The Necessity of Devotion to the Sacred Heart
1.Considered as the cult of the love of God and of His Incarnate Son, devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is a necessary and obligatory religious practice. God loved us so much that He willed that the Eternal Word should assume a human nature, instruct us concerning the way to Heaven and give us the means necessary to reach it, and die upon the Cross in order to impart to us the merits of the shedding of His Precious Blood. It is obvious, then, that we have a strict duty to make a return of homage and love for such great love on God’s part. “God so loved the world,” the Gospel says, “that He gave His only-begotten Son that those who believe in Him may not perish, but may have life everlasting.” (John 3:16) “In this has the love of God been shown in our case,” St. John adds in his first epistle, “that God has sent His only-begotten Son into the world that we may live through Him.” (John 4:9)
It is the mystery of the immeasurable love of God that He became man, suffered and died for us. We should offer Him in return not only the affection of our hearts but also our adoration, gratitude, and the dedication of our entire lives in His service. As He lived and died for love of us, so we should live and die for love of Him. As His human-divine actions were aimed at our salvation, so we should aim all our thoughts and actions at the promotion of His glory. In this way, writes Pope Pius XI, devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus becomes the synthesis of Christianity and the guide to more perfect knowledge, love, and imitation of Christ. (Encyclical “Miserentissimus Redemptor,” A.A.S., 1928, p. 167)
2.It is necessary to develop and meditate on these words of Pius XI, from which it is clear that the cult of the Sacred Heart not only contains the synthesis of Christianity, the religion of love, but contains the most effective guide to the knowledge, love and imitation of Jesus Christ. From the first moments of His life, when He was an infant in the cold, damp cave of Bethlehem, to the final moment when He breathed His last upon the Cross, the heart of Jesus was overflowing with love for us. We can learn from this to know our Divine Saviour better, so that appreciating more fully His infinite love for us, we shall feel an upsurge of gratitude and of love. We shall feel determined to live entirely for Him as He lived entirely for us, to obey His commandments with generosity, and to imitate His example with the assistance of His grace. This should be the result of our devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, especially during this month which is consecrated to Him.
3. O my Jesus, You Who are love itself, enkindle in my heart the divine fire which consumed and transformed the Saints.
1.Considered as the cult of the love of God and of His Incarnate Son, devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is a necessary and obligatory religious practice. God loved us so much that He willed that the Eternal Word should assume a human nature, instruct us concerning the way to Heaven and give us the means necessary to reach it, and die upon the Cross in order to impart to us the merits of the shedding of His Precious Blood. It is obvious, then, that we have a strict duty to make a return of homage and love for such great love on God’s part. “God so loved the world,” the Gospel says, “that He gave His only-begotten Son that those who believe in Him may not perish, but may have life everlasting.” (John 3:16) “In this has the love of God been shown in our case,” St. John adds in his first epistle, “that God has sent His only-begotten Son into the world that we may live through Him.” (John 4:9)
It is the mystery of the immeasurable love of God that He became man, suffered and died for us. We should offer Him in return not only the affection of our hearts but also our adoration, gratitude, and the dedication of our entire lives in His service. As He lived and died for love of us, so we should live and die for love of Him. As His human-divine actions were aimed at our salvation, so we should aim all our thoughts and actions at the promotion of His glory. In this way, writes Pope Pius XI, devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus becomes the synthesis of Christianity and the guide to more perfect knowledge, love, and imitation of Christ. (Encyclical “Miserentissimus Redemptor,” A.A.S., 1928, p. 167)
2.It is necessary to develop and meditate on these words of Pius XI, from which it is clear that the cult of the Sacred Heart not only contains the synthesis of Christianity, the religion of love, but contains the most effective guide to the knowledge, love and imitation of Jesus Christ. From the first moments of His life, when He was an infant in the cold, damp cave of Bethlehem, to the final moment when He breathed His last upon the Cross, the heart of Jesus was overflowing with love for us. We can learn from this to know our Divine Saviour better, so that appreciating more fully His infinite love for us, we shall feel an upsurge of gratitude and of love. We shall feel determined to live entirely for Him as He lived entirely for us, to obey His commandments with generosity, and to imitate His example with the assistance of His grace. This should be the result of our devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, especially during this month which is consecrated to Him.
3. O my Jesus, You Who are love itself, enkindle in my heart the divine fire which consumed and transformed the Saints.
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