June 13, 2026
Summary of the Morrow’s Meditation
We will meditate to-morrow upon the excellence of this devotion, and we shall be convinced of it by considering that, of all devotions, it is: 1st, the one which is most conformable to the spirit of Christianity; 2d, the most sanctifying; 3d, the most consoling. We will then make the resolution: 1st, often to study the Heart of Jesus and its ineffable perfections, and to multiply as much as possible our acts of adoration for His greatness, of love for His charity, of gratitude for His benefits, of confidence in His goodness, of zeal for His glory; 2d, to honor His Divine Heart on the first Friday in every month by special prayers, every day at nine o’clock and at three o’clock by the aspiration which will serve as our spiritual nosegay: “O Heart of Jesus, burning with love for us, make us to burn with love for Thee!”
Meditation for the Morning
Let us adore the Spirit of God inspiring the Church to establish amongst her children the devotion to the Sacred Heart as the resource for the world in the decadence of the present age. In the midst of the evils which afflict her, this holy Church seems to take in her hands the Heart of her divine Spouse, and presenting it to the faithful, burning with love, palpitating with tenderness: See, she says to them, how God has loved you (John iii. 16). Can you do aught but love Him who has loved you so much? Let us respond to the desire of the Church, and let our hearts be filled with praise and love of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
FIRST POINT
The Devotion to the Sacred Heart is the one which is most Conformable to the Spirit of Christianity
The spirit of Christianity is love, the sacred fire which Jesus came from heaven to bring down to earth (Luke xii. 49). To love is the whole of the Gospel; it is the whole of religion (Rom. viii. 10). Now, in the devotion to the Sacred Heart all is love; it is the love itself of Jesus Christ, and we honor Him by loving Him. There exists, as it were, a holy emulation between Jesus Christ who loves and the soul which desires not to allow itself to be surpassed in love; which longs that this Sacred Heart should be everywhere loved, everywhere honored; which is afflicted at seeing it so misunderstood; and which, on its side, endeavors to compensate such treatment by means of a constantly renewed love. All the feasts of the year, the cross, the altar, all the sacraments, all the mysteries, everything in religion, preaches love to us; and this love, which presents itself to us under all kinds of forms, whence does it come to us, if not from the Heart of Jesus? What is it, if it be not the Heart of Jesus itself, burning with love for each one of us, and inviting us to love Him? (Prov. xxiii. 26.) It is a palpable proof that no devotion is more in conformity with the spirit of Christianity.
SECOND POINT
The Devotion to the Sacred Heart is the most Sanctifying of Devotions
This adorable Heart, in fact, offers to us at once the motive, the example, and the grace of holiness. 1st. The motive; what could be more suited to make us keep ourselves from sin than the sight of the Sacred Heart saddened by sin to such an extent that He would have died of it, if a miracle had not enabled Him to survive His grief (Matt. xxvi. 38), what more calculated to inspire us with zeal for our sanctification than the study of this Heart, which calls us to it through so many attractions, through so much love, by so many sacrifices? 2d. The holiness preached to us by the Heart of Jesus He also teaches us by His example. A type of all the virtues, He is the perfect model of recollection, of prayer, of union with God, of zeal, and of sacrifices for God. A pattern of charity, of devotedness, of endurance of His neighbor, He is at the same time a pattern of humility, of patience, of silence, of forgetfulness of self, of a life given up entirely to God and to souls, and He urges us to take Himself as our model (Matt. xi. 29). 3d. We find, in this devotion, the grace of holiness; for, said Blessed Margaret Mary, nothing is better calculated to raise the soul in a very short time to the loftiest degree of holiness. This sole means suffices to re-establish fervor in the most relaxed communities, and to enable those who live according to their rule to attain to the height of perfection. Those who labor for the salvation of souls, she adds, will find in this devotion the gift of touching the hardest hearts, and will obtain for their ministry the most marvellous success. It is because the Divine Heart is the fountain of all graces; they issue from thence, like the waters of the ocean, to fertilize the field of the Church. It is the throne whereon mercy is seated, and where invocations to it are never made in vain (Heb. iv. 16). It is the strong tower against which all temptations are powerless (Ps. lx. 4). It is the place of reconciliation between God and the world (II. Cor. v. 19). It is the source of all benedictions (Eph. i. 3). Oh, how ill-advised have I been until now! I desired to have virtue, and I have not been to seek it at its source; I desired to have the fire of charity, and I did not go to kindle myself with it at its hearth!
THIRD POINT
The Devotion to the Sacred Heart is the most Consoling of Devotions
The Heart of Jesus, St. Bonaventura says, is the dwelling I have chosen for myself; it is there that my heart is in repose (Ps. xxxi. 14); it is there that I will speak to the Heart of my Jesus, and that I shall obtain all that I desire. What consolation, indeed, to think that we are infinitely loved by this Divine Heart; that at every moment it is ready to listen to our requests; that at every moment it prays for us and calls us to it that it may enrich us in our poverty, console us in our troubles, cure us in our infirmities, and defend us in our temptations (Matt. xi. 28). Let us listen to its appeal. Afflicted, we shall find in it consolation; sinners, we shall find in it righteousness; tepid, we shall find in it fervor; weak, we shall find in it strength; just, we shall find in it perfection; dying, we shall find there confidence and happiness; for it is sweet to die, after having been constantly devoted to the Heart of Him who is to judge us.
Resolutions and spiritual nosegay as above.