book the nine days novena to the sacred heart of jesus

8/13/2019 BOOK the Nine Days Novena to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

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The Nine Day Novena

To theSacred Heart of Jesus


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The Nine Days Novena To The Sacred Heart of Jesus 1/30

The Sacred Heart Novena Prayer:

O Divine Jesus who has said, "Ask and you shall receive; seek and you shal find, knock and it shall be opened to you," behold me prostrate at your feet Animated with a lively faith and confidence in the promises dictated by your Sacred Heart and pronounced by your adorable lips. I come to ask youaid. (mention your request)

From whom shall I ask, O sweet Jesus, if not from you whose heart is aninexhaustible source of all graces and merits? Where shall I seek if not fromthe treasure which contains all the riches of your clemency and bounty?

Where shall I knock if it be not at the door of your Sacred Heart throughwhich God himself comes to us and through which we go to God?

To you then, O Heart of Jesus, I have recourse. In you I find consolationwhen afflicted, protection when persecuted, strength when overwhelmedwith trials and light in doubt and darkness. I firmly believe you can bestowon me the grace I implore even though it should require a miracle. You hav

only to will it and my prayer will be granted. I know I am most unworthyof your favors, O Jesus, but this is not a reason for me to be discouraged.You are the God of mercies and you will not refuse a contrite and humbleheart. Cast upon me a look of pity, I conjure you, and your compassionateHeart will find in my miseries and weakness a pressing motive for grantingmy petition.

But, O Sacred Heart, whatever may be your decision with regard to myrequest I will never cease to adore, love, praise and serve you. Deign, OJesus, to accept my act of perfect submission to the decrees of your adorablHeart which I sincerely desire may be fulfilled in and by me and all yourcreatures forever and ever. Amen.


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Act of Consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Most sweet Jesus, redeemer of the human race look down upon us humbly prostrate before your altar. We are yours and yours we wish to be but to bmore surely united with you behold each one of us freely consecrates himtoday to your most Sacred Heart. Many indeed have never known you,many too, despising your precepts have rejected you. Have mercy on themall, most merciful Jesus, and draw them to your Sacred Heart.

Be you king, O Lord, not only of the faithful who have never forsaken yobut also of the prodigal children who have abandoned you. Grant that they

may quickly return to their Father's house lest they die of wretchedness anhunger.

Be you King of those who are deceived by erroneous opinions or whomdiscord keeps aloof and call them back to the harbor of truth and the unityof faith so that soon there may be but one flock and one shepherd.

Grant O Lord, to your Church assurance of freedom and immunity fromharm. Give peace and order to all nations and make the earth resound from pole to pole with one cry: Praise to the Divine Heart that wrought oursalvation; to it be glory and honor forever. Amen.

Day One

My God and my Lord, Jesus Christ, in deepest humility I kneel before youand adore your Divine Heart. No one dares to doubt that you will grant all graces necessary to our salvation. Did you not say: "God alone is good," aare not you my very God? Is not your Heart the Heart of God who is alllove?

Therefore, there can be no power that is able to hinder you from grantingour requests. Nothing is difficult for your omnipotence and your riches arinfinite and can never be exhausted.


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No matter how often I may have sinned against you, I shall not despairbecause I know that you are God, infinite in generosity and mercy, alwaysready to pardon every contrite and humble sinner.

O compassionate Heart of Jesus, God of solace, grant me comfort. Pardonme, come to my assistance. Say but the word and I shall find relief in mysore trials.(mention your request)

I place my hope in you. Let me not be confounded, O Heart of myomnipotent God, have mercy on me. (Prayer)

Day TwoWith the greatest confidence I come to you, the fatherly Heart of Jesus forI know that no father, were he ever so loving and solicitous, can possiblylove his children as you have always loved me. To whom, therefore, shall I go if not to you the best of fathers and the author of all good? It is indeedtrue that I have grievously offended you, that I have neglected to honor you

properly and have been guilty of ingratitude and do not deserve to benumbered among your children. But although I forgot my duty to you as your child I know that you are still my beloved Father in heaven.

