LITANY OF THE SACRED HEART

LITANY OF THE SACRED HEART

SACRED HEART OF JESUS, SALVATION OF THOSE WHO TRUST IN THEE.

LITANY OF THE SACRED HEART: A BRIEF COMMENTARY PART VI

LITANY OF THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS, PART VI

22. HEART OF JESUS, PIERCED WITH A SPEAR

The prophet Zechariah spoke about an anonymous person who would be pierced and toward whom people would turn their gaze in faith and wonder (See Zec 12:10). John, the beloved disciple, witnessed the fulfillment of that prophecy in Jesus when a soldier "thrust his spear into His side and immediately blood and water flowed out" (Jn 19:34).

That spear represented our numberless sins against God, our callousness and cruelty toward our neighbor, and our ingratitude against God's incarnate Son, That deep wound in the side of the innocent Redeemer was the culmination of the numerous signs of supreme love He had already given on the last days of His earthly life.

And from that pierced side flowed the streams of salvation made available by the Holy Spirit in the Church, especially through the Sacraments of Baptism and the Eucharist. That rivulet of blood and water, foreshadowed in the jet of water that gushed forth from the rock hit by Moses in the desert (see Num 20:8-11), would be the source of salvation and spiritual nourishment for all believers until the end of time.

And as Mary Most Holy saw the spear pierced the side of Her Son, Her grieving heart was pierced, too, by the sword of compassion. Thus was the prophecy of Simeon fulfilled!

27. HEART OF JESUS, SOURCE OF ALL CONSOLATION

All human beings experience sadness. We have many reasons to be sorrowful because of sickness, the destructive violence of nature, the wickedness of people, and even our own moral frailty. In our loneliness, our being rejected or despised; in our physical and emotional affliction, it is natural for us to seek comfort and consolation. Many try to find this in creatures. Those who are really wise seek their consolation in the heart of Jesus, for He is the one in whom God, the Divine Consoler of His people, has found His fullest and enduring manifestation.

Throughout His life, Jesus was, indeed, a source of consolation for the afflicted: the sick, the cripple, those who had lost a loved one, and those who were rejected by the self-righteous. In all truth, Jesus could say, "Come to me, all you who labor and are heavily laden, and I will give you rest" (Mt 11:28).

And Jesus wants that we too, become a source of consolation for all our brothers and sisters who are afflicted in one way or another. This is a challenging task which no one would be able to fulfill without the empowerment of God's grace. That's why Jesus sent to His Disciples the Holy Spirit as the "Divine Consoler" in order that they / we, too, might console all those who suffer in whatever way (See 2 Cor 1:4).

28. HEART OF JESUS, OUR LIFE AND RESURRECTION

God has life in Himself and is the source of all life. Jesus, the eternal Son of God, has life in Himself, too, (see Jn 5:26) and is the source of our life, both as our Creator and Redeemer. When He became a human being, His mission was to bring us life to the full (see Jn 10:10), even at the cost of His own earthly life.

Jesus is the source of our life also when we die spiritually because of our sins, for sin is, indeed, the source of our spiritual and physical death (See Wis 2:24 and Rom 5:12; 6:23). Dead because of our sins, Jesus becomes our resurrection, Such was the message contained in His calling back to life the son of a widow at Naim, the daughter of Jairus, and His friend Lazarus.

Such was the message of His forgiving the sins of the paralyzed man and of the adulteress. In all truth, Jesus could declare to Martha: "I am the Resurrection and the Life. Whoever believes in Me, even if he dies, will live" (Jn 11:25).

In His power and in His name, we have become "Children of the Resurrection" - spiritual resurrection from our sins and even physical resurrection at the end of time, when Jesus will defeat death forever by transforming our mortal body into the image of His own risen body and we will live with Him forever (See 1 Cor 15:50-55 and Rom 8:11).

29. HEART OF JESUS, OUR PEACE AND RECONCILIATION

Our hearts yearn for peace. It is only when we are perfectly at peace with God, others and ourselves that we experience perfect happiness. But this peace is endangered and destroyed by sin, for sin sets us on a collision course with God, our neighbor and ourselves. This is what happened to humankind with the first sin and all the other sins that followed it. This is what happens to us whenever we allow sin to rule our lives. Left to ourselves, we would never have been able to be fully at peace. It was only thanks to God's intervention that we human beings were once again able to enjoy the peace we yearn for.

God reconciled us to Himself through His incarnate Son Jesus Christ, the "Prince of Peace" (Se Is 9:3-6). His earthly birth brought peace to all men of goodwill. (See Lk 2:14). Throughout His life, Jesus bestowed peace on so many troubled souls through His love and forgiveness.

Peace was His last gift to His Disciples before He died (see Jn 14:27). It was also His first gift to them after His resurrection (See Lk 24:36 and Jn 20:19). He became "Our Peace" (Eph 2:14) by offering His life on the cross to atone for our sins, and thereby achieve our ultimate reconciliation with God (see Rom 5:10), which is the indispensable condition for us to be also reconciled - to be at peace - with our neighbor and our very selves.

30. HEART OF JESUS, VICTIM FOR OUR SINS

Sin is a terrible offense against God's love. It attracts the wrath of Divine Justice as a lightning rod attract the destructive charges of electricity in stormy weather. All sinners deserved to suffer the just and terrible punishment due to sin, but God in His great mercy, spared them / us by allowing an innocent Victim to atone for the sins of all. The Apostle Paul expressed this dramatic and life-saving "substitution" through the most powerful sentence, "For our sake, God made Him to be sin who did not know sin, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Cor 5:21).

