Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Mass | June 26, 2022 | 9:30am and 11am

Blessed Sacrament Parish, Walpole MA | www.walpolecatholic.net | The Sacred Heart of Jesus | Devotion to the Sacred Heart can be seen as early as the second century with St. Justin Martyr and in the 7th century with Pope Gregory the Great. The Gospel of John 19:34 tells of the piercing of the side of Christ and the consequent ow of blood and water. Writers throughout these centuries emphasized the pierced side of Christ as the inexhaustible source from which all graces ow upon mankind and the blood and water as symbols of the sacraments of the Church. The contemplation of the humanity of Christ in his passion, devotion to the Blessed Eucharist (in particular the feast of Corpus Christi which was celebrated last week), and the surge of mysticism gave the devotion to the Sacred Heart a new vitality in the Middle Ages. There was a sudden increase in direct reference to the love of the Sacred Heart for every person redeemed by his passion and death. The widespread in uence of Franciscan and Dominican Friars enkindled this devotion in the hearts of the faithful who heard their preaching. The focus on the Sacred Heart moved from being a symbol of the sacraments to the symbol of Divine Love. Jesus revealed his Sacred Heart devotion to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque in several mystical visions between 16731675. He appeared to her frequently. As she experienced the comfort of his presence, Jesus told her of his great love and explained that he had chosen her to make his love and his goodness known to all. In June or July of 1674, Margaret Mary reported that Jesus wanted to be honored under the gure of His Heart of esh. He asked the faithful to receive Him in the Eucharist frequently, especially on the First Friday of the month, and to observe a Holy Hour of devotion to Him. Jesus asked that the Feast of the Sacred Heart be celebrated each year on the Friday following Corpus Christi, in reparation for the ingratitude of men for the sacri ce which Christ had made for them. The devotion became popular after St. Margaret Mary’s death in 1690. However, because the Church is always careful in approving a private apparition or devotion, the feast was not established as an o cial feast for all of France until 1765. On May 8, 1873, the devotion to the Sacred Heart was formally approved by Pope Pius IX; and 26 years later on July 21, 1899 – Pope Leo XIII urgently recommended that all bishops throughout the world observe the feast in their dioceses. Jesus’ human heart still beats in sympathy with every one of us no less than it did for the disciples in their sorrow and desolation during the three days that he lay in the grave. It is to the person of Jesus that our worship of his Sacred Heart it is directed; but to the person as inseparable from his divinity. Prayer to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. O most holy heart of Jesus, fountain of every blessing, I adore you, I love you, and with lively sorrow for my sins I o er 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 a ictions. Give me health of body, assistance in my temporal needs, your blessing on all that I do, and the grace of a holy death. Amen. From the Desk of Deacon Alan Doty