- Leonard J. DeLorenzo, OSV News
Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus has its origin in the revelations of the Lord to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque. But Our Lord not only instructed the nun to receive Holy Communion on the first Friday of each month for nine consecutive months, but also to prostrate herself on the floor before the Blessed Sacrament for one hour on the night of Thursday to Friday of each week.
In the third revelation, the Lord proclaimed his desire that a feast be instituted in honor of his Sacred Heart, which would incorporate this devotion into the common and universal practice of the Church.
Pius XI instituted the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Nearly two centuries later, in 1865, Pope Pius IX instituted the solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus for the universal Church, which is celebrated on the second Friday after Holy Trinity Sunday (which is also the Friday immediately following the Feast of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Jesus in the United States).
In 1995, St. John Paul II added the World Day of Prayer for the Sanctification of Priests to the same date, so that the priesthood would be protected in the heart of Jesus.
Pope Francis published in 2024 his encyclical on devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, gathering magisterial texts and reflections also on the human and divine love of the Heart of Jesus Christ, and the French nun St. Margaret Mary Alacoque.
U.S. bishops plan to consecrate United States to Sacred Heart
On June 11, 2026, the U.S. bishops plan to consecrate the United States to the Sacred Heart as the nation prepares to commemorate its 250th anniversary.
The immense love of the Son of God is the particular object of devotion to the Sacred Heart. With this immense love, the Father gave us his Son, the Son gave himself to death for us, and the Father gives us his Son and the Son gives himself to us in the Blessed Sacrament of the altar. Devotion to the Sacred Heart is nothing other than devotion to the love of God poured out for us in Jesus, the Son.
Jesus Christ calls his disciples to adore and consecrate themselves to his Sacred Heart, similar to the way he called St. Margaret Mary.
The motive and fruit of this devotion is, in the first place, that those who practice it may grow in gratitude and thanksgiving for the tender love that Jesus Christ has for us, especially that which is communicated in the Blessed Sacrament.
A second motive and fruit is to participate in making reparation for the grave ingratitude and insensitivity that many multitudes show toward the love of Jesus poured out for us. Thus, devotion generates pious love and deep sorrow, all in response to the love of God in Christ.
Five best practices
The following five practices are among the most common ways to initiate and perpetuate devotion to the Sacred Heart.
A morning offering, for the Immaculate Heart of Mary
The first to consecrate herself to the love of God in Christ was the Blessed Virgin. Her heart is always united to His and nourished by it. Her heart leads to His, and His is offered to us through hers. A morning offering such as the following brings us closer, little by little, to the love of Christ through Mary:
“O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer You my prayers, works, joys and sufferings of this day, in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world. I offer them for all the intentions of your Sacred Heart: for the salvation of souls, the reparation of sins, the union of all Christians. I offer them for the intentions of our bishops and all the apostles of prayer, and in particular for those that our Holy Father has entrusted to us this month. Amen.
2. Visit Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament frequently.
Devotion to the Most Holy Eucharist and devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus are ultimately one and the same devotion in two moments. The love that resides in the heart of Christ is offered to us in the Blessed Sacrament, and the Blessed Sacrament always points us to the love of God poured out for the world.
The Lord instructed St. Margaret Mary to consecrate herself to His Sacred Heart, in part, by keeping a Holy Hour each week, prostrate before the Blessed Sacrament. Keeping this Holy Hour on the night between Thursday and Friday places the devotee even more intentionally in the Garden of Christ's agony, when His passion began and His disciples abandoned Him.
3. A devotion for the first Friday of the month
Jesus revealed to St. Margaret Mary both the warmth of his human heart and the coldness of the ingratitude he suffered from many. Regular reception of Holy Communion gives us the warmth of Christ's love and, at the same time, allows us to express gratitude for the Lord's gift.
The First Friday Devotion is a way for this exchange of love to become a habit and increasingly intentional.
Attending Mass and receiving Holy Communion on the first Friday of each month (or for at least nine consecutive months) is offered in reparation for sins committed against the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Holy Eucharist.
4. Make an act of consecration to the Sacred Heart.
Acts of consecration to the Sacred Heart take various forms. Consecration should be renewed at least once a year on the feast of the Sacred Heart, although it can also be renewed every first Friday of the month.
A simple consecration goes like this: «Lord Jesus Christ, today I offer/renew my consecration to your Sacred Heart. I remember your love for me. I promise to reciprocate you with my love, placing you at the center of my heart and my family. I desire to live my life in union with you and to participate in your mission of love for all. Lord, accept this consecration and keep me always in your Sacred Heart. Amen.
Consecration of St. Margaret Mary herself
A more extensive and well-known form of this consecration is that which St. Margaret Mary herself offered to the Sacred Heart of Jesus:
“I consecrate and surrender to the Sacred Heart of our Lord Jesus Christ my person, my life, my difficulties and my sufferings, to live henceforth solely for his love and glory. It is my firm and unshakable resolution to be entirely his, to do everything for his love and to renounce with all my heart everything that could displease his divine heart.”.
“O Sacred Heart, I choose you as the only object of my love, protector of my life, pledge of my salvation, support in my weakness and redeemer of all the sins of my life. O kind and generous Heart, be also my refuge in the hour of death, my justification before God, and keep me from the punishment of his just wrath. O loving Heart, I put all my trust in you. Though I fear everything because of my own malice, I hope for everything from your goodness. Destroy in me all that displeases or opposes you, and may your pure love imprint you so deeply on my heart that it will be impossible for me to forget you or to be separated from you.”.
“O Sacred Heart, by your goodness, I implore you that my name be engraved on you, for in your service and in your love I will live and die. Amen.”
5. Celebrate the feast of the Sacred Heart with great preparation and reverence.
The party of the Sacred Heart is celebrated annually on the second Friday after Trinity Sunday. As a solemn occasion for the universal Church, the celebration of this feast with preparation and reverence allows each member of the body of Christ to participate in the Church's fervor for the love of Christ and to make reparation for the ingratitude of the disciples and others before the great love of Christ.
Guide by Fr. Croiset S.J.
In his book “Devotion to the Sacred Heart,” published in the late 17th century, Jesuit Father John Croiset offers straightforward guidance on how to observe this feast in a practical and spiritual way with due reverence:
“We should, if possible, consecrate the whole day of the feast to the veneration of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. We should postpone for another time all unnecessary business and renounce all useless entertainment, for the smallest moments of the day are infinitely precious.”
Upon rising in the morning, we should prostrate ourselves and adore Jesus Christ (in the Blessed Sacrament). Then, we should prepare ourselves for a fervent Holy Communion, because this Communion is a Communion of reparation, first of all, for the faults of our own Communions, and then for the sins of others.
“Immediately after Holy Communion, compare the immeasurable love of Jesus Christ with your own extreme ingratitude; prostrate yourself humbly at his feet, humble of mind and with a heart pierced with sorrow at seeing so many offenses that Jesus receives.
“Then make the Act of Consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and offer yourself unreservedly to him.
Frequent acts of love for Jesus Christ
“Therefore, the whole day should be devoted to good works, and especially to frequent acts of love for Jesus Christ, according to one's devotion.”
Through these five ways, and others, devotion to the Sacred Heart directs our hearts toward the love of Jesus' own heart. Little by little we become emissaries of his love and sharers in the reconciling work of Christ's body. In return, Christ offers twelve promises to those who consecrate themselves to his heart.
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- Leonard J. DeLorenzo is professor of practice at the McGrath Institute for Church Life and adjunct professor in the theology department at the University of Notre Dame. His writings can be found at leonardjdelorenzo.com.
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