The coming of God's Son into this world "in the likeness of sinful flesh" was not an arbitrary imposition, but the result of His generous volunteering: "Holocaust and sin offering You took no delight in. Then I said, ' . . . Behold, I come to do Your Will' " (Heb 10:6-7). And in Christ's self-offering to be the new and true Lamb of Sacrifice and Paschal Lamb, mankind found its salvation, His innocent and most precious Blood atoned for the sins of all and shielded sinners from the blows of the Angel of Divine Justice.

Jesus carries on His intercession for sinners in heaven as He stands in the presence of the Father, with the marks of His Passion. This is how He continues to be "The Lamb of God," the innocent Victim that takes away the sins of the world.


LITANY OF THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS, PART V


Mario Collantes
The Messenger of Divine Love
Volume III, Number 1
July-September 2008

LITANY OF THE SACRED HEART: A BRIEF COMMENTARY PART V

LITANY OF THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS, PART V

21. HEART OF JESUS, FOUNTAIN OF LIFE AND HOLINESS

Only God is the fountain of life, as the Psalmist sings (see Ps 36:10). Only God is thrice Holy, as the Cherubim in the vision of Isaiah proclaim, and as we echo in every Eucharistic Celebration.

As the Incarnate Son of God, only Jesus, could say in all truth: "I am the Life" (Jn 11:25 and 14:6). Only He could challenge His opponents" "Can any of you charge me with sin?" (Jn 8:46). It was not a vain boast but the plain truth. And the source of all life and holiness in Him was His Heart, a Heart that wished to share its life and holiness with all human beings.

The whole purpose of His coming to earth was to do just that: "I came that they might have life, life to the full" (Jn 10:10). This much we can glance from His conversation with the Samaritan woman by the well of Jacob (see Jn 4:14) and in Jerusalem when He proclaimed: "Whoever believes in me, springs of living water will flow from within him" (Jn 7:38).

The evangelist notes that Jesus was speaking of the Holy Spirit, the Divine Gift of the Risen Christ, who would transform those who receive Him - all of us - into channels of life and holiness, which would benefit our neighbor and thereby lead them back to the Fountain of all Life and Holiness.

22. HEART OF JESUS, PROPITIATION FOR OUR SINS

Sin destroys any good relationship with God and our neighbor. It makes us repellent to God's Holiness. This is what causes Him to turn His face away from us in disgust. And this is what would condemn us to everlasting unhappiness.

It is in such hopeless situation that Jesus willingly comes as our Redeemer, and Reconciler. Through His life of perfect obedience and His total self-offering on Calvary with the most perfect love that welled up from His Heart, He made up for the transgression of all mankind.

It was through His sacrifice on the Cross that Jesus atoned for our sins by shedding His innocent blood with His most pure and universal love. This is how He became "propitiation for our sins" and His most holy and loving Heart brought the Father to look on us favorably as His beloved forgiven children.

In heaven, Jesus continues to be "propitiation for our sins" as He constantly intercedes for all sinners with the Father. (See Rom 8:34 and Heb 7:25). And here on earth, the Church makes visible and effective Jesus' saving intercession every time she celebrates the Eucharistic Sacrifice. Our whole-hearted participation in this act of worship and atonement enables us to benefit from the redeeming stream of grace that flows from His pierced Heart.

23. HEART OF JESUS, LOADED DOWN WITH REPROACHES

Becoming "propitiation for our sins" cost Jesus immensely. In this invocation, we reflect on how He was "loaded down with reproaches" - that series of emotional tortures which He endured, especially during the terrible hours of His passion.

The Roman soldiers blindfolded, hit and shouted at Him" "Guess who has hit you!" They crowned Him with thorns and mocked, "Hail, King of the Jews!" The crowd demanded, "Crucify him and set Barabbas free!" The Jewish authorities challenged him to come down from the Cross that they might believe in him . . .(See the Passion narratives of all the Gospels). It was more than one could bear, but Jesus endured it all with boundless patience, rooted in His most loving Heart.

The prophet Isaiah had already foreseen both the cruel treatment and the Divine Victim's endurance: "He was spurned . . . one of those from whom men hide their faces, and we held him in no esteem." But, "though he was harshly treated, he submitted and opened not his mouth . . . " (Is 53:3.7). Jesus, the Servant of Yahweh, bore all this with His forgiving love.

What a sublime example of moral strength for us when we, too, may find ourselves treated unfairly, despised, or innocently brought down by betrayals and disappointments!

24. HEART OF JESUS, BRUISED FOR OUR SINS

Jesus did not just suffer underservedly a series of humiliatons and insults. He also suffered physically in His most pure and Holy Body, which has been conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and which had been born of the Most Holy Virgin Mary. Chained and scourged mercilessly; crowned with piercing thorns, made to bear a heavy Cross, nailed to a Cross on which He hung during three seemingly endless hours . . . His whole body was reduced to a bleeding wound!

And He was treated so cruelly not becuase He deserved it, but because He volunteered to take our place. He was "bruised for our offenses," that is for our sins. "It was our infirmities that He bore," proclaimed the prophet Isaiah centuries earlier and again echoed by St. Peter: "Upon Him was the chastisement that makes us whole" (Is 53:4-5 and 1 Pt 2:24).

Jesus suffered all these torments because of all our sins. He was the only innocent one who should not have been treated that way. We were the ones who deserved those punishments, but He volunteered to endure them in place of us. He did that not because He owed anything to us, but simply out of love - the love that overflows from His Sacred Heart!

25. HEART OF JESUS, MADE OBEDIENT UNTO DEATH

God's beautiful plan for mankind was thwarted for a time, by the disobedience of Adam and Eve to His clear prohibition to eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. That disobedience was followed by innumerable others, and a night of suffering and frustrations engulfed the history of mankind.

