Our hearts cannot be satisfied by the good things of this earth, or even by the delights of paradise, but only by the enjoyment of God and of His Sacred Heart. (Bl. Elisabetta Renzi)
In her writings, the servant of God, Blessed Elisabetta Renzi gave several accounts of the devotion to the Sacred Heart, truly dominant in the nineteenth century. In one of these writings she tells us : ” Our heart is satisfied only in the enjoyment of God and his Sacred Heart.”
Elisabetta wanted to obtain before she died a great love for God, and especially for the heart of His Divine Son and the heart of Mary. She was accustomed to take refuge in the Sacred Heart of Jesus in moments of difficult and tension. Elisabetta gave particular attention to venerating images of the Sacred Heart; before them she would always pause reverently, looked at them a little, and when went away heartened, ending often with binding resolutions: “Not my will, but yours be done.”
For the Sisters of Our Lady of Sorrows, the devotion to the Sacred Heart affirms the primacy of the love of God and neighbor in our lives. Mother Elisabetta challenged her sisters, “To imitate Jesus in His life of sacrifice, it would be enough to offer continuously to His loving heart the discomforts, annoyances, and troubles that are inherent in my weak nature and present condition. Let us think immediately that this is our opportunity, the time in which we can prove our love to Him who has loved us even too much.”
The sisters’ readiness to serve their neighbor stems from their love for God, which is only enriched through their meditation on the Sacred Heart of Jesus. “With the wounded and merciful heart of Christ being the wellspring of life and holiness in the Church, we should be solicitous to draw water with joy from the fount of the Savior in order to learn to live in true charity.” (Constitutions of the Congregation n.74)
Communal consecration to the Sacred Heart >
The wounded and merciful heart of Christ being the wellspring of life and holiness in the Church, we should be solicitous to draw water with joy from the found of the Savior in order to learn to live true charity. (Constitutions of the Congregation n. 74)
Heart of Jesus, ever to be adored, we are yours, yours because we are redeemed by your blood and called to your Church in baptism; yours because we are called to the special vocation of following you in the observance of the evangelical counsels; yours because in virtue to our religious profession, we have been consecrated by God the Father.
We renew today our gift to you as individuals, as communities, as a congregation.
Accept, Lord Jesus, the complete dedication to you of ourselves, of our labors, of whatever good is done in this house by members of this community.
May this community belong wholly to you in thoughts, in its decisions, in its works.
May there grow in us every day a greater love and desire for communion with God, expressed in contemplation and prayer.
May we all become of one heart and soul in love.
May zeal for the glory of God and the salvation of souls make us eager in our work, generous in our dedication, pure in our intentions, upright in our actions.
May our observance of the Rule, in our spirit of faith, make us witnesses of the Gospel.
May faithfulness to our sacred commitments make us worthy of the blessing promised to good and faithful servants. Amen.
Prayers to the Sacred Heart >
Remember, O Sacred Heart
Remember, O Sacred Heart of Jesus, that, for our salvation, you descended from heaven to earth, taking to yourself all human misery. Remember all that you have done and suffered for us in the course of your life. Remember the agonies of Gethsemane, the calumnies, the confrontation with your enemies, your unjust condemnation to death, the bloody crowning with thorns, the merciless flogging, the cruel crucifixion, the pain and torments of your agony. Remember that with your last breath you said, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit,” as if to commend our souls to God the Father. Remember, finally, the cruel lance that pierced your heart, as if to open for all children a refuge of love and an inexhaustible spring of grace and mercy. Through all that, I pray you, O Jesus, to grant me the grace that I humbly ask of you and that I firmly hope to obtain from the infinite goodness of your heart, to which I give all my love. Amen.
Act of Consecration to the Heart of Jesus
Jesus, Redeemer of the human race, look upon us humbly kneeling before you. We are yours, and we wish to be yours; but to be more surely united with you, each of us freely consecrates herself today in 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 the unity of faith, so that soon there may be but one flock and one Shepherd.
