June 12, 2026
Summary of the Morrow’s Meditation
We will meditate to-morrow upon the foundation of the devotion to the Heart of Jesus, by considering it: 1st, in His holy soul, burning with love for us; 2d, in His heart of flesh, a symbol of the love with which He burns. We will then make the resolution: 1st, to renew in our souls devotion to the Heart of Jesus, to honor it better than we have done until now, and to endeavor to increase every day in love towards Him; 2d, to keep a picture of the Sacred Heart before our eyes during our work and in our prayer-book, in order that we may exercise ourselves constantly in the practice of loving it. Our spiritual nosegay shall be the well-known prayer: “O Heart of Jesus, burning with love for us, kindle our hearts with love for Thee!”
Meditation for the Morning
Let us adore Jesus Christ burning with incomprehensible love for us, and presenting to us His material heart as the symbol and victim of this love, to inflame the coldness of ours, and to urge us to render Him love for love, heart for heart. O adorable Heart of my Saviour! at all times Thou oughtest to have been loved, but in these our days we ought to love Thee far more. The Spirit of God inspired the souls of all with this devotion, the people respond to it, crowd into Thy sanctuary, and cry towards Thee with their whole soul. Would it be possible for me, amidst such heartfelt demonstrations, so general an attraction, not to burn with love for Thee!
FIRST POINT
The Devotion to the Heart of Jesus, Considered in the Love with which it Burns for us
In ordinary language, the soul, in regard to its being loving, is designated under the name of heart; and in regard to its being intelligent, it is spoken of under the name of mind. Now, what do we not owe to the love of Jesus for us? We owe Him two principal duties: love and reparation. 1st. Love. Alas! where shall I find a heart burning enough, where shall I find flames sufficiently ardent, worthily to love such a Heart? Who will inspire my soul, in order to recognize so much love, with all the fervor of the seraphim, all the fire of heaven? And even that would be nothing in comparison with the sacred flames with which the Heart of Jesus is inflamed for me. Thy Heart, O my God! is an unfathomable abyss of charity and tenderness; it is a furnace of love, wherein we are more loved than all the angels of heaven can conceive it possible to be. At every moment of the day and night Thou dost consume Thyself for us poor sinners; Thou dost offer and immolate Thyself for each one of us. Who would not love a heart which loves us so much! Oh, woe to him who does not love so much love! (I. Cor. xvi. 22.) Woe to them who cannot say with the Apostle: “The charity of Christ presseth us”! (II. Cor. v. 14.) 2d. After the duty of love comes the duty of reparation, and it is that which is the special characteristic of the devotion towards the Sacred Heart. This devotion has been provided by Providence for these ages of decadence, of coldness, of carelessness in regard to religion, of incredulity, of profanations, of crimes, and of disorders, as a reparation which is indeed due to the love of Jesus, who is not loved, who is outraged and blasphemed even in the sacrament of His love, whose very existence is denied. It is a duty for every Christian soul to enter into this great design of God, to love the Heart of Jesus for those who do not love Him; to offer to Him, prostrate in His presence, the most fervent homage in reparation for so many outrages. O Incarnate Love! O Holy of Holies! I see Thee torn out of the tabernacle, cast into the mire, trodden under foot. Pardon, O Love which art not loved, and which, nevertheless, art so amiable and so loving! Pardon, reparation, honorable amends! I offer myself to Thee as a victim of expiation; henceforth I desire to live only to love Thee, to make reparation for my sorrowful past, and to expiate all the crimes of the world. Alas! we have so little loved so much love! We have done so little to repair all the wrongs of all countries and of all ages inflicted upon the Heart of Jesus! Let us begin, then, at once; it is indeed time we should do so.
SECOND POINT
The Devotion to the Heart of Jesus, Considered in His Heart of Flesh, the Symbol of the Love of His holy Soul
If all nations look upon the heart as being the most noble part of the whole human body, and consequently agree in rendering to it, in the person of kings, of heroes, or of persons dear to us, a very special honor which is not given to the other portions of the body, why should we not also render to the Heart of Jesus a special worship, a worship distinct from that which we offer to the whole of His body? If a Divine Person is adorable in all His parts, why should we not also render divine honors to a heart which is the heart of a God, which is a real part of a Divine Person? If, for the same reason, the Church renders a special worship to the sacred wounds of the Saviour and to His adorable blood, and honors them by a special feast, how much more ought we to honor the Heart of Jesus? For the heart is, in all languages and amongst all peoples, the symbol of love. The Heart of Jesus in particular is the source of the precious blood which redeemed us upon the cross, which purifies us in the sacraments, and quenches our thirst at the altar. The heart is the principle of the life of Jesus, of that life which is so precious to us; it is therein that is maintained, and that thence is conveyed to all the senses, vital warmth, strength, and motion. This Heart is the organ which felt in the most vivid manner all the affections of His holy soul: sorrow oppressed it, fear compressed it, and all our sins weighed upon it with infinite weights; love warmed it and dilated it; from the first moment of its creation all its beatings have been beatings of love for us, and throughout all eternity we shall be able to read therein, impressed upon it in characters of fire, the love wherewith it loves us. Is it not just to render to such a Heart a very special worship, distinct from the general homage which is given to the body of the Saviour? Let us renew in ourselves devotion to this adorable Heart; let us look at it lovingly; let us delight to kiss it.
Resolutions and spiritual nosegay as above.