The most Sacred Heart of Jesus and Immaculate Heart of Mary

Yesterday we celebrated one of the most wonderful feast in the church-the feast of the most sacred heart of Jesus and today we will be celebrating the feast of the immaculate heart of Mary. Both feasts show the divine love for all mankind, the love of God for the whole humanity. The Sacred Heart is often depicted in Christian art as a 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.

This devotion to the Sacred heart of Jesus is one of the most popular devotion in the Catholic Church. This devotion is taking Jesus' physical heart as a representation of his divine love for the whole humanity. The devotion especially emphasizes the unmitigated love, compassion, and long-suffering of the heart of Christ towards humanity.This is one of my favorite devotion and this devotion is the early version of the divine mercy devotion, in which Christ shows His love to the whole humanity with the water and blood flowing out from His heart. God mercy is endless.

I guess most of us as a catholic would be familiar that this devotion is through a vision granted to French Roman Catholic nun,St.Marguerite Marie Alcoque,who said she learned the devotion from Jesus during a mystical experience. However, the church started this devotion much more earlier. The Sacred Heart has been closely associated with Acts of Reparations to Jesus Christ. Pope Pius XI stated: "the spirit of expiation or reparation has always had the first and foremost place in the worship given to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus".The Golden Arrow Prayer directly refers to the Sacred Heart. In addition, The Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus has been in the Roman Catholic liturgical calendar since 1856, 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.

Today, we will celebrate the Feast of the Immaculate heart of Mary. The Alliance of the Hearts of Jesus and Mary is based on the historical, theological and spiritual links in Catholic devotions to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. In the 18th and 19th centuries the devotions grew, both jointly and individually through the efforts of figures such as Saint Louis de Monfort who promoted Catholic Mariology and Saint Catherine Laboure's Miraculous medal depicting the Heart of Jesus thorn-crowned and the Heart of Mary pierced with a sword. In the Immaculata prayer of Saint Maximilian Kolbe and in the reported messages of Our Lady of Fatima which stated that the Heart of Jesus wishes to be honored together with the Heart of Mary.

Jesus Christ, in his appearances to Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque, promised these blessings to those who practice devotion to his Sacred Heart. The twelve promises are found in the writings of St.Margaret Mary.

The twelve promises are:

1. I will give them all the graces necessary for their state of life.
2. I will give peace in their families.
3. I will console them in all their troubles.
4. I will be their refuge in life and especially in death.
5. I will abundantly bless all their undertakings.
6. Sinners shall find in my Heart the source and infinite ocean of mercy.
7. Tepid souls shall become fervent.
8. Fervent souls shall rise speedily to great perfection.
9. I will bless those places wherein the image of My Sacred Heart shall be exposed and venerated.
10. I will give to priests the power to touch the most hardened hearts.
11. Persons who propagate this devotion shall have their names eternally written in my Heart.
12. In the excess of the mercy of my Heart, I promise you that my all powerful love will grant to all those who will receive Communion on the First Fridays, for nine consecutive months, the grace of final repentance: they will not die in my displeasure, nor without receiving the sacraments; and my Heart will be their secure refuge in that last hour.

The last promise has given rise to the pious Roman Catholic practice of making an effort to attend Mass and receive Communion on the first Friday of each month.

Great efficacy of converting people has been attached to the use of the image of the Sacred Heart.

Most beautiful communication in the world

In this 21st century, we are busy chasing after wealth, career, different material things in our life. No doubt, we are material being. Material might be the greatest satisfaction for us, as a human being. But, do we ever consider our spiritual needs? You might look as big as a giant, but deep in your soul might be staving, which you can't see. Now, I wonder how many of you leave some space per day for prayer? Even a minute will do! To be frank, sometimes I fail to do that as well. Nevertheless, prayer is still important as part of my daily routine. Just like food, we need food to provide us energy to carry out our daily routine. Prayer and meditation to God, our creator is also our spiritual needs, which most of us might be longing to seek and find him. A beautiful statement mentioned by St. Augustine : ' You have made us for yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.'' We call this longing for God--Religion. We can understand religion generally to mean a relationship to what is divine. A religious person acknowledges something divine as the power that created him and the world, on which he is dependent and to which he is ordered. He wants to please and honor the Divinity by his way of life. It is natural for man to seek God. All of our striving for truth and happiness is ultimately a search for the one who supports us absolutely, satisfies us absolutely, and employs us absolutely in his service. A person is not completely himself until he has found God. They [men] should seek God, in the hope that they might feel after him and find him. Yet he is not far from each one of us, for "In him we live and move and have our being." (Acts17: 27-28a)

