Our Church's Name
Why the Name "Sacred Heart"?
Devotion to the Sacred Heart (also known as Most Sacred Heart of Jesus) is one of the most widely practiced and well-known devotions in modern Church history, taking Jesus' physical heart as the representation of his divine love for humanity and emphasizing the unmitigated love, compassion, and long-suffering of the heart of Christ towards all of humanity.
The Sacred Heart is often depicted in Christian art as a living, flaming heart shining with divine light, pierced by the lance-wound, encircled by the crown of thorns, surmounted by a cross and bleeding. Sometimes the image is shown shining within the bosom of Christ 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 the transformative power of divine love.
The Feast of the Sacred Heart has been in the Roman Catholic liturgical calendar since 1856, but many prayers and practices with Jesus' Sacred Heart as the explicit focal point have existed in various forms since even the earliest centuries of the Christian Church. The feast is always celebrated 19 days after Pentecost, falling somewhere in late spring or early summer. As Pentecost is always celebrated on Sunday, the Feast of the Sacred Heart always falls on a Friday.
For several of the most popular modern prayers and devotions, click on the links below:
- Novena Prayer to Sacred Heart of Jesus
- Prayer to the Wounded Heart of Jesus
- Act of Consecration to the Sacred Heart
- Meditation & Novena Prayer on the Sacred Heart
"Take away, O my Jesus, the blindness of my heart, that I may know Thee; take away the hardness of my heart, that I may fear Thee; take away the coldness of my heart, that I may resist everything that is contrary to Thy will; take away its heavy, earthly sluggishness and selfishness, that I may be capable of heroic sacrifice for Thy glory, and for the souls whom Thou has redeemed with Thy own most precious blood." Amen