Act of Consecration to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus
Actus Consecrationis ad Sacratissimum Cor Iesu
O most Sacred Heart of Jesus,
which the Father Himself beholds eternally in His bosom,
which the Holy Ghost loves and pours forth upon the Church,
which the Virgin Mother conceived and the Virgin brought forth,
which the Apostles and Martyrs confessed,
which all the Saints have loved and glorified;
I, N.N., give and consecrate myself to Thee:
my heart, my body, soul, all my senses,
all my thoughts, all my works, all my joys,
all my sorrows, my life, my death, and my eternity.
Grant that I may ever serve Thee faithfully
and never offend Thee.
Amen.
O Sacratíssimum Cor Iesu,
quod ipse Deus Pater in sinu suo ætérno contemplátur,
quod Spíritus Sanctus dilígit et effúndit in Ecclésia,
quod Mater Vírgine concépit et Virgo péperit,
quod Apóstoli et Mártyres conféssi sunt,
quod omnes Sancti amavérunt et glorificavérunt;
ego N.N. me trado et consecro tibi,
et cor meum, et corpus meum, ánimam meam,
omnes sensus meos, omnes cogitatiónes meas,
ómnia ópera mea, ómnia gáudia mea,
ómnia dolóres meos, vitam meam, mortem meam,
et æternitátem meam.
Fac me semper fidéliter servíre tibi,
et numquam te offéndere.
Amen.
Brief History of the Devotion to the
Sacred Heart of Jesus
The public revelation of the Sacred Heart began in the 1670s when Our Lord appeared multiple times to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, a Visitation nun in Paray-le-Monial, France (1673–1675).
Jesus showed her His Heart burning with love, crowned with thorns, surmounted by a cross, and pierced by the same wound He received on Calvary. He asked for:
- A new feast of the Sacred Heart on the Friday after the octave of Corpus Christi
- Frequent Holy Communion, especially on the First Friday of each month
- The Holy Hour of reparation
- The spread of an Act of Consecration and Reparation
- An image of the Sacred Heart to be publicly honoured
Although private devotion to the Wounded Heart of Jesus existed since the Middle Ages (St. Gertrude, St. Mechtilde, St. John Eudes), the revelations to St. Margaret Mary marked the beginning of the public and universal devotion as we know it today.
Key milestones:
- 1765 – Pope Clement XIII approves the feast for certain places
- 1856 – Blessed Pope Pius IX extends the feast of the Sacred Heart to the universal Church
- 1899 – Pope Leo XIII consecrates the entire world to the Sacred Heart and calls this act “the greatest act of my pontificate”
- 1928 – Pope Pius XI issues the encyclical Miserentissimus Redemptor, raising the feast to the rank of Double of the First Class and giving the definitive form to the Litany and Act of Reparation
- 1956 – Pope Pius XII issues the encyclical Haurietis Aquas, the fullest theological explanation of the devotion before Vatican II
This prayer, the Act of Consecration by St. Margaret Mary and the aspiration “Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us”) were officially indulgenced by Popes St. Pius X, Pius XI, and Pius XII and appeared unchanged in every approved prayer book and Raccolta edition until 1962.