The Sacred Heart of Jesus

06-14-2026Weekly ReflectionJen Arnold, M.A.

While the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus has just passed (June 12^th), the entire month of June is also dedicated to Jesus’ Sacred Heart and devotion to it is always encouraged. Therefore, we are going to explore Pope Pius XI’s call for all the faithful to renew their devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus in response to the expansion of sin and evil that he saw in the world at the time. We recognize now that this urgency has only increased since then.

First, let’s briefly go over the history and fundamentals of devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Devotion to the wounded heart of Jesus has roots in the 11^th-12^th centuries, stemming from the common devotion of Christians meditating on the Five Wounds of Christ, especially the lance wound in his side from which blood and water flowed. The modern form of the devotion arose from the private revelations to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647-1690), a Visitation nun in Paray-le-Monial, France. St. Margaret Mary received a series of apparitions in which Jesus showed her his Sacred Heart, depicted as enflamed, crowned with thorns, and surmounted by a cross. He expressed sorrow over ingratitude and coldness toward his love, especially in the Eucharist, and asked her to spread devotion to it. In 1675, Pope Pius IX established a universal feast day for the Sacred Heart on the Friday after the octave of Corpus Christi, and in 1899, Pope Leo XIII consecrated the entire world to the Sacred Heart. Devotion to the Sacred Heart is intended to show adoration and love for Christ, who loved us first; offer reparation for sins and offenses against the Eucharist and God’s love; and to imitate Christ’s virtues, especially his meekness and humility. Finally, the core practices of the devotion include receiving the Eucharist on the first Friday of each month for nine consecutive months in reparation for sins; a weekly holy hour, often on Thursday evenings or first Fridays to console the Heart of Jesus; personal or family consecration to the Sacred Heart; enthroning an image of the Sacred Heart in the home; and offering daily acts of love in reparation for sins.

On May 8, 1928, Pope Pius XI issued an encyclical entitled Miserentissimus Redemptor: On Reparation to the Sacred Heart. When originally issued, the encyclical was addressed to the patriarchs and archbishops of the Church, with the intention that they would shepherd their flocks by disseminating this teaching to the faithful through the homilies and catechesis of their priests. However, now that we have access to these documents via the internet, we see this encyclical could just as easily be written directly to us, and we will treat it as such here.

Pope Pius begins his letter by reminding us that Jesus promised that he would be with us until the end of time and that he has been with his Church through every age. Regardless of the conditions or circumstances we find ourselves in, we can remain confident that Divine Wisdom is at the helm and that God is always in charge. One sign of this truth is the timing of the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, as revealed to St. Margaret Mary. These revelations came at a time when Jansenism – a heresy that emphasized God as a cold judge rather than a loving Father – was creeping in. At the perfect time, Jesus revealed his Sacred Heart, with a feast day established in his Church so we could focus on the love he has for us, as demonstrated through his suffering.

After reaffirming the establishment and practice of the devotion, the pope goes on to catechize us on why it is our “duty” to offer reparation or “honorable satisfaction” to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus (cf. MR #6). First, it is most appropriate that a creature return love to its Creator who created it out of love. In other words, God loves so much that his reason for creating us is to share in that love, so it is only right that we willfully love him in return. Then, Pope Pius says, if we fail to love God either by forgetfulness or by offense, “some sort of compensation must be rendered for the injury, and this debt is commonly called by the name of reparation” (MR #6).

Reparation is rightly ordered by two motives: justice and love (cf. MR #7). We act in justice when we offer penance to make amends for offending God with our sin. We act in love when we take our suffering from those penances and join them to Christ’s suffering and suffer with him. The says it is not enough to honor God with worship, adoration, and prayers of praise and thanksgiving. Because we are sinners and negligent in our love, without reparation for our offenses, those other forms of prayer and worship are less meaningful (cf. MR #7). Think about it this way: imagine a friend who keeps hurting you over and over without ever apologizing or trying to make things right, but they continue to tell you how nice you look in your Sunday best. How much weight would those words carry with you?

Of course, we can never make full reparation for our sins by ourselves. That is why Jesus offered himself as a sacrifice on the cross (cf. MR #9). We then have the privilege of partaking in his one bloody sacrifice, now presented in an unbloody manner in the Eucharist. We participate in Jesus’ priesthood by bringing all our sacrifices to the altar and joining them to his. So, while we cannot fully repair our sins, we can help repair the damage we and others have inflicted on Jesus’ Sacred Heart. Pope Pius says, “[T]he more perfectly that our oblation and sacrifice corresponds to the sacrifice of Our Lord, that is to say, the more perfectly we have immolated our love and our desires and have crucified our flesh by that mystic crucifixion of which the Apostle speaks, the more abundant fruits of that propitiation and expiation shall we receive for ourselves and for others” (MR #10). Put simply, the more your love and sacrifices mirror Jesus’, the more the whole body of Christ benefits. Now imagine if more people strove for that goal!

Pope Pius then spends several paragraphs describing how, although Jesus is in heaven where suffering does not exist, he is still suffering here on earth in his mystical body. The world is full of darkness, evil, and sin. He discusses crimes against the Church and Christian people, people falling away from the faith and being “infected with false doctrines,” threats to marriage and children, and a depreciation of authority. The list continues. He attributes these evils to the “cowardice and sloth of those who, after the manner of the sleeping and fleeing disciples, wavering in their faith, miserably forsake Christ” (MR #17). The pope implores each of us to not be one of these but to “be inflamed with the charity of Christ in his agony.” He urges us to endeavor more to make reparation for our sins and the sins of others, in order to console Christ and for the salvation of souls (cf. MR #18).

Consider the pope’s call to action and either begin or deepen a devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Offer sacrifices and penances to make reparation for the sins of the world. Strive to perfect and conform your sacrifices to Christ’s. If you do not already have a weekly holy hour, consider giving him one hour of your time in Eucharistic Adoration each week. This is one of the greatest acts of reparation and consolation you can offer to Jesus. Remember, while he endured his agony in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus asked his disciples, “So you could not keep watch with me for one hour?” (Matt 26:40). He is personally asking you to sit with him. Pope Pius XI wrote this encyclical nearly 100 years ago. How much more relevant are his concerns today? Remember, the pope began with words of encouragement. He reminded us that God is always with us and guiding us, even in challenging times. We just have to do our part.