Jesus came as its Holy Redeemer, His mission was to undo and make up for all the acts of disobedience of the descendants of Adan and Eve. In the Letter to the Hebrews, we hear Jesus say: "Holocausts and sin offerings you did not delight in. Then I said . . . Behold, I come to do Your will O God!" (Heb 10:6-7). In fulfillment of His mission, the whole of Jesus' life was a perfect "YES!" to the Father. In all truth He could say, "My food is to do the will of the One who sent me" (Jn 4:34). In the prayer he taught His Disciples, He included the petition, "Your Will be done on earth as it is in heaven."

And He practised what He taught. St. Paul synthesized Jesus' life with the sentence: "He humbled himself obediently accepting even death, death on a Cross!" (Phil 2:8). And His human career ended with the exclamation that came from the depth of His Heart: "It is accomplished!" (Jn 19:30). This is what makes Jesus the perfect example of obedience for all of us to emulate.


LITANY OF THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS, PART IV


Mario Collantes
The Messenger of Divine Love
Volume II, Number 4
April-June 2008

LITANY OF THE SACRED HEART, A BRIEF COMMENTARY PART IV

LITANY OF THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS, PART IV

16. HEART OF JESUS IN WHICH THE FATHER IS WELL PLEASED

Twice did the Father declare that He was well pleased with His Son: at the Jordan and on Mount Tabor. The Lord God had all reasons to be pleased with Jesus because He was always eager to do the Father's Will to the point of accepting to die on the Cross in fulfillment of the Divine Plan of Salvation. That was the highest test, and Jesus passed it with flying colors.

How different was the situation in the history of mankind when people who had received so much from God dared to ignore His clear orders and to prefer, instead, to follow the devil's temptation! From the Garden of Eden to the latest crime committed on the surface of the earth, we have an endless string of rebellions against God.

And we are part of that ugly chain of cases of unfaithfulness. We belong to the crowd of those who have displeased God. If we want to hear the consoling, affirming sentence, "You are my child, in whom I am well pleased," we have only one thing to do: imitate the example of our perfect Model, Jesus, the faithful servant and Son. Then, will the Father be pleased with us, too!

17. HEART OF JESUS OF WHOSE FULLNESS WE HAVE ALL RECEIVED

One of the great worries of the industrialized world is the gradual decrease of non-renewable sources of energy, such as oil and coal. No matter how vast the deposits of these non-renewable sources of energy may be, everybody knows that we are heading toward their depletion, with the consequent crisis this will usher in. Hence, the worry and the search for "alternative sources of energy".

This fear of an end of the "great bonanza" does not apply to moral and spiritual energies. In a special manner, it does not apply to the fullness of love, grace, and life that the Heart of Jesus is. These "spiritual riches" are, indeed, the essential content of the "fullness" we are reflecting upon in this invocation.

It is the fullness that John talks about at the beginning of His Gospel when he proclaims that God's only Son was "full of grace and truth" and that "from His fullness we have all received" (Jn 1:14b. 16).

It is the fullness of "spiritual water" - the Grace of the Holy Spirit - which Jesus promises the Samaritan woman (Jn 4:14); the fullness of life which Jesus offers to all those who believe in Him when He states, ""I have come that they may have life and life to the full" (Jn 10:10). This is the "inexhaustible fullness" we all have been enriched with.

18. HEART OF JESUS, DEEPEST DESIRE OF THE HUMAN HEART

Lover seeks lover. It is the nature of love to bring people to union and, when they are far part, to intensely desire to be together and nothing makes us happier than the fulfillment of such a yearning. This is true of the love that binds human beings. It is especially true of the love that binds God and us.

This is always verified with regard to God's love for us. He wants to be close to us, to ne part of our lives, our plans, our aspirations and even our difficulties. The signs of such desire are numberless for those who know how to read the alphabet of God's communication to us. The greatest and clearest sign of God's love for mankind is Jesus Christ, and His Heart is the core of it all.

It is in the Heart of Jesus - a heart afire with love, crowned with thorns and pierced by a lance - that we have the proof of how much God loves us. That same Heart teaches us, too, how much we should love God and yearn to be united with Him. All the Saints of the past and of the present, starting with Mary Most Holy, "have learned the lesson" and lived its message with great intensity, as they constantly sought to know His Love ever better and to be united with Him ever more.

19. HEART OF JESUS, PATIENT AND ABOUNDING IN MERCY

Patience is a sign and proof of love. We can see this most eloquently in the patience that parents, and especially mothers, have with their children - the way they put up with their whims and naughtiness, and even with their occasional aggressiveness and lack of love.

God is immensely more patient with us than the most patient of all mothers because He loves us more than any mother loves her child. And Jesus, with His loving and merciful Heart, is the clearest sign of God's patient love. We see His immense patience in the way He treats His hard-headed Disciples.

It is especially in His attitude toward sinners and enemies that the loving patience of His Heart becomes Mercy and Compassion. We see that in the way He treated the sinful woman caught in adultery and the prostitute who bathed His feet with her tears; in the way He conquered Zacchaeus, in the forgiveness he extended to Peter and the other Disciples who deserted Him; and in His praying for those who were crucifying Him.

Jesus wants that we, too, become as merciful as He was. He said to His Disciples, "Blessed are the merciful. They will be shown mercy" (Mt 5:7).

20. HEART OF JESUS, GENEROUS TO ALL WHO CALL UPON YOU

Generosity is another practical sign of love. And the most generous of all is the Lord God. He has manifested His generosity by giving mankind not only the whole of creation, but also the call to live with Him for ever. And when the human beings forfeited that unique privelege through their sinfulness, He sent His only Son, "born of a woman, born under the law, to ransom those under the law ..." (Gal 4:4 and also Jn 3:16).

