For other uses, see Sacred Heart (disambiguation). A depiction of Jesus and the Sacred Heart The Sacred Heart is a religious devotion to Jesus' physical heart. This devotion is predominantly used in the Roman Catholic Church and represents divine love for humanity. It also stresses the central Christian concept of loving and adoring Jesus. The origin of this devotion in its modern form is derived from a French Catholic nun Marie Alacoque, who allegedly learned the devotion from Jesus in visions. Predecessors to the modern devotion existed to some extent in the Middle Ages in various mystical sects.[1] The Sacred Heart is often depicted in Christian art as a flaming stylized heart, pierced and bleeding from a surrounding crown of thorns. Sometimes the image is superimposed over Jesus' body with his wounded hands pointing at the heart. The wounds and crown of thorns allude to the manner of Jesus' death, while the fire represents love. This motif has become a part of vernacular culture through its appropriation by tattoo artists.[2] Contents 1 History of devotion 1.1 Early devotion 1.2 Visions of St. Margaret Mary 1.3 Vatican endorsement 2 Worship and devotion 3 Institution names 4 Sacred Heart imagery 5 Folklore and use by non-Catholics 6 Criticism 7 See also 8 References 9 External links History of devotion Early devotion From the time of John the Evangelist and Paul of Tarsus there has always been in the Church something like devotion to the love of God, but there is nothing to indicate that, during the first ten centuries of Christianity, any worship was rendered to the wounded heart of Jesus.[3] It is in the eleventh and twelfth centuries that the first indications of devotion to the Sacred Heart are found. It was in the fervent atmosphere of the Benedictine or Cistercian monasteries, in the world of Anselmian or Bernardine thought, that the devotion arose, although it is impossible to say positively what were its first texts or who were its first devotees. To St. Gertrude, St. Mechtilde, and the author of the "Vitis mystica" (previously ascribed to St. Bernard, now attributed to St. Bonaventure) it was already well known. From the thirteenth to the sixteenth century, the devotion was propagated but it did not seem to have developed in itself. It was everywhere practised by individuals and by different religious congregations, such as the Franciscans, Dominicans, Carthusians, etc. It was, nevertheless, a private, individual devotion of the mystical order. Nothing of a general movement had been inaugurated, except for similarities found in the devotion to the Five Wounds by the Franciscans, in which the wound in Jesus' heart figured most prominently. In the sixteenth century, the devotion passed from the domain of mysticism into that of Christian asceticism. It was established as a devotion with prayers already formulated and special exercises, found in the writings of Lanspergius (d. 1539) of the Carthusians of Cologne, the Louis of Blois (Blosius; 1566), a Benedictine and Abbot of Liessies in Hainaut, John of Avila (d. 1569) and St. Francis de Sales, the latter belonging to the seventeenth century. The historical record from that time shows an early bringing to light of the devotion. Ascetic writers spoke of it, especially those of the Society of Jesus. The image of the heart of Jesus was everywhere in evidence, largely due to the Franciscan devotion to the Five Wounds and to the habit formed by the Jesuits of placing the image on their title-page of their books and the walls of their churches. Nevertheless, the devotion remained an individual, or at least a private, devotion. Jean Eudes (1602-1680) made it public, gave it an Office, and established a feast for it. Père Eudes was the apostle of the Heart of Mary; but in his devotion to the Immaculate Heart there was a share for the heart of Jesus. Little by little, the devotion to the Sacred Heart became a separate one, and on August 31, 1670, the first feast of the Sacred Heart was celebrated in the Grand Seminary of Rennes. Coutances followed suit on October 20, a day with which the Eudist feast was from then on to be connected. The feast soon spread to other dioceses, and the devotion was likewise adopted in various religious communities. It gradually came into contact with the devotion begun at Paray, and resulting in a fusion of the two. Visions of St. Margaret Mary The most significant source for the devotion to the Sacred Heart in the form it is known today was Visitandine Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647-1690), who claimed to have received visions of Jesus Christ. There is nothing to indicated that she had known the devotion prior to the revelations, or at least that she had paid any attention to it. These alleged revelations were numerous, and the following apparitions are especially remarkable: On December 27, probably 1673, the feast of St. John, Margaret Mary reported that Jesus permitted