The month of June is dedicated to the Sacred Heart and this year the Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus on Friday, June 8th.
The feast of the Sacred Heart was approved for specified parts of the world by Clement XIII in 1765. It was extended to the whole Church by Pius IX in 1856, and in 1899 Pope Leo XIII dedicated the whole Catholic world to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is about love, especially the love Jesus has for all people. This love is manifested all through Scripture. The love of Jesus is apparent in all his words and his actions.
The heart of Jesus was a human heart like ours. It stopped beating the day Jesus died. According to Scripture, after Jesus died, a soldier pierced his side with a lance. Blood and water ran out (John 19:34). Jesus’ pierced heart became a sign of the completeness of his love for us, a love that compelled him to die for us and promise to love us forever. The physical heart of Jesus is the symbol of the total love of Jesus, divine and human.
Prayer to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
O most holy Heart of Jesus, fountain of every blessing,
I adore you, I love you and will a lively sorrow for my sins.
I offer you this poor heart of mine.
Make me humble, patient, pure, and wholly obedient to your will.
Grant, good Jesus, that I may live in you and for you.
Protect me in the midst of danger; comfort me in my afflictions;
give me health of body, assistance in my temporal needs,
your blessings on all that I do, and the grace of a holy death.
Within your heart I place my every care.
In every need let me come to you with humble trust saying,
Heart of Jesus, help me.
Amen.