And throughout His life, God's incarnate Son revealed the depth of the Father's generosity by changing jars of water into exquisite wine and by feeding hungry crowds; by granting the request for healing addressed to Him be lepers and other sick people. He restored the sight to blind persons, saved His frightened Disciples who were about to drown, and promised Paradise to the repentant thief on the Cross.

But the greatest signs of Christ's generosity were His offering His life for the salvation of all human beings, His instituting the Eucharist, and His giving the Holy Spirit to His Disciples that they might be guided to all truth, consoled in their troubles, and restored to God's grace through the ministry of the Church.

The generosity of His Heart is a constant invitation for us to do likewise.


LITANY OF THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS, PART III


MARIO COLLANTES
The Messenger of Divine Love
Volume II, Number 3
January-March 2008

LITANY OF THE SACRED HEART: A BRIEF COMMENTARY PART III

LITANY OF THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS, PART III

11. HEART OF JESUS, NEVER ENDING SOURCE OF ALL VIRTUES

In the life of a person, virtues are like streams of fresh water that delight the eye and make the surrounding area lush and fertile. The life and prosperity of a certain region depend to a great extent on the presence of such streams. But it can happen that streams of material water may gradually or even abruptly dry up. The devastating consequences of such a loss are soon visible and terrible. They spell misery for vegetation, animals and people.

All the virtues that enrich our lives derive from the Heart of Jesus as from their main source - a source that will never dry up. All virtues gush forth from Him for He, as the incarnate Son of God, is the Source of all good. There is no other. Any attempt to find "alternative sources" of outstanding moral/spiritual qualities (for this is what virtues are), is destined to fail. Only in the Heart of Jesus, do all virtues find their origin and the nourishment that ensures their preservation and development.

The application of this truth is clear: if we want to progress in our moral and spiritual life and thereby bring about our sanctification, we have to draw closer and closer to the Heart of Jesus. From our intimacy with Him, we will derive the freshness and vital energy that fill our existence with virtuous thoughts, aspirations and actions. Such has been the experience of all the Saints, starting with Mary Most Holy.

12. HEART OF JESUS, WORTHY OF ALL PRAISE

People are highly praised for their achievements. The most outstanding ones are given presitgious awards. Their names are engraved in markers and monuments. Of all the "awardees" no one is worthier than Jesus. Nay: no one can match Him, for He did everything perfectly.

"He has done everything well" proclaimed the crowds when they witnessed the wonderful miracles He was performing, as He cleansed the lepers, gave sight to the blind, speech to the dumb, agility to the crippled, and even restored life to the dead. But all the miracles that He performed were still nothing in comparison with the "wonder of wonders" which is the salvation of mankind - a salvation Jesus brought about through His Passion, Death, and Resurrection, and which is constantly and universally made present through the Sacraments, but especially through the Eucharist.

It is in the Sacrament of Christ's Love that His Heart fully reveals all its "resourcefulness" and perfection, as it encapsulates His divnity and humanity in the simplicity of bread and wine, which possess the unique power to nourish souls, transform, energize, and inspire lives. Rightly we acknowledge this "living wonder" as we sing, "O Sacrament Most Holy, O Sacrament Divine, all praise and all thanksgiving be every moment thine!"

13. HEART OF JESUS, KING AND CENTER OF ALL HEARTS

Jesus never claimed the title "King" though no one more than He deserved it. But He was, indeedm King, since He was the Son of the King of the universe, and to Him the Father had given all authority and power.

He implied His royal dignity in some of His parables where He speaks of the "Son of Man" (that is Himself) as the one who will come in glory to judge all human beings. This will take place at the end of time, in the majesty and glory that will characterize the decisive moment of human history. But it was in the Upper Room and on Calvary that Jesus revealed the "Kingly Love" of His Heart.

The former was the anticipation of the latter in the sacramental signs of bread and wine, broken and shed for love of all human beings. On Calvary, a poor human wreck - the repentant thief - proclaimed aloud his faith in the Kingship of Christ. And he, the innocent crucified "Lord Jesus" exercised the divine power of His love by promising heaven to the repentant crucified sinner who represented all sinful mankind. It was from the Cross that Christ proclaimed His kingship and exercised it as no simple mortal man could do.

It was the unmatchable love of His Heart that brought Jesus to endure the mockery of being crowned not with a gold crown but with a crown of thorns. It was his Kingly Love for us that brought Him to embrace the Cross as the most precious of all thrones. It is to His transfixed heart that all human hearts should direct their grateful love.

14. HEART OF JESUS, IN WHICH ARE ALL THE TREASURES OF WISDOM AND KNOWLEDGE

Wisdom and Knowledge have always been sought after as precious treasures in all great civilizations. Outstanding among all is King Solomon, the young son of David, who, at the beginning of his reign, implored from God the gift of wisdom, rather than riches and power. In response to Solomon's prayer, the Lord God bestowed on him not only the knowledge and wisom he had aksed for, but all other blessings besides. So much so that even the Queen of the South traveled thousands of miles to be able to learn from the wisest of all kings.

Jesus is immensely greater than Solomon, as He himself declared. He has the knowledge that surpasses every other knowledge; He knows the Father at a depth and with a clarity that no creature wille ver be able to attain. And from this fundamental knowledge of the Father, Jesus derived the wisdom that enabled Him to always make the right choices - the choices that are perfectly in line with the Father's will.

There can be no more precious treasure than this. And this is the knowledge and wisdom we all should yearn for as devotees of the Heart of the One who said: "Learn from Me, for I am meek and humble of heart" and "I have given you an example that just as I have done, you may also do."

