His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI prays before the Blessed Sacrament. Image by Getty Images via Daylife

"The Love in My Heart Gushes Forth upon Your World"

By "Anne, a Lay Apostle"

The messages from "Anne, a Lay Apostle," from the international spiritual movement "Lay Apostles of Jesus Christ the Returning King" have been released for international distribution with the permission of Bishop Leo O’Reilly of the Diocese of Kilmore, Ireland, the diocese in which Anne and the international headquarters of the Lay apostolate reside. They have also been submitted by Bishop O’Reilly to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in Rome. The following message comes from Volume II, entitled Conversations with the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus. I strongly encourage our readers to download these messages and, if possible, read them prayerfully before the Blessed Sacrament in the presence of our Eucharistic Jesus. They have been of untold spiritual benefit to me. —Ed. August 22, 2003 Jesus The love in My heart gushes forth upon your world. In an unparalleled manner, I lavish graces on souls. My children. My love is such that I can no longer contain it. I see so many in need of Me, and truly, they shall have Me. Bring My words to those who suffer. My words will be the balm you will use to nurse souls back to wellness. Like heavenly nurses, you will apply My words to every wound and you will see miraculous results. My children, I am working through you. I am using you as healing instruments. Your world is sick and suffers from a disease far worse than any disease of the body. The very soul of your world struggles now, to find the source of healing it requires. And I am here. I intend to heal your world. I want you to be joyful representatives of your Eucharistic Jesus. The Eucharistic Jesus calls out to His children in firmness. I call you each by name and I say to you, "It is time to return to Me." Come to Me, waiting in the tabernacle, and I will reveal Myself to you in such a way that you will have no doubts. You will be glad in your heart and peaceful in your soul. Rest near the Eucharistic heart of your Savior and you will be granted everything you need. Faith is a gift, My dear one. I wish to give this gift to you. But you must turn to Me so that I may. My heart beats only with love for you. I can promise you that I will not reproach you. I will help you understand that only joy and light is suitable for a child of God. You will return to Us one day. Let Us make that the most joyful day of your life. Come to Me, My child, and I will show you how. You say, "Jesus, I forget how to pray." My child, does a small one forget how to cry when he is hurt? Of course not. Come before Me and cry out your pain, your hurt, and your fear. We need not do it all in one day, but take the first step to Me by coming in front of Me. Put yourself in My Eucharistic presence and I will do the rest. The work will come from Me. I will move you back swiftly to that place that has been reserved for only you in My Sacred Heart. You see, My child, if you have been away from Me, that place has been empty. I, your Jesus, have felt the emptiness terribly as I waited for your return. My heart aches waiting for you, so do not let Me suffer another moment. Do you begin to understand? I love you totally. You were meant to be with Me. Do not let anything hinder your return. I am your God, the God of All. The world wants to trick you out of your inheritance, but I hold it for you. It is safe with Me, My child, so return to Me now, that I may begin to heal you. For further information regarding the Lay Apostolate of Jesus Christ the Returning King, or to purchase Heaven Speaks booklets, please contact Direction for Our Times on the Web at www.directionforourtimes.com, or mail inquiries to the following address: 9000 West 81st St., Justice, IL 60458, U.S.A.

VATICAN - June, the Month of the Sacred Heart:

Saint Margherita Maria Alacoque

Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - Saint Marguerite Marie Alacoque or Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque (22 July 1647-17 October 1690) was a French Catholic nun and mystic, who originated the Catholic devotion of the Sacred Heart in its modern form. She was born at L'hautecour, a village in the diocese of Autun, now part of the commune of Verosvres in 1647. From early childhood Margaret was described as showing intense love for the Blessed Sacrament (the Eucharist), and to have preferred silence and prayer to childhood play. After her First Communion at the age of nine, she practised in secret severe corporal mortification until becoming paralysed, which confined her to bed for four years. Having been cured of her paralysis, by, she believed, the intercession of the Virgin Mary, she changed her name to Marie (French: Mary) and vowed to devote her life to the service of Mary.