her, as he had formerly allowed St. Gertrude, to rest her head upon his heart, and then disclosed to her the wonders of his love, telling her that he desired to make them known to all mankind and to diffuse the treasures of his goodness, and that he had chosen her for this work. In probably June or July, 1674, Margaret Mary claimed that Jesus requested to be honored under the figure of his heart of flesh, also claiming that, when he appeared radiant with love, he asked for a devotion of expiatory love: frequent reception of Communion, especially Communion on the First Friday of the month, and the observance of the Holy Hour. During the octave of Corpus Christi, 1675, probably on June 16, the vision known as the "great apparition" reportedly took place, where Jesus said, "Behold the heart that has so loved men ... instead of gratitude I receive from the greater part (of mankind) only ingratitude ...", and asked Margaret Mary for a feast of reparation of the Friday after the octave of Corpus Christi, bidding her consult Father de la Colombière, then superior of the small Jesuit house at Paray. Solemn homage was asked on the part of the king, and the mission of propagating the new devotion was especially confided to the religious of the Visitation and to the priests of the Society of Jesus. A few days after the "great apparition", Margaret Mary reported everything she saw to Father de la Colombière, and he acknowleging the vision as an action of the spirit of God, consecrated himself to the Sacred Heart and directed her to write an account of the apparition. He also made use of every available opportunity to circulate this account, discreetly, through France and England. At his death, February 15, 1682, there was found in his journal of spiritual retreats a copy in his own handwriting of the account that he had requested of Margaret Mary, together with a few reflections on the usefulness of the devotion. This journal, including the account and an "offering" to the Sacred Heart, in which the devotion was well explained, was published at Lyons in 1684. The little book was widely read, even at Paray. Margaret Mary reported feeling "dreadful confusion" over the book's contents, but resolved to make the best of it, approving of the book for the spreading of her cherished devotion. Outside of the Visitandines, priests, religious, and laymen espoused the devotion, particularly a Capuchin, Margaret Mary's two brothers, and some Jesuits, among the latter being Fathers Croiset and Gallifet, who promoted the devotion. Vatican endorsement Dates for the Feast of the Sacred Heart, 2002-2020 Year Date 2002 June 7 2003 June 27 2004 June 18 2005 June 3 2006 June 23 2007 June 15 2008 May 30 2009 June 19 2010 June 11 2011 July 1 2012 June 15 2013 June 7 2014 June 27 2015 June 12 2016 June 3 2017 June 23 2018 June 8 2019 June 28 2020 June 19 The death of Margaret Mary, October 17, 1690, did not dampen the zeal of those interested; on the contrary, a short account of her life published by Father Croiset in 1691, as an appendix to his book "De la Dévotion au Sacré Cœur", served only to increase it. In spite of all sorts of obstacles, and of the slowness of the Holy See, which in 1693 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 Marseilles plague, 1720, furnished perhaps the first occasion for a solemn consecration and public worship outside of religious communities. Other cities of the South followed the example of Marseilles, and thus the devotion became a popular one. In 1726 it was deemed advisable once more to importune Rome for a feast with a Mass and Office of its own, but, in 1729, Rome again refused. However, in 1765, it finally yielded and that same year, at the request of the queen, the feast was received quasi officially by the episcopate of France. On all sides it was asked for and obtained, and finally, in 1856, at the urgent entreaties of the French bishops, Pope Pius IX extended the feast to the Catholic Church under the rite of double major. In 1889 it was raised by the Catholic Church to the double rite of first class. On May 15, 2006, Pope Benedict XVI sent a letter to Father Peter Hans Kolvenbach, the Superior General of the Society of Jesus, on the 50th Anniversary of the encyclical Haurietis Aquas, about the Sacred Heart, by Pope Pius XII. In his letter to Father Kolvenbach, Pope Benedict reaffirmed the importance of the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Worship and devotion The Catholic acts of consecration, reparation and devotion were introduced when the feast of the Sacred Heart was declared. In his Papal Bull Auctorem Fidei, Pope Pius VI praised devotion to the Sacred Heart. Finally, by order of Leo XIII, in his encyclical Annum Sacrum (May 25, 1899), as well as on June 11, he consecrated every human to the Sacred Heart. The idea of this act, which Leo XIII called "the great act" of his pontificate, had been proposed to him by a religious woman of