“Look at this Heart which has loved men so much, and yet men do not want to love Me in return. Through you My divine Heart wishes to spread Its love everywhere on earth.” (Words of Our Lord Jesus Christ to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque)
The History of the Feast of the Sacred Heart and Its Forgotten Octave
While the entire month of June is devoted to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Feast of the Sacred Heart is unique, kept to honor the mercy and love of God while making reparation for the serious sins committed against Our Blessed Lord. Traditionally, up until 1955, the Feast of the Sacred Heart immediately followed the Octave Day of Corpus Christi. After having celebrated 8 days devoted to the Blessed Sacrament, we immediately turn to the Sacred Heart, which also traditionally had its own octave as well.
The Institution of the Feast of the Sacred Heart was a result of the apparitions of Our Lord to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque in 1675. St. Margaret Mary suffered contempt from many people who refused to believe the authenticity of the visions. In one of these appearances, Our Lord told her, “I ask thee that the first Friday after the Octave of Corpus Christi be set apart as a special feast to honor My Heart.” He then gave 12 promises to those who are devoted to His Sacred Heart:
- I will give them all the graces necessary for their state of life.
- I will give peace in their families.
- I will console them in all their troubles.
- They shall find in My Heart an assured refuge during life and especially at the hour of death.
- I will pour abundant blessings on all their undertakings.
- Sinners shall find in My Heart the source and infinite ocean of mercy.
- Tepid souls shall become fervent.
- Fervent souls shall speedily rise to great perfection.
- I will bless the homes in which the image of My Sacred Heart shall be exposed and honored.
- I will give to priests the power to touch the most hardened hearts.
- Those who propagate this devotion shall have their name written in My Heart, and it shall never be effaced.
- The all-powerful love of My Heart will grant to all those who shall receive Communion on the First Friday of nine consecutive months the grace of final repentance; they shall not die under My displeasure, nor without receiving the Sacraments; My Heart shall be their assured refuge at the last hour.
In 1693, three years after the death of St. Margaret Mary, the Holy See imparted indulgences to the Confraternities of the Sacred Heart, and in 1697 granted the feast to the Visitandines with the Mass of the Five Wounds, but refused a feast common to all, with special Mass and Office. The devotion spread, particularly in religious communities.
The Marseille plague in 1720 furnished perhaps the first occasion for a solemn consecration and public worship outside of religious communities. Other cities of southern Europe followed the example of Marseille. In 1726 Rome was again asked for a feast with a Mass and Office of its own; this was refused in 1729 by Benedict XIII but granted in 1765 by Clement XIII. In that year, at the request of Marie Leszczyńska,[1] the French Queen, the feast was received quasi-officially by the episcopate of France. Hence, the Mass and Office in Honor of the Sacred Heart were not approved for any use until 1765 – almost 100 years after the request was made by Our Lord!
Finally, in 1856, at the urgent entreaties of the French bishops, Pope Pius IX extended the Feast of the Sacred Heart to the Latin Church with the rank of Double Major. In 1889 it was raised by the Latin Church to the double rite of First Class. In 1928, Pope Pius XI raised the feast to the highest rank, Double of the First Class, and added an octave; the 1955 reforms of the general Roman calendar suppressed this octave and removed most other octaves as well.
Long before the apparitions to St. Margaret Mary, devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus existed. On the December 27th feast day of St. John the Evangelist in 1256 AD, St. Gertrude the Great had a profound vision in which she laid her head near the wound in the side of Jesus and heard the beating of the Sacred Heart. This is especially profound since St. John the Evangelist reclined his head near the Heart of the Divine Savior at the Last Supper.
On November 9, 1921, Pope Benedict XV established the Feast of the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus on the Thursday within the Octave of the Sacred Heart, which in a sense further established the connection of the Sacred Heart with Corpus Christi and its just-concluded Octave. We can make a note of this on our calendars so that we honor this day, even if the Mass celebrated that day does not use the specific readings (i.e., Propers) for that feast day.