On 25 May 1671, she entered the Visitation Convent at Paray-le-Monial with the intent of becoming a nun. She was subjected to many trials to prove the legitimacy of her vocation, and in November 1672, pronounced her final vows. Though her reading was confined to the lives of the saints, she taught in the school kept by the nuns of the convent for female students of the area, to whom she is reported to have endeared herself by her kindly disposition. The appalling austerities, however, to which she was allowed to subject herself quickly affected her health. The Visions, to which she had been always subject, became more and more frequent. The Church believes her to have been specially favoured by Christ, who appeared to her in the most extravagant forms. At last, by dint of fasting and lacerating her flesh, she believed herself to be undergoing in her own person the Passion of the Lord. Her reward was the supreme vision in which Christ revealed to her his heart burning with divine love, and bidding her establish, on the Friday following, the feast of Corpus Christi, a feast in honour of His Sacred Heart. He called her "the Beloved Disciple of the Sacred Heart", and the heiress of all Its treasures.

The first to believe in the authenticity of her mystical revelations was a young Jesuit priest, Father Claude de la Colombière, who had been assigned to be the confessor at the Visitation Convent. It was not until ten years later, in 1685, that the festival was first celebrated, at Paray, and not until after Margaret's death, on 17 October 1690, that the devotion to the Sacred Heart, fostered by the Jesuits and the subject of violent controversies within the Church, spread throughout France and the Catholic populations of many countries. The discussion of the Margaret Mary's mission and qualities continued for years. All her actions, her revelations, her spiritual maxims, her teachings regarding the devotion to the Sacred Heart, of which she was the chief exponent as well as the apostle, were subjected to the most severe and minute examination, and finally the Sacred Congregation of Rites passed a favourable vote on the heroic virtues of this "servant of God."

In March, 1824, Pope Leo XII pronounced her Venerable (the first step on the path to canonised sainthood) and on 18 September 1864, Pius IX declared her Blessed. When her tomb was canonically opened in July 1830, two instantaneous cures were recorded to have taken place. Her body rests under the altar in the chapel at Paray, and many striking blessings have been claimed by pilgrims attracted there from all parts of the world. Her body was allegedly "incorrupt." St. Margaret Mary was finally canonised by Benedict XV in 1920.

“Behold this Heart which has so loved men that It has spared nothing, even to consuming itself to witness its love. And in return, I receive from most of them only ingratitude, from their irreverence and their sacrileges and by the coldness and contempt that they have for Me in this Sacrament of love” (Message to Margherita Maria)

“Behold this Heart" - He said - "which has loved men so much and has loaded them with all benefits, and for this boundless love has had no return but neglect, and contumely, and this often from those who were bound by a debt and duty of a more special love." In order that these faults might be washed away, He then recommended several things to be done, and in particular the following as most pleasing to Himself, namely that men should approach the Altar with this purpose of expiating sin, making what is called a Communion of Reparation, - and that they should likewise make expiatory supplications and prayers, prolonged for a whole hour, - which is rightly called the "Holy Hour." “Miserentissimus Deus, Pius XI, 1928, n°12).