the Good Shepherd from Oporto (Portugal) who said that she had supernaturally received it from Jesus. Since c. 1850, groups, congregations, and States have consecrated themselves to the Sacred Heart. Peter Coudrin of France founded the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary on Dec 24, 1800. A religious order of the Roman Catholic Church, the order is best known for its missionary work in Hawaii. Worship of the Sacred Heart mainly consists of several hymns, the Salutation of the Sacred Heart, and the Litany of the Sacred Heart. It is most common in Roman Catholic and Anglican services. The Feast of the Sacred Heart is a holy day in the Roman Catholic liturgical calendar, and is celebrated 19 days after Pentecost. As Pentecost is always celebrated on Sunday, the Feast of the Sacred Heart always falls on a Friday. Institution names Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Koekelberg, Brussels, Belgium Sacred Heart is still a widely used name for many Catholic institutions, including schools, colleges, and hospitals in many countries around the world. It is also the name of many Catholic parishes, religious orders, and stores selling Catholic goods. For a list of institutions named after the Sacred Heart, see Sacred Heart (disambiguation). Sacred Heart imagery Another depiction of Jesus and the Sacred Heart Religious imagery depicting the Sacred Heart is frequently featured in Catholic homes. Sometimes images display beneath them a list of family members, indicating that the entire family is entrusted to the protection of Jesus in the Sacred Heart, from whom blessings on the home and the family members are sought. The prayer "O Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in Thee" is often used. One particular image has been used as part of a set, along with an image of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In that image, Mary too was shown pointing to her Immaculate Heart, expressing her love for the human race and for her son, Jesus Christ. The mirror images reflect an eternal binding of the two hearts. Folklore and use by non-Catholics Folklore and legends exist regarding the Sacred Heart as an actual physical object, kept in a vessel or crypt, by the Catholic Church or Catholic individuals, or as an essence that is passed down through a lineage of holy descent. Interestingly, in not all versions is this essence or vessel kept by members of the Catholic Church, and not all the caretakers display Christian morality as known by most traditional Christian faiths. One conclusion of this legend is that caretakers of the Sacred Heart are supernaturally given perfect knowledge of all spiritual issues and are infallible. Other versions claim the Sacred Heart is the soul of Jesus, which is protected, or which provides mercy and inspiration to the faithful until God the Father establishes the Kingdom of Heaven. Many members of the Spanish Carlist military forces of the 19th and 20th centuries wore detentes or amulets with an image of the Sacred Heart they believed would protect them against wounding by enemy firearms. Devotion to the Sacred Heart is on the rise among Protestants and many Anglicans, Episcopalians, Orthodox (which depict it in an iconic form) even Methodists, and other major Christian denominations accept it to some degree. They also see it as a way to bridge the gap between Protestants and Catholics. The Sacred Heart is also a very popular symbol used in tattoos of the traditional style. Many have selected the heart because it symbolizes strength and the ability to endure, or to represent their passion for something that they may include along with the heart. Criticism Some non-Catholics, particularly Charismatic Protestants, have criticized devotion to the Sacred Heart as idolatry, despite the Christian belief that the Sacred Heart is a fountain of Christ's holy Blood. Some Catholics have been critical of the overly sentimental nature of such devotion,[4] but most of these critics recognize that the images essentially reflect the core Christian tenet of love. See also Immaculate Heart of Mary References ^ Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus II. Historical Ideas on the Development of the Devotion, para (3-4). Catholic Encyclopedia. New Advent. Retrieved on 11 July 2006. ^ Photos of Sacred Heart tattoos. Religious Tattoos. Retrieved on 11 July 2006. ^ Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus II. Historical Ideas on the Development of the Devotion, para (1). Catholic Encyclopedia. New Advent. Retrieved on 11 July 2006. ^ Pope Pius XII (15 May 1956). Haurietis Aquas (On Devotion To The Sacred Heart), point 12. Eternal World Television Network. Retrieved on 11 July 2006. External links Read the Sacred Heart at roman-catholic-prayers.com Catholic Encyclopedia article This article incorporates text from the public-domain Catholic Encyclopedia. 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