15. HEART OF JESUS, IN WHICH DWELLS THE FULLNESS OF THE DIVINITY

All creatures, and especially we human beings, bear the marks of the widom and glory of their Creator. This is not just an external and superficial mark. He actually dwells in us to the extent that we can mirror His Presence and attest to His wisdom and power.

Jesus alone, however, "is the Image of the Invisible God, the first-born of all creation" (Col 1:15). He is the refulgence of His glory, the very imprint of His being" (Heb 1:3). This is the reason why in the Heart of Jesus, in the very core of His being, dwells the ful;ness of the Divinity, as we proclaim in the Litany.

Due to the self-emptying effect of the incarnation, during His earthly life, the Son of God's splendor was concealed under the ordinary appearance of a mortal man. But at least once, at His transfiguration, the radiance of the Divinity that was in Him was revealed to some chosen Disciples on Mount Tabor.

That was the moment in which the fullness of the Divinity that was hidden in the man Jesus shone in all its power and brilliance. That was the instant when the new heaven and the new earth were created - an event and a new reality that is meant to be our constant inspiration and aspiration. For this is our calling and our challenge: to allow God to permeate our being ever more deeply that ever more clearly we may reflect the splendor of the Heart of Jesus.


LITANY OF THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS, PART IV

LITANY OF THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS, PART II


MARIO COLLANTES
The Messenger of Divine Love
Volume II Number 2
October-December 2007

LITANY OF THE SACRED HEART: A BRIEF COMMENTARY, PART II

LITANY OF THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS, PART II

6. HEART OF JESUS, TABERNACLE OF THE MOST HIGH

The original “Tabernacle” was the tent built by Moses in the desert as the Israelites journeyed and sojourned in the desert while they were on the way to the Promised Land. Within the tent was the Ark of the Alliance, which contained the two tablets of the Law.

The Ark was meant to be the constant reminder of God’s presence among His people. The tent was the sacred place where Moses could talk to God face-to-face, present to Him the requests of the people and receive from Him the instructions to be communicated to the people.

When He took flesh and became a human being, God’s Eternal Son “pitched His tent (Tabernacle) among us” (Jn 1:14). This means that He came to share in all the frailty of our nature, while at the same time becoming “the Tabernacle” of the Most High, the most Holy Sign of God’s presence in our midst.

By a unique combination of roles, Jesus of Nazareth is both the Sacred Tabernacle, erected by God Himself in the desert of human history, and the new Mediator of the everlasting Alliance, the one who brings to the Father the pleas of all His brethren and conveys to them the wishes and blessing of the Father.

7. HEART OF JESUS, HOUSE OF GOD AND GATE OF HEAVEN

Jesus is not only God’s Temple and Tabernacle, but also His “House” and the “Gate of Heaven.” These are two interconnected aspects and functions of the same reality: the person of Jesus Christ.

The term “House connotes something visible, something over which God can claim uncontested property; a “place” in which God dwells in the fullness of His being, and where He feels perfectly at home. Such is the Heart of Jesus, the perfect “House of God”.

But Jesus is also the “Gate of Heaven” – the only one through whom mankind can enter the Kingdom of Eternal Bliss. There is no other gate to heaven, for Jesus is the only Redeemer and Savior. He has no equals. He has no competitors. Jesus solemnly proclaimed Himself to be “THE GATE” through which the sheep can enter into the security of the fold or through which they exit to enjoy the pastures of the divine meadows. This is why we acclaim Him as the only Gate of Heaven.

8. HEART OF JESUS, BURNING FURNACE OF CHARITY

There are different forms of fire and different, likewise, are the results of these fires. There is a fire that destroys even the best in us: it is the fire of impure passions, greed, pride, aggressiveness . . . These are the fires of death. They lead to the fires of hell. Jesus has nothing to do with these types of fires.

There is also a fire that burns impurities and garbage, a fire that purifies precious metals or melts them, thereby enabling them to take beautiful and useful shapes. This “benevolent fire” is a symbol of the fire of love that purifies, refines, sublimates and transforms people into better persons. It is the fire that has its origins and burns in the Heart of Jesus and makes it like an immense furnace; which burns with the boundless charity that sanctifies and saves all human beings.

This Charity never ceases burning, not even in front of the coldest forms of rejection and offenses, for it is the charity / love that is immensely greater than human ingratitude and sinfulness.

This is why the Fire of Love that burns within the furnace of the Heart of Jesus can consume the huge mountains of our moral miseries and shortcomings, purifying our hearts from whatever defiles them or makes them lose the luster they were meant to have. This is the “Holy Fire” that the Holy Spirit ignited in the heart of Mary and all the saints; the fire that warms up and moves to action the souls that are frigid or crippled by callous indifference to the immense tragedies that afflict mankind.

9. HEART OF JESUS, VESSEL OF JUSTICE AND LOVE

Justice is one of the attributes of God. He is the Just One who rewards each individual according to his / her deeds. But if God were only justice, we would all be doomed, for no creature can measure up to the demands of Divine Justice.

God, however, is also Perfect Love. In Him, Justice and Love meet, complement and perfect each other, as it were. It is this blending of Justice and Love in God which is the origin and guarantee of our “justification” – the pure gift which no one can deserve; the absolutely free gift that makes us “just” in God’s sight.

In the mystery of the Incarnation, God’s Justice and Love have found in the Heart of Jesus their perfect revelation and actualization. He is the vessel from which our justification and salvation overflow. That is why He is the only source of our Hope, our Redemption and Sanctification.

As the Human Vessel of God’s Justice and Love, the Heart of Jesus is also the perfect model we should do our best to follow and from which we should derive inspiration in treating our neighbor, by harmonizing the demands of justice with the balm of love.