Now with a contrite heart I kneel at your feet weeping over my sins and promising you that in the future I shall make every effort never to offend you again. I hope in spite of my sinfulness to be received by you who have

so often sought me.

O sweetest Heart of Jesus help me with your grace so that I may carry outmy resolution. Then, O Jesus, if my wishes are not contrary to your mostholy will, I beg of you(mention your request) for which I pray withconfidence and hope to receive from your infinite goodness.(Prayer)
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Day Three

O beloved Jesus, my heart is deeply moved at the thought that you, Almighty God, should take upon yourself our human nature in order toenable you to become our brother and to make us children of God. But yoloving Heart was not satisfied to raised us to such high dignity; you alsodesired to make us partakers in your inheritance in the kingdom of heaven

How greatly are we indebted to you for these favors. O how I grieve tothink that until this very day I have been so ungrateful for your many giftsMost humbly do I ask for your forgiveness and pray that you will through

the merits of your Sacred Heart grant me the grace to follow you in allthings so that at death your heavenly Father may find me worthy to be your brother in heaven.

Furthermore, I beg of your most merciful Heart to have pity on me in my present need and grant me the favor(mention your request) that I hope toobtain from you. (Prayer)

Day Four

O sweetest Heart of Jesus, to whom shall I turn in all my sorrows if not to you, the faithful friend of our souls? You have given your very life for meHow then can you refuse me your assistance during my life? It is true,indeed, and I must confess this to you, that instead of relying on you only

have too often trusted to the love and friendship of creatures although Ihad frequently experienced their treachery. If I have thus insulted you inthe past, I promise in the future never to repeat the offense. I promisehenceforth in all my doubts, afflictions and needs I will have recourse to you only to find light, help, comfort and grace. henceforth, you alone shalbe my friend, upon you alone will I rely. Your friendship shall be above alothers. In fact, I promise to renounce all other friendships if they are anoccasion of disloyalty to you. To manifest my perfect trust in you, I nowbeg of you to help me in my present need.(mention your request)
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O I pray you to be my "strong defense." Be to me a "medicine forimmortality." By kindly granting this request, you will unite my heart moreclosely with yours and make me forever grateful for your love. Do not permit my trust in you to be confounded, O eternally faithful, benevolent

and sweet Heart of Jesus. (Prayer) Day Five

O Divine Savior, the infinite love of your Sacred Heart was so inflamed forus that it brought you as a sacrifice of propitiation for our sins to the altarof the cross. still you love was not satisfied with this but permitted your

heart and better understand your indescribable longing for our salvation.You have given us the wounded Heart and kept it open not only that wemight find therein a protection against the justice of the Eternal Fatherwhom we have offended by our sins but also that this source of grace andmercy may always be open to us in our needs.

Why then do I come to you so seldom and so indifferently? Why do I not

fly to this source of all grace? O dearest Jesus forgive me these insults whicthrough want of confidence in you I have so often committed against you.Behold, I now come to you with living faith with the intention never toleave you. Here I shall seek what I need so much, first the forgiveness of msins, the grace to do better, and then I pray for your assistance in my present need.(mention your request) (Prayer)

Day Six

O Jesus, my divine model and teacher, what can I do when I see you theSon of the Eternal Father, full of glory and honor, laden with the cross,walking the awful road to death, especially when thereby you show me theway to salvation without selfishness but only for my benefit? O Jesus,what can I do but have faith in you and return your love by at least bearingmy trials in patience and humility. And this, particularly, my God, becauseI have so often experienced the great power that my passions have over me


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and how seldom I can withstand the temptations of the world. How harddo I not find it to deny myself the pleasure to mortify my desires and torenounce the false splendor of the world although I know full well that allthese things so easily lead me into sin.