So, what is the most important things that we one can satisfied our spiritual needs? The answer is just simple: Prayer! The church teach us that prayer is turning the heart toward God. When a person prays, he enters into a living relationship with God. Well, sometimes we have to acknowledge our human weaknesses. When we pray, we might feel that we are talking to ourselves. The reason behind it is simple : because we do not acknowledge God is there with us. Often, we think that we are speaking in the air, because we cannot see God. We do not know who are we talking to! Often, we prefer two ways communication instead of one way communication. We want immediate answer, we prefer immediate respond. I guess, this might be the reason of our human weaknesses that cause us not to pray, and find that prayer is bored! Consider this statement by Soren Kierkegaard saying " Praying does not mean listening to yourself speak; praying means calming down and being still and waiting until you hear God." What a beautiful statement, right? any clue or hints that you get from this statement?

Prayer is the great gate leading into faith. Someone who prays no longer lives on his own, for himself, and by his own strength. He knows there is a God to whom he can talk. People who pray entrust themselves more and more to God. Even now they seek union with the one whom they will encounter one day face to face. Therefore, the effort to pray daily is part of Christian life and prayer is a gift one obtains through prayer.

In this busy world, we tend to forget about God, we run away from him and hide. Whether or not we avoid thinking about God or sometimes we might deny him, he is always there for us. He seeks us before we seek him; he yearns for us, he calls us. You speak with your conscience and suddenly notice that you are speaking with God. You feel lonely, have no one to talk with, and then sense that God is always available to talk. You are in danger and experience that a cry for help is answered by God. Praying is as human breathing, eating and loving. Praying purifies. Praying makes it possible to resist temptations. Praying strengthen us in our weakness. Praying remove fear, increase energy, and gives a second wind. Praying makes one happy. 

At this point of time, you might be asking when should a person pray? From the earliest times, Christians have prayed at least in the morning, at meals, and in the evening. Someone who does not pray regularly will soon not pray at all.  Anyone who loves another person and all day long never gives that person a sign of his love does not really love him. So it is with God, too. Anyone who truly seeks him will keep sending him signals of his longing for his company and friendship. Now, we should get up in the morning and give the day to God, asking for his blessing and to be there in all your meetings and needs. Thank him, especially at mealtimes. At the end of the day, place everything into his hands, ask him for forgiveness, and pray for peace for yourself and others. A great day full of signs of life that reach God. 

To learn from Mary how to pray means to join her in prayer : Let it be done unto me according to your word". (LK 1:38).

Prayer is ultimately self-giving in response to God's love. If we say YES as Mary did, God has the opportunity to lead His life in our life. 

So, start your day with prayer today. Let God lead us in our life because prayer is the most beautiful communication with God. 

Divine Mercy Sunday

Source: Catholic Web

Today is the day where the Catholic Church celebrate the feast day of Divine Mercy, as recorded in the diary of Saint Faustina, receives from Jesus himself the biggest promise of Grace related to the devotion of Divine Mercy. The church usually will celebrate it on the Sunday after Easter, the octave of Easter. The devotion was actively promoted by Pope John Paul II.

The Divine Mercy Sunday is a Roman Catholic devotion to the merciful love of God and the desire to let that love and mercy flow through one's own heart towards those in need of it. The devotion is due to the apparitions of the Lord, Jesus received by Saint Mary Faustina Kowalska, who is known as the Apostle of Mercy.

Faustina Kowalska reported a number of apparitions, visions and conversations with Jesus which she wrote in her diary, and later published as the book : Diary: Divine Mercy in My Soul. The three main themes of the devotion are to ask for and obtain the mercy of God, to trust in Christ's abundant of mercy, and finally to show mercy to others and act as a conduit for God's mercy towards them.