Grant, O Lord to your Church assurance of freedom and immunity from harm, give tranquility of order to all nations, and make the earth resound form pole to pole with one cry; Praise to the divine Heart that brought about our salvation; to it be glory and honor for ever. Amen.
Offering
My God, I offer You all my prayers, works, joys, and sufferings in union with the Sacred Heart of Jesus, for the intentions for which He pleads and offers Himself in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, in thanksgiving for Your favors, in reparation for my sins, and in humble supplication for my temporal and eternal welfare, for the needs of our holy Mother the Church, for the conversion of sinners, and for the relief of the poor souls in purgatory.
Jesus, the Very Thought of You
(Jesu, Dulcis Memoria)
Jesus, the very thought of you,
Gives true Joy to the heart:
Your loving presence
Is sweeter than any honey.
No song is lovelier,
No sound more joyful,
No thought more satisfying
Than the thought of Jesus, the Son of God.
O Jesus, hope of the penitent,
How kind you are to those who seek your favor,
How good to those who search for you!
What joy to those who find you!
No tongue can describe,
No word can express
What it means to love Jesus;
Only experience can understand.
O Jesus, be our joy now,
And our eternal reward;
May we share in your glory
For all eternity. Amen.
Litany to the Sacred Heart >
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. In that Sacred Heart all our hopes should be placed, and from it the salvation of men is to be confidently besought. (Annum Sacrum – Pope Leo XIII)
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy. Christ hear us.
Christ graciously hear us.
God, the Father of heaven,
Have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world,
Have mercy on us.
God, the Holy Spirit,
Have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, one God,
Have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, Son of the Father,
Have mercy on us. (repeat after each line)
Heart of Jesus, formed by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mother,
Heart of Jesus, susbstantially united to the Word of God,
Heart of Jesus, of infinite majesty,
Heart of Jesus, sacred temple of God,
Heart o Jesus, tabernacle of the Most High,
Heart of Jesus, house of God and gate of heaven,
Heart of Jesus, burning furnace of charity,
Heart of Jesus, abode of justice nad love,
Heart of Jesus, full of goodness and love,
Heart of Jesus, abyss of all virtues,
Heart of Jesus, most worthy of all praise,
Heart of Jesus, king and center of all hearts,
Heart of Jesus, in whom are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge,
Heart of Jesus, in whom dwells the fullness of divinity,
Heart of Jesus, in whom the Father is well pleased,
Heart of Jesus, of whose fullness we have all received,
Heart of Jesus, desire of the everlasting hills,
Heart of Jesus, patient and most merciful,
Heart of Jesus, ernriching all who invoke you,
Heart of Jesus, fountain of life and holiness,
Heart of Jesus, propitiation for our sins,
Heart of Jesus, loaded dowm with opprobrium,
Heart of Jesus, bruised for our offenses,
Heart of Jesus, obedient to death,
Heart of Jesus, pierced with a lance,
Heart of Jesus, source of all consolation,
Heart of Jesus, our life and resurrection,
Heart of Jesus, our peace and reconciliation,
Heart of Jesus, victim of our sins,
Heart of Jesus, salvation of those who trust in you,
Heart of Jesus, hope of those who die in you,
Heart of Jesus, delight of the saints,
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world,
Spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of thw world,
Graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world,
Have mercy on us.
Jesus, meek and humble of heart,
Make our hearts like yours.
Let us pray, Almighty God, look upon the Heart of your beloved Son and upon the praises and satisfaction with he offers you in the name of sinners; and to those who implore your mercy, in your great goodness, grant forgiveness in the name of the same Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you forever and ever. Amen.
Understood in the light of scriptures, the term “Sacred Heart” of Jesus denotes the entire mystery of Christ, the totality of His being, and His person considered in its most intimate essential: Son of God,uncreated wisdom; infinite charity, principal of the salvation and sanctification of mankind. The “Sacred Heart” is Christ, the word incarnate, Savior, intrinsically containing, in the Sprit, and infinite divine – human love for the Father and for his brother. (Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy, December 2001 n.166)