10. HEART OF JESUS, FULL OF GOODNESS AND LOVE

Goodness and loving kindness were the most outstanding traits of Jesus’ personality, behavior and teaching. They were the clearest revelation of what God is like. “No one has ever seen God,” writes the Apostle John. And he continues: “The only Son, [who is] God, who is at the Father’s side, has revealed Him” (Jn 1:18).

This is why people came to see in Jesus how immensely good and loving God is; to the good and the bad alike, for He is Father to all. It was from Jesus’ Heart, filled with the Father’s goodness and love; that His deeds of compassion, mercy, and forgiveness overflowed like an inexhaustible life-giving stream.

It was such a superabundance of goodness and love that led Jesus to show so much care for the poor, the sick, the lonely, the hungry, the thirsty, the weak, the sorrowing and the sorrowful. He never turned away anyone who went to Him, not even the greatest sinners, as Mary Magdalene, the repentant thief, and so many saints can testify.

This is the fundamental attitude and behavior that each one of us should always endeavor to imitate, that our frail hearts and love, too, may be full of goodness and love.


LITANY OF THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS, PART III

LITANY OF THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS, PART I


MARIO COLLANTES
The Messenger of Divine Love
Volume 2 Number 1
July - September 2007

LITANY OF THE SACRED HEART: A BRIEF COMMENTARY, PART I

LITANY OF THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS, PART I

1. HEART OF JESUS, SON OF THE ETERNAL FATHER

Jesus is a “Son of Man” through and through – a human being who shares in our human nature, destiny, and limitations in every way possible, except sin. Nothing of what is really human is foreign to Him.

He is also “special,” however, because He has a human Mother but no human Father. As a Divine Person, He has only One Father: the One in Heaven, the Eternal Father who has imprinted on Him all the marks of dignity and power that are proper to God.

Generated by the Father before time began, Jesus’ Heart is the Heart of God. This means that His Heart loves also with Divine Love. Jesus’ Heart is a symbol and instrument of God’s eternal love for us.

2. HEART OF JESUS, FORMED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT IN THE WOMB OF THE VIRGIN MARY

Born of woman born under the Law, Jesus, the Son of Man, has the roots of His humanity in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Like a fertile field, that womb has produced the humanity of Jesus not through the intervention of an earthly Father, but through the Holy Spirit. Jesus is not the fruit of two human loves. Rather, He is the primordial Divine Love of the Holy Spirit and of the Virginal Human Love of Mary Most Holy.

In Jesus, the Spirit has imprinted the holy traits that make Him the perfect refulgence of the Father. To Him the virginal love of Mary has given all those human traits that make Him our true brother. This is what enabled Him to love with a human Heart, just as he worked with human hands and suffered with human sensitivity.

3. HEART OF JESUS, SUBSTANTIALLY UNITED TO THE WORD OF GOD

Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of the Virgin Mary, and the Eternal Word of God, the Son of the Father, are not two persons, but one: the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity. The two natures, in Jesus are substantially united, though remaining distinct. Jesus is 100% man and 100% God. This is what qualified Him to be the Redeemer of Mankind.

The love of the Heart of Jesus is human love at its best as it pours itself on all those who are the objects of His attention and affection: the sick, the sorrowful, the rejected, the poor, all those who have been in any way victimized by Satan. Bu this “humanness” makes Him also vulnerable to disappointments, rejection, ingratitude, betrayal, desertion. . These are consequences of His being fully human.

His substantial unity with the Word of God, on the other hand, has given an immense value to all that the Heart of Jesus and His Love have cherished, blessed and endured. As John Paul II stated, “In Jesus, God loves humanly, suffers in a human manner, and rejoices in a human way. And vice versa, in Jesus human love, human suffering, and human glory acquire a divine intensity and power.” This is why just one single act of love of the Heart of Jesus would have been sufficient to save the entire universe.

4. HEART OF JESUS, INFINITE IN MAJESTY

At the Incarnation, the Eternal Son of the Father divested Himself of the splendor of Divinity and took the form of a slave. In the words of the Apostle Paul, “Though He was in the form of God, Jesus Christ did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, He emptied Himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness. And found in human appearance, He humbled Himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross” (Phil 2:6-8).

He did all that, not out of necessity, but out of love. All along, however, the Divine Power of the Trinity remained in Him, hidden as it were, like a treasure buried in a field. So did His Love and His Majesty.

Occasionally, however, His hidden greatness manifested itself in the miracles He worked, the sins he forgave, and the splendor of His transfiguration. The revelation of the Divine Power and Majesty that was inherent in Jesus and His Heart found its climax in the Resurrection. It was on that occasion that Jesus’ infinite majesty and glory shattered the power of death, not only for Himself, but also for the whole of mankind.

5. HEART OF JESUS, HOLY TEMPLE OF GOD

The whole universe is God’s Temple. All His creatures within it give praise and honor to Him. The temple built in Jerusalem was also meant to be a reminder of this, as well as to encourage all the members of the Chosen People to become the visible manifestation of the universe at prayer.

But more precious than any material temple is the heart of every human being, each human heart is the meant to be the temple of living flesh where God is praised, thanked, loved, and adored. But of all human hearts, none can equal the Heart of Jesus. It is the prayer that fulfills God’s expectations perfectly. The divinity dwelt in the Heart of Jesus in the most perfect way, permeating every fiber of it. And every fiber of the Heart of Jesus worshipped God in the most perfect manner.

This is what makes Jesus “the perfect worshipper”. This is what makes His Heart “God’s dwelling place with men” (Rv 21:3). And in Him, God’s presence sanctifies all of mankind.


