember, O most sweet Jesus, that no one who has had recourse to Thy Sacred Heart, implored its help, or sought its mercy was ever abandoned. Encouraged with confidence, O tenderest of hearts, we present ourselves before Thee, crushed beneath the weight of our sins. In our misery, O Sacred Heart of Jesus, despise not our simple prayers, but mercifully grant our requests.
Litany of the Sacred Heart A prayer defining the attributes of Our Lord’s Sacred Heart and calling upon His mercy. Any one of the lines of this litany is a fitting subject for meditation.
Conclusion
The dedication of June to the Sacred Heart invites us to go deeper through prayer and devotion into the very heart of our Lord and Savior. It calls us to a greater understanding as to why Jesus made this devotion explicit. This June let us take time to meditate on the attributes of Christ’s most Sacred Heart and consider how we might give Him joy by learning more about this devotion, becoming friends with the saints who promoted it, and growing in love for His Heart, pierced on the cross for us and opening the way to eternal life.