O give me strength to resist my passions and close my eyes to theallurements and charms of the world, help me to imitate your poverty, purity and humility, and send me trials with the strength to bear themhumbly. Though I fear them, they are necessary for me. But I wish to follow you and become like you. Therefore, permit me to drink all of youchalice of suffering. Heart of Jesus, burning for love of me, inflame my

heart with love for you. Amen.(Prayer) Day Seven

O my Divine Savior, according to the words of the Holy Scriptures, you ain truth our advocate before your Father. You have freely taken this officeupon yourself and unceasingly exercise it with faithful and loving zeal for

all who trust in you. Your influence with the Father is so great he will notrefuse you. He always hears you as you have testified at the grave ofLazarus. Filled with this faith and with confidence in your compassionateHeart I come to you to plead my cause. I have offended your Father andhave called the anger of his Majesty upon myself. I am heavily indebted this strict justice. I have nothing with which to pay the debt and thereforemust fear the punishment. Besides all this, I am in the present need of(mention your request) where only the power of the Father can help me. Forthe salvation of my soul I sorely need this grace.

O may it come to me from the riches of your Father. O my beloved advoc from your throne in heaven to your Father and to my Father, to your Godand to my God, reconcile me with him. Repay my debts out of the infinitetreasury of your merits and obtain for me assistance in my present trial anthe grace that I need so much. In the "Our Father" you have composed a prayer with which I will now approach the Father. Accompany me and
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with the fervor and power of your most Sacred Heart as my mediator, saywith me: Our Father, who are in heaven...(Prayer)

Day Eight

My God and my Savior, Jesus Christ, I believe it to be an undeniable truth.I believe it firmly, O Jesus, that you are my good shepherd. Even if you hadnot said it, I would believe it because I know that you have in my behalfalways manifested the heart of a good shepherd. Would that I, during myentire life, had permitted the goodness and solicitude of your Heart to leadme; would that I had never departed from your side, for then I would not

have suffered so much misery and tribulation. But alas, I was untrue to youso often that in consequence I fell into the abyss of sin and was mortallywounded. Now, however, your straying lamb calls to you from the depthsof its misery.

O my good Shepherd, have mercy on me; give me proof again of yourcompassionate Heart. After all that you have thus far done for me I cannot

believe that your Heart will reject me. Consequently, I beseech this Heart, Iembrace it with confidence; and conjure you by all your merits that youobtain for me from your heavenly Father the forgiveness of my sins and the grace for a complete conversion. And then I also pray for the grace of(mention your request) which I am so much in need and which I hope toreceive as the fruit of this novena. O Heart of the good Shepherd, havemercy on me. Amen. (Prayer)

Day Nine

O adorable Savior, Jesus Christ, I believe what your holy Word teaches. Ibelieve that you were made a priest forever by the solemn oath of youreternal Father and that you offer sacrifices forever. I believe that you offerthe most sublime, holy and pure sacrifice most pleasing to God in the fire o your love, your Heart, your infinite merits, even your entire self. I believethat the most profound compassion of your priestly Heart impels you to


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carry on the function of your priesthood forever and ever in order toreconcile your Father with us and to offer him adoration, praise andthanksgiving for us as well to entreat him and grant us every needed grace

Inspired by this faith I come to you, O loving Jesus. I place all my needswith great confidence in your priestly Heart and upon the altar of yourHeart. The eternal Father cannot refuse anything to such a priest and hissacrifice. Remember me then in all the Masses in which you offer yourseltoday throughout the world. Let your petition ascend from your SacredHeart that the eternal Father may decide, through your merits, to forgiveme all my sins which I detest from the bottom of my heart and in his

fatherly love to grant me the grace for which I have so ardently pleadedduring this novena(mention your request). O Sacred Heart, if the heavenlyFather grants this request for your sake it will redound to your own glorybecause it will be a testimony to your Father's love for you. Procure thishonor for yourself and from the sanctuary of heaven bring to me this desir grace so that my faith in you may be strengthened and my love of you mabe more enkindled, O loving and priestly Heart of Jesus. Amen.(Prayer)

Completion of the novena requires recitation of: Litany of the SacredHeart; Act of Reparation; Petition to the Sacred Heart; Prayer for theSouls in Purgatory.
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The Litany of the Sacred Heart

Lord, have mercy.Christ, have mercy.Lord, have mercy.Christ, have mercy.