LITANY OF THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS, PART II

MARIO COLLANTES
The Messenger of Divine Love
Volume 1 Number 4
April - June 2007

LITANY OF THE SACRED HEART

ORIGINS OF THE LITANY OF THE SACRED HEART

The origins of the Litany of the Heart of Jesus as we know it, date back to the time of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque. As far as we can ascertain from her extant writings, she did not compose a litany herself but was familiar with a series of invocations honoring the Heart of Jesus composed by Sister Joly of the Visitation Monastery at Moulins.

There was a third list of twenty-three invocations composed by Father Jean Croiset (spiritual director of St. Margaret Mary after St. Claude La Colombiere), and published in the second edition of his book on Devotion to the Heart of Jesus. With ten invocations added later, this third litany, like the other two, had thirty-three invocations each in honor of the thirty three years of the life of Our Lord on earth.

A person who gave great impetus to praying these litanies was the Servant of God Anna Maddalena de Remuzat of the Visitation Monastery at Marseilles. She had published a formula for a Litany of the Heart of Jesus, which consisted of 27 invocations culled from the litanies just mentioned. It came to be known as the Litany of Marseilles.

During the plague that broke out in Marseilles and ravaged the city in 1720, the Bishop ordered public prayers in honor of the Sacred Heart, including the Litany popularized by Anna Maddalena de Remuzat. The Bishop consecrated the city and the diocese to the Heart of Jesus, and when the plague suddenly and noticeably diminished and then ended completely, the Bishop declared that deliverance from the plague was due to a miracle of the Heart of Jesus.

For years after the palgue ceased, the people of Marseilles continued to pray this Litany but, according to the existing norms of the Chruch at that time, only in private. Marseilles became known as the City of the Sacred Heart.

To bring the private devotion of the people in harmony with liturgical norms, another Bishop of Marseilles petitioned the Holy See (in 1898) to give official approval to the Litany in use in Marseilles. A similar request, but with another form of the Litany, was made by the Bishop of Autun, the diocese in which Paray-le-Monial is located.

The Congregation of Rites was favorable to the requests and compared the two forms. Basically the first was the one accepted, with modifications and additions, so that the Litany would have thirty-three invocations. In this modified form, the Litany was approved by Pope Leo XIII on 27 June 1898 for the dioceses of Marseilles and Autun and for the Visitation Order.

Less than a year later, in response to numerous request received from other places, Leo XIII on 2 April 1899 approved the Litany for the universal Church. It is this officially approved version of the Litany of the Heart of Jesus that Pope John Paul II commented on in Angelus messages from 1985 to 1989.


STRUCTURE AND CONTENT OF THE LITANY

The Litany of the Heart of Jesus follows the overall structure of litanies: in the beginning, first the threefold invocation: Lord, Have mercy; Christ, have mercy; Lord, have mercy; then an invocation to each of the Divine Persons. The Litany concludes with a threefold Lamb of God, then a verse and response, and a final prayer which is sometimes varied. The body of the Litany of the Heart of Jesus consists of thirty-three invocations with the response to each: Have mercy on us!

Various attempts have been made to discern a pattern in the arrangement of the thirty-three invocations of the Litany. Considering the origins of the Litany from various sources, one would find it difficult to say what the original plan was. But very briefly, without excluding other possible explanations, we may see the following divisions in the present order of the invocations.

The Litany may be divided into two major parts with further subdivisions. In the first part (1-16), the invocations begin with the Trinitarian aspects of the Heart of Jesus as related to God the Father and to the Holy Spirit (1-2), followed by references to the Divine Person of the Word (3-7) and to the Treasures of His Heart considered in itself (8-15). The last invocation (16) of this part expressed the Father's delight in His Son in the words the Gospels repeat at the baptism and transfiguration of Jesus.

The second part of the Litany (17-33) looks at the Treasures of the Heart of Jesus as turned toward us (17-21) and as source of pardon, salvation and all goodness (22-32). Everything the Heart of Jesus is can be summed up in the concluding invocation: delight of all the saints.


FR. CARL J. MOELL, SJ

LITANY OF THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS

Leader: Lord, have mercy on us.
All: Christ have mercy on us.

Leader: Lord, have mercy on us. Christ hear us.
All: Christ, graciously hear us.

Leader: God, the Father of Heaven.
All: Have Mercy on us. *

God, the Son, Redeemer of the world, *
God, the Holy Spirit,
Holy Trinity, One God,
Heart of Jesus, Son of the Eternal Father,
Heart of Jesus, formed by the Holy Spirit
in the Womb of the Virgin Mary,
Heart of Jesus, substantially united to the Word of God,
Heart of Jesus, of Infinite Majesty,
Heart of Jesus, Holy Temple of God,
Heart of Jesus, Tabernacle of the Most High,
Heart of Jesus, House of God and gate of Heaven,
Heart of Jesus, burning furnace of Charity,
Heart of Jesus, abode of Justice and Love,
Heart of Jesus, full of Goodness and Love,
Heart of Jesus, abyss of all virtues,
Heart of Jesus, most worthy of all praise,
Heart of Jesus, King and Center of all Hearts,
Heart of Jesus, in Whom are all the treasures
of wisdom and knowledge,
Heart of Jesus, in Whom dwells the fullness of Divinity,
Heart of Jesus, in Whom the Father was well pleased,
Heart of Jesus, of Whose fullness we have all received,
Heart of Jesus, desire of the everlasting hills,
Heart of Jesus, patient and most merciful,
Heart of Jesus, enriching all who invoke Thee,
Heart of Jesus, fountain of life and holiness,
Heart of Jesus, propitiation for our sins,
Heart of Jesus, loaded down with reproaches,
Heart of Jesus, bruised for our offenses,
Heart of Jesus, obedient to death,
Heart of Jesus, pierced with a lance,
Heart of Jesus, source of all consolation,
Heart of Jesus, our life and resurrection,
Heart of Jesus, our peace and reconciliation,
Heart of Jesus, Victim for sin,
Heart of Jesus, Salvation of those who trust in Thee,
Heart of Jesus, Hope of those who die in You,
Heart of Jesus, Delight of all the Saints.

