Heartbeat of the Month – June
We are now entering the month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Corpus Christi. These two feasts are closely linked and should lead us to reflect deeply on the immense love that the Lord has poured out upon us, even to the point of giving his life for our redemption; but above all, on the scant and meagre love that we offer him in reparation and consolation.
The Heart of Christ is suffering today more than ever before in history, for whilst this is the time when we have gained the greatest insight into this most precious devotion—through the Scriptures, the Saints, the mystics, the Popes and the Blessed Virgin—it is also the time when He is most wounded and scorned, through sin, sacrilege, lack of faith and attacks on the Eucharist.
Although the apparitions at Paray-Le-Monial to Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque are the best known, four centuries earlier, the Sacred Heart appeared to Saint Gertrude.
In a vision on St John’s Day, the Lord allowed him to rest his head on the wound in His side, and he heard the divine Heart beating. He asked St John whether he too had heard it beating like that at the Last Supper, and why he had not described it in his Gospel. He replied that the revelation of the Sacred Heart of Jesus was reserved for later times when the world, growing ever colder, would need to be rekindled with love.
May we be rekindled this month in the love of Christ and respond, by offering our lives, to His redemptive longing.
The Immaculate Heart of Mary
Just as where the Son is, there is also the Mother, this month we also celebrate the Immaculate Heart of Mary, the safe haven in these times of apostasy and godlessness, and the promise of ultimate triumph for those who fight faithfully in Her army and under Her command.
In Fátima, Jacinta confided this to Lúcia:
“I have little time left before I go to Heaven, but you are to remain here on earth to make known to the world that our Lord wishes devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary to be established throughout the world (…) Tell everyone to ask for this grace through her, and that the Heart of Jesus wishes to be venerated together with the Heart of his Mother. Urge them to ask for peace through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, for the Lord has placed the peace of the world in her hands.”
Saint John Eudes was the father, doctor and great apostle of devotion to and liturgical worship of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. We owe the following words to him:
“But among all these wonders, there is one that surpasses all others: the incomparable Heart of this great Queen; for it is the aspect of her that is most worthy of admiration. For it is a world of wonders; an ocean of marvels; an abyss of miracles; the source and origin of all the rare and extraordinary qualities that are admired in this glorious Princess. It has been the humility, purity and love of her Most Holy Heart that have ultimately raised her to the most sublime dignity of Mother of God; which has consequently made her worthy of all the favours, graces and privileges with which God has filled her on earth; of all the glories, joys, happiness and greatness with which she has been filled in heaven; and of all the great and marvellous things that God has wrought and will wrought for all eternity in her and through her.”
The thorns of May
The Sacred Heart of Jesus suffers because of the ingratitude, irreverence, sacrilege, coldness and contempt with which He is treated in the sacrament of love, especially by those whose hearts are consecrated to Him. Let us ask for forgiveness and offer reparation.
For those who help to place man in the place that belongs only to God. Forgive us, Lord, forgive us.
For those who propose joint missions with those who hate the true faith and kill those who profess it. Forgive us, Lord, forgive us.
By those who are trying to undermine the sacraments through the process of synodality. Forgive us, Lord, forgive us.
For those who promote gender ideology within the Church and those who do nothing to prevent it.Por aquellos que promueven la ideología de género en la Iglesia y quienes no hacen nada para evitarlo. Forgive us, Lord, forgive us.
By those who scorn and desecrate what is most sacred. Forgive us, Lord, forgive us.
For those who seek paths and solutions for humanity other than Christ. Forgive us, Lord, forgive us.
The aim for June
Pray, with a spirit of reparation, the Prayer of Mercy to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary by Saint John Eudes
O most benevolent and merciful
Heart of Jesus,
imprint upon our hearts
a perfect image of your great mercy,
so that we may fulfil
the commandment you gave us:
“Be merciful,
just as your Father is merciful.”
Mother of Mercy,
watch over so much suffering, so many poor people,
so many captives, so many prisoners,
so many men and women who suffer persecution
at the hands of their brothers and sisters,
so many defenceless people,
so many afflicted souls,
so many troubled hearts,
Mother of Mercy,
open the eyes of your mercy
and look upon our distress.
Open the ears of your kindness
and hear our plea.
Most loving and most powerful advocate,
show us that you are truly
the Mother of Mercy.