Christ, hear us.Christ, graciously hear us.

God the Father of Heaven, *God the Son, Redeemer of the

world, *God the Holy Spirit, *

Holy Trinity, One God, *Heart of Jesus, Son of the

Eternal Father, *Heart of Jesus, formed by the

Holy Spirit in the womb of the

Virgin Mother, *Heart of Jesus, substantiallyunited to the Word of God, *

Heart of Jesus, of InfiniteMajesty, *

Heart of Jesus, Sacred Templeof God, *

Heart of Jesus, Tabernacle ofthe Most High, *

Heart of Jesus, House of Godand Gate of Heaven, *

Heart of Jesus, fountain of lifeand holiness,*

Heart of Jesus, propitiation for our sins, *

Heart of Jesus, loaded down

Heart of Jesus, Victim for oursins, *

Heart of Jesus, salvation ofthose who trust in You, *Heart of Jesus, burning furnace of charity, *

Heart of Jesus, abode of justice and love, *

Heart of Jesus, full of goodness and love, *

Heart of Jesus, abyss of allvirtues, *

Heart of Jesus, most worthy ofall praise, *

Heart of Jesus, King and

center of all hearts, *Heart of Jesus, in Whom areall the treasures of wisdom

and knowledge, *Heart of Jesus, in whom

dwells the fullness ofdivinity,*

Heart of Jesus, in Whom theFather was well pleased, *Heart of Jesus, of Whose

fullness we have all received,*Heart of Jesus, desire of the

everlasting hills, *Heart of Jesus, patient and

most merciful, *Heart of Jesus, enriching all


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with opprobrium, *Heart of Jesus, bruised for our

offenses, *Heart of Jesus, obedient to

death, *Heart of Jesus, pierced with a

lance, *Heart of Jesus, source of all

consolation, *Heart of Jesus, our life and

resurrection, *Heart of Jesus, our peace and

reconciliation, *

who invoke You, *Heart of Jesus, hope of those

who die in You, *Heart of Jesus, delight of all

the Saints, *Lamb of God, You who takeaway the sins of the world,

spare us, O Lord.Lamb of God, You who takeaway the sins of the world, graciously hear us, O Lord.Lamb of God, You who takeaway the sins of the world,

have mercy on us.V. Jesus, meek and humble ofheart.R. Make our hearts like Yours.

* Have mercy on us.

Let us pray

Almighty and eternal God, look upon the Heart of Your mostbeloved Son and upon the praises and satisfaction which Heoffers You in the name of sinners; and to those who implore Yourmercy do You of Your great goodness grant forgiveness in theName of the same Jesus Christ, Your Son, Who with You livesand reigns world without end. Amen.


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Act of Reparation

O Heart of Jesus, whose overflowing charity for men is requitedby so much forgetfulness, negligence and contempt, behold us prostrate before your altar, eager to repair by a special act ofhomage the cruel indifference and injuries to which your lovingHeart is everywhere subject.

Mindful, alas, that we ourselves have had a share in such greatindignities, which we now deplore from the depths of our hearts,we humbly ask your pardon and declare our readiness to atone byvoluntary expiation not only for our own personal offenses; butalso for the sins of those who, straying far from the path ofsalvation, refuse in their obstinate infidelity to follow you, theirShepherd and Leader, or, renouncing the vows of their Baptism,have cast off the sweet yoke of your law.