PROMISES OF THE SACRED HEART FOR

THE DEVOTION TO THE SACRED HEART

Of the many promises Our Lord Jesus Christ did reveal to Saint Margaret Mary in favor of souls devoted to His Sacred Heart the principal ones are as follows:
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 Litany of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, graciously hear us.
God, the Father of Heaven, have mercy on us.
God, the Son, Redeemer of the World, have mercy on us.
God, the Holy Ghost, have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, one God, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, Son of the Eternal Father, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, formed in the womb of the Virgin Mother by the Holy Ghost, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, united substantially with the word of God, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, of infinite majesty, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, holy temple of God, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, tabernacle of the Most High, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, house of God and gate of heaven, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, glowing furnace of charity, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, vessel of justice and love, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, full of goodness and love, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, abyss of all virtues, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, most worthy of all praise, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, king and center of all hearts, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, in whom are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, in whom dwelleth all the fullness of the Divinity, have mercy on us. Heart of Jesus, in whom the Father is well pleased, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, of whose fullness we have all received, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, desire of the everlasting hills, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, patient and rich in mercy, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, rich to all who invoke Thee, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, fount of life and holiness, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, propitiation for our sins, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, saturated with revilings, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, crushed for our iniquities, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, made obedient unto death, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, pierced with a lance, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, source of all consolation, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, our life and resurrection, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, our peace and reconciliation, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, victim for our sins, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, salvation of those who hope in Thee, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, hope of those who die in Thee, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, delight of all saints, have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, graciously hear us, O Lord,
Lamb of God who takest away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.
V. Jesus, meek and humble of Heart.
R. Make our hearts like unto Thine.
Let us pray
Almighty and everlasting God, look upon the Heart of Thy well-beloved Son and upon the acts of praise and satisfaction which He renders unto Thee in the name of sinners; and do Thou, in Thy great goodness, grant pardon to them who seek Thy mercy, in the name of the same Thy Son, Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth with Thee, world without end.

(J.M.) (Agenzia Fides 1/6/2007; righe 64, parole 877)

Today being the first Friday of the month of June, which is dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus; here is a beautiful piece by Fr. Euteneuer of Human Life International!
May the Sacred Heart of Jesus have mercy on us all!

The Heart of the World

One of the soldiers thrust a lance into his side, and immediately blood and water flowed out. (Jn 19:34)

June is the month dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Perhaps no other devotion can be said to be as central to our Christian faith as this devotion because it is rooted entirely in the central mystery of our faith, the death and resurrection of Jesus. Truly, the Sacred Heart stands at the very heart of our world and calls to all men to draw near. God did not just stand afar off in heaven to raise us out of our sins; He actually came to us and embraced the heartbreak that those sins bring into every single life. His Heart is a broken, pierced and torn heart that can console every person in his suffering. In the apparitions of the Sacred Heart to St. Margaret Mary Alocoque in the 1670s, Jesus promised that all who would simply go to Mass and receive Communion on the First Fridays of nine consecutive months would have the grace of "final perseverance," that is, the grace of being faithful to the very end of life no matter what the challenges. Those who never think of the hour of death may presume that this moment will come and go with ease, but our enemy does not think so, and it is to this reality of spiritual combat in the final moments of life that the Lord directs His promise.

I learned how necessary the grace of final perseverance was when my grandfather passed away in 1974. This faithful Catholic man, a daily communicant into his eighties, in a coma on his deathbed, was put upon at that moment by some spiritual force that sought to snatch him from Christ. According to the eyewitness account, my grandfather was interiorly struggling for a significant length of time, moving up and down in his bed for dear life, with some deadly thing that came to claim his soul. Although he was totally unconscious, he was nonetheless fighting to the very end, and apparently he won. Soon after that experience he was at peace again and died shortly thereafter in grace. Or shall we say, grace won him.

Grandpa had made the First Fridays - many times. Jesus made other promises to those who would devote themselves to His Heart: that He would give them all the graces necessary for their state in life; give them peace in their families; console them in all their troubles; be their refuge in life and especially in death; abundantly bless all their undertakings; and bless those places wherein the image of His Sacred Heart would be exposed and venerated. My favorite promise of the Sacred Heart was the one for priests - "I will give to priests the power to touch the most hardened hearts." It is hard to think of a better return on an investment than the rewards promised for attending Mass and receiving Communion nine times! Jesus also said that sinners would find in His Heart an infinite ocean of mercy; that tepid souls would become fervent and that fervent souls would rise speedily to great [spiritual] perfection. All persons who propagate this devotion "shall have their names eternally written in my Heart." In an age so full of sin and heartbreaking human evils, we need recourse to the Heart that pumps life into the world. Jesus' Heart was pierced and opened so that all would see that He is not a heartless, cruel God but stands with us in our sorrows, pains and agonies of life, not just temporarily, but to the very end: "My Heart will be their secure refuge in that last hour." May we take special refuge in His Heart this month and renew our devotion to Him who is so devoted to us.

Sincerely Yours in Christ,
Rev. Thomas J. Euteneuer, President, Human Life International