Leader: Lamb of God, Who takes away
the sins of the world,
All: Spare us, O Lord.

Leader: Lamb of God, Who takes away
the sins of the world,
All: Graciously hear us, O Lord.

Leader: Lamb of God, Who takes away
the sins of the world,
All: Have mercy on us.

Leader: Jesus meek and humble of Heart.
All: Make our hearts like Yours.

Leader: Let us pray: O Almighty and Eternal God,
look upon the Heart of Your Dearly Beloved Son,
and upon the praise and satisfaction He offers You
in the name of sinners and for those who seek
Your Mercy, be appeased, and grant us pardon
in the name of the same Jesus Christ,
Your Son, Who lives and reigns with You,
in the unity of the Holy Spriit,
world without end.

All: Amen.
Sacred Heart of Jesus, We believe in Your Love for us.

PRAYERS TO THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS

NOVENA PRAYER TO THE SACRED HEART

Divine Jesus, You have said, "Ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you." Behold us kneeling at your feet, filled with a lively faith and confidence in the promises dictated by your Sacred Heart and pronounced by Your adorable lips, We come to ask this favor: (Here silently mention your petitions).

To whom can we turn to if not to You. Whose Heart is the source of all graces and merits? Where should we seek if not in the treasure which contains all the riches of Your kindness and mercy? Where must we knock if not at the door through which God gives Himself to us and through which we go to God? We have recourse to You, Heart of Jesus. In You we find consolation when afflicted, protection when persecuted, strength when burdened with trials, and light in doubt and darkness.

Dear Jesus, we firmly believe that You can grant us the grace we implore, even though it should require a miracle. You have only to will it and our prayer will be granted. We admit that we are most unworthy of your favors, but this is not a reason for us to be discouraged. You are the God of Mercy and You will not refuse a contrite heart. Cast upon us a look of mercy we beg of you, and Your kind Heart will find in our miseries and weaknesses a reason for granting our prayer.

O Sacred Heart, whatever may be Your decision with regard to our request, we will never stop adoring, loving, praising and serving You. Lord Jesus, be pleased to accept this our act of perfect resignation to the decrees of Your adorable Heart which we sincerely desire may be fulfilled in and by us and all Your creatures forever.

Sacred Heart of Jesus, we know that there is but one thing impossible to You; to be without pity to those who are suffering or in distress. Look upon us, we beg of You, dear Jesus. and grant us the grace for which we humbly implore You through the Immaculate Heart of Your most sorrowful Mother. You have entrusted us to Her as Her children, and Her prayers are all powerful with You, Amen.

LITANY OF THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS

Leader: Lord, have mercy on us,
All: Christ, have mercy on us.
Leader: Lord, have mercy on us. Christ hear us.
All: Christ, graciously hear us.
Leader: God the Father of Heaven,
All: Have mercy on us.

God, the Son, Redeemer of the world, Have mercy on us.
God, the Holy Spirit,
Holy Trinity, one God,
Heart of Jesus, Son of the Eternal Father,
Heart of Jesus, formed by the Holy Spirit
in the Womb of the Virgin Mary,
Heart of Jesus, united with God's Eternal Word,
Heart of Jesus, of Infinite Majesty,
Heart of Jesus, Holy Temple of God,
Heart of Jesus, Tabernacle of the Most High,
Heart of Jesus, House of God and Gate of Heaven,
Heart of Jesus, burning furnace of Charity,
Heart of Jesus, abode of Justice and Love,
Heart of Jesus, full of Goodness and Love,
Heart of Jesus, abyss of all virtues,
Heart of Jesus, most worthy of all praise,
Heart of Jesus, King and center of all hearts,
Heart of Jesus, in Whom all are the treasures
of wisdom and knowledge,
Heart of Jesus, in Whom dwells the fullness of Divinity,
Heart of Jesus, in whom the Father is well pleased,
Heart of Jesus, of Whose fullness we have all received,
Heart of Jesus, desire of the everlasting hills,'
Heart of Jesus, patient and most merciful,
Heart of Jesus, generous to all who turn to You,
Heart of Jesus, source of life and holiness,
Heart of Jesus, atonement for our sins,
Heart of Jesus, overwhelmed with reproaches,
Heart of Jesus, bruised for our sins,
Heart of Jesus, obedient to death,
Heart of Jesus, pierced with a lance,
Heart of Jesus, source of all consolation,
Heart of Jesus, our life and resurrection,
Heart of Jesus, our peace and reconciliation,
Heart of Jesus, sacrifice for sins,
Heart of Jesus, salvation of all who trust in You,
Heart of Jesus, hope of those who die in You
Heart of Jesus, delight of all the Saints, have mercy on us.

Leader: Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world,
All: Spare us, O Lord.
Leader: Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world,
All: Graciously hear us, O Lord.
Leader: Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world,
All: Have mercy on us.
Leader: Jesus, meek and humble of Heart,
All: Make our hearts like yours.

Leader: Let us pray, O Almighty and Eternal God, look upon the Heart of Your dearly beloved Son, and upon the praises and satisfaction which He offers You in the name of sinners; and for those who implore Your mercy, in Your great goodness, grant us pardon in the name of the same Jesus Christ, Your Son, Who lives and reigns with You, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, forever and ever.
All: Amen.