We are now resolved to expiate each and every deplorableoutrage committed against you; we are determined to makeamends for the manifold offenses against Christian modesty inunbecoming dress and behavior, for all the foul seductions laid toensnare the feet of the innocent, for the frequent violation ofSundays and Holydays, and the shocking blasphemies uttered

against you and your Saints. We wish also to make amends forthe insults to which your Vicar on earth and your priests aresubjected, for the profanation by conscious neglect or terribleacts of sacrilege, of the very Sacrament of your divine love; andlastly for the public crimes of nations, who resist the right andteaching authority of the Church which you have founded.

Would, O Divine Jesus, we were able to wash away suchabominations with our blood. We now offer, in reparation for


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these violations of your divine honor, the satisfaction you oncemade to your eternal Father on the Cross and which youcontinue to renew daily on our altars; we offer it in union withthe acts of atonement of your Virgin Mother and all the saintsand of the pious faithful on earth; and we sincerely promise tomake recompense, as far as we can with the help of your grace, for all neglect of your great love and for the sins we and othershave committed in the past. Henceforth, we will live a life ofunwavering faith, of purity of conduct, of perfect observance ofthe precepts of the Gospel and especially that of charity. We promise to the best of our ability to prevent others fromoffending you and to bring as many as possible to follow you.

O loving Jesus, through the intercession of the Blessed VirginMary, our model in reparation, deign to receive the voluntaryoffering we make of this act of expiation; and by the crowning gift of perseverance keep us faithful unto death in our duty and

the allegiance we owe to you, so that we may one day come tothat happy home, where you with the Father and the Holy Spiritlive and reign, God, world without end. Amen.

Petition to the Sacred Heart

O Sacred Heart of Jesus, I have asked you for many favors but I

plead for this one(mention your request). Take it, place it in youropen, broken Heart, and when the Eternal Father sees it coveredwith the mantle of your most Precious Blood, he will not refuseit. It is not my prayer, but yours. O Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in you.


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Prayer for the Souls in Purgatory

O Divine Heart of Jesus, grant, we beseech you, eternal rest tothe souls in purgatory, the final grace to those who shall dietoday, true repentance to sinners, the light of faith to pagansand your blessing to me and mine. Amen.

The Promises Of The Sacred Heart;The Devotion And The Holy Souls In Purgatory

The twelve promises of the sacred heart And the practice of the nine first fridaysPrayer for daily neglectsThe ten promises of the apostles of the sacred heartThe sacred heart and devotion for the holy souls in purgatoryPrayer for the holy souls

A few selections from the writings of st. Margaret mary

The Promises of the Sacred Heart

The twelve promises which we find in prayerbooks and manuals of thedevotion to the Sacred Heart do not contain all the promises made by our

Divine Lord to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque. They are not even a summaryof them, but are rather a selection of those promises best calculated toarouse sentiments of love for Our Lord in the hearts of the faithful and toinduce them to practice the devotion. These twelve promises are found inthe writings of St. Margaret Mary, but not all in one place.

We give here the complete list of the various promises, as found in

Monsignor Gauthey's edition of the writings of St. Margaret Mary, but wedo not give the full text. Those who wish to have the full text of the promises will find it in The Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus the


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Essence of Christianity, pages 48 to 69. But first, we present the basictwelve promises without commentary: Near the conclusion of this sectionSt. Margaret Mary writes an explanation of how the Nine First Fridaysare to be practiced. The Prayer for Daily Neglect was not written by St.

Margaret Mary but because it is so invaluable an aid with have included ithere as it is a prayer to the Sacred Heart that is to be said daily, thus it canbe incorporated into the practice of the Devotion easily, it is short andknown to be efficacious.

