On December 27, 1673, St. Margaret Mary Alacoque was praying alone in the chapel of her convent when the Sacred Heart appeared to her. 

Jesus’ body was filled with light, and His Heart was on fire, bleeding and crowned with thorns. 

Our Lord said to her, “Behold this Heart which has loved men so much! My Divine Heart is so inflamed with love for mankind . . . that it can no longer contain within itself the flames of its burning charity and must spread them abroad by your means.” 

Jesus spoke powerfully to St. Margaret Mary about His overflowing love for every human person created by His Father and the intense pain He felt because often that love was not returned. 

Like any relationship between friends, one often feels deeply the pain that occurs if the other has turned away from the friendship or no longer wants to spend time together. 

The Lord puts Himself in such a place of vulnerability that He desires and longs for our love, and like the Good Shepherd, comes in search of us when we have strayed away from Him. 

The heart represents the deepest part of ourselves, the core of our being where we love, desire, rejoice, and grieve. 

The heart is the place of decision where we will our actions — both good and bad. 

No wonder the Lord cares about our hearts, wanting them for Him alone, not wanting our hearts to be cold, indifferent, or broken. 

The deepest and best part of being human and of being children of God is to love and be loved, to love God and others, and to allow the divine fire to fill and transform us. 

Part of one’s life

When I was a child, a beautiful picture of the Sacred Heart hung above our television. 

Even when I was too little to truly understand who Jesus was, I instinctively understood two things: This smiling man with a fiery heart loved me, and He somehow lived in our house, even though I could never see Him. 

My parents consecrated our family to the Sacred Heart. 

Every First Friday, we renewed the consecration and went to Mass that day. 

Because they invited Jesus into our home and family, my parents built a spiritual environment where it was natural for me to think about the priesthood. 

In the Sacred Heart of Jesus, we encounter the beauty and perfection of the Lord’s humanity, perfectly united with His divinity. 

Becoming human in all things but sin, the Lord embraced our nature to redeem, sanctify, and transform us. 

He humbled Himself to share in our humanity so that we could share in His divinity. 

In the Sacred Heart, we come to understand that Jesus is approachable, available, and present to us. 

The humanity of Jesus consoles us because we know God understands, even through direct experience, what it is like to be one of us. 

Our temptations, failures, sufferings, and limitations all find a compassionate response in the Heart of Christ because He took up our cause and knows the glory and burden of being human, even though He never sinned Himself. 

This thought should deeply console us because we can bring all of our “stuff” to the Lord and lay it in His Heart. 

As Hebrews reminds us, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are, yet never sinned” (Heb 4:15). 

So, bring all your problems, anxieties, failings, and sins to Jesus. 

Put them into His Heart. Surrender to His love. Let Him console, bless, and forgive you. 

Enthroning an image

Everyone in the Diocese of Madison is encouraged to enthrone an image of the Sacred Heart in their homes.

By doing so, you are making a conscious decision to make Christ the center of your life and that of your family, and to witness to His infinite love and mercy to all who enter. 

Jesus made specific promises to St. Margaret Mary regarding those who honor His Most Sacred Heart. 

Among them, He promised: “I will establish peace in their homes” and “I will bless every place in which an image of my Heart is exposed and honored.” 

I encourage you to never let a day go by without renewing your love for Jesus and for one another when you gaze on this enthroned image in your home.  

The enshrined image of the Sacred Heart needs to be the focal point of devotion in your home by serving as a reminder of the love you should reflect and radiate to others. 

It is my sincere prayer that your home will truly become a place of peace and prayerful encounter for all who dwell in it or visit. 

More information on this enthronement can be found at madisondiocese.org/SacredHeart