The First Friday Devotion Is Still Necessary Along with Devotion to the Immaculate Heart
When Our Lord appeared to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque in the 1600s, on one of those occasions He appeared to her on the feast day of St. John the Evangelist. Our Lord requested three things: Frequent reception of Holy Communion, receiving Holy Communion especially on the first Friday of each month, and observing a Holy Hour in front of the Blessed Sacrament.
St. Margaret Mary related Our Lord’s promise, which He revealed to her for all who would honor the Nine First Fridays:
“On Friday during Holy Communion, He said these words to His unworthy slave, if I mistake not: I promise you in the excessive mercy of My Heart that Its all-powerful love will grant to all those who receive Holy Communion on nine first Fridays of consecutive months the grace of final repentance; they will not die under My displeasure or without receiving the sacraments, My divine Heart making Itself their assured refuge at the last moment.”
Father Francis Weiser writes, in Christian Feasts and Customs (1958), this short excerpt on Devotions to the Sacred Heart, mentioning this practice:
“As a result of the revelations granted to Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque (†1690), the practice developed from the seventeenth century on of devoting the first Friday of every month in a special way to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Since 1889 a Roman indult has given this custom a liturgical expression through the ‘Mass of the Sacred Heart’ which, under certain conditions, may be celebrated as a solemn votive Mass. Other liturgical devotions, too, have been provided for ‘First Friday’; they may be held in churches with the approval of the bishop and according to his regulations. Through the pious exercises of the ‘Nine Fridays’ and the ‘First Fridays,’ the custom grew in many places of performing on every Friday some devotion in honor of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, partly in church (by attendance at Mass, Communion, evening devotions), partly at home (by family prayer, burning of vigil lights before the Sacred Heart statue).”
Hence, priests should be offering extra Masses each Friday in honor of the Sacred Heart and encouraging the faithful to make the nine First Fridays (and repeating it often throughout life). And families should also have statues of the Sacred Heart in their home which are housed on or near their home prayer altars. This devotion is in addition to the First Saturday Devotions in honor of Our Lady, which devotees of Our Lady of Fatima should already be very familiar with. We can also pray the Act of Consecration to the Sacred Heart,[2] which was written by Pope Leo XIII.
Honor the Sacred Heart as a Family Throughout June
This Feast of the Sacred Heart, in addition to dedicating ourselves and our families to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, we can and should make the Act of Reparation to the Sacred Heart[3] (which is an indulgenced prayer) and have our home enthroned to the Sacred Heart[4] (if it has not already been). Lastly, after we conclude our daily Rosaries, each day of June we can add the Litany of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.[5] Other less common prayers, such as the Daily Offering to the Sacred Heart for the Dying, are also worth practicing with fervor during this month.
Our Lord asked for reparation to the Sacred Heart in the form of the Nine First Fridays; and if God Himself asks it of us, who can dare refuse? Download your First Friday Checklist today. Make an intention to observe this devotion, in addition to the Five First Saturdays. And after you complete it, start it again. We need as much reparation as possible!
ENDNOTES:
[1] Marie was the daughter of King Stanislaus I of Poland. She married Louis XV in 1725 and is known to history as a faithful wife, loving mother who avoided politics, and devout Roman Catholic. She and Louis XV, who reigned as ‘Louis the Beloved’ from 1722 to 1774, had eleven children. She is the longest reigning queen of France.
[2] See also “The Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus” (leaflet), as well as two “Act[s] of Consecration of the Family to the Sacred Heart of Jesus” in Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary: Prayers, Practices & Promises, pp. 11, 15 (the first Act was approved by Pope St. Pius X).
[3] Also, “The Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus” (leaflet).
[4] Also, Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, pp. 3-14.
[5] You can pray the Litany of the Sacred Heart with Fr. Rodríguez [Video / Audio] and find it in The Fatima Center’s prayer booklet titled Monthly Litanies. See also Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, pp. 6-7.