The Nine First Fridays Devotion And The Twelve Promises Of The SacreHeart Made To St. Margaret Mary With Added Prayer For Daily Neglect

1. I will give them all the graces necessary for their state of life.2. I will give peace in their families3. I will console them in all their troubles.4. They shall find in my heart an assured refuge during life and especiallythe hour of death.5. I will pour abundant blessings on 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 speedily rise to great perfection.9. I will bless the homes in which the image of my sacred heart shall beexposed and honored.10. I will give to priests the power to touch the most hardened hearts.11. Those who propagate this devotion shall have their name written in mheart, and it shall never be effaced.

12. The all-powerful love of my heart will grant to all those who shallreceive communion on the first friday of nine consecutive months the graof final repentance; they shall not die under my displeasure, nor withoutreceiving the sacraments; my heart shall be their assured refuge at the last

hour.


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This devotion consists in attending Holy Mass and receiving HolyCommunion in reparation for those who do not receive Our Lord, who donot love Him and who wound Him by their sinful lives.

"I promise you, in the excessive mercy of My Heart, that My all-powerfullove will grant to all those who communicate on the First Friday of nineconsecutive months, the grace of final penitence; they shall not die in mydisgrace, nor without receiving their Sacraments, My Divine Heart shall betheir safe refuge in this last moment."

-----Our Lord to St. Margaret Mary

Prayer for Daily NeglectsETERNAL FATHER, I offer You the Sacred Heart of Jesus, with all its

love, all its sufferings, and all its merits.

First, to expiate all the sins I have committed this day and during all mylife. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it

was in the beginning, is now, and shall ever be, world without end. Amen.

Second, to purify the good I have done poorly this day and during all mylife. Glory be, etc.

Third, to supply for the good I ought to have done, and that I have

neglected this day and all my life. Glory be, etc.HISTORY: Soon after death, a Poor Clare nun appeared to her abbess,

who was praying for her, and said: I went straight to Heaven because Ipaid all my debts by virtue of this prayer.

Main source:

Prayers and heavenly promises, compiled from approved sourcesBy joan carroll cruz


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Promises Attached To The Veneration Of The Image Of The Sacred Hear

a) BLESSINGS PROMISED TO NATIONS THAT PUT THE IMAGEOF THE SACRED HEART ON THEIR STANDARDS:

". . . Our Divine Lord does not wish to stop there: He desires, it seems to mto enter with pomp and magnificence into the houses of princes and kingsin order to be honored there as much as He was outraged, despised andhumiliated in His Passion, and to receive as much pleasure at seeing the great ones of this world abased and humiliated before Him, as He feltbitterness at seeing Himself annihilated at their feet."

b) BLESSINGS PROMISED TO FAMILIES WHERE THE IMAGEOF THE SACRED HEART IS HONORED:

"Our Divine Lord assured me that He takes a singular pleasure in beinghonored under the figure of His Heart of flesh, the image of which Hewishes to be exposed in public in order to touch the unfeeling hearts of mHe promised that He would pour out in abundance into the hearts of allthose who would honor His Heart all the gifts with which It is filled, andthat everywhere this image is exposed and honored, it would draw down akinds of blessings."

c) BLESSINGS PROMISED TO COMMUNITIES:

"He promised that He would pour out the sweet unction of His ardentcharity on all those communities in which this divine image would behonored; that He would turn away from them the thunderbolts of the justanger of God, and that He would restore them to His grace, if they shouldhave the misfortune to fall into sin."


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d) BLESSINGS PROMISED TO INDIVIDUALS:

"He promised to pour out into the hearts of all those who honor the image oHis Heart all the gifts which It contains. He promised also to imprint His

love on the hearts of all those who would wear this image on their persons,and that He would destroy in them all disordered movements."

Promises Attached To The Consecration To The Sacred Heart

Consecration to the Sacred Heart is the principle, the resume and the finalterm of all the devotional practices demanded by our Divine Lord for His

Sacred Heart.

a) THIS CONSECRATION REJOICES THE SACRED HEART ANDTERRIFIES THE DEVIL, AGAINST WHOM IT IS A POWERFULWEAPON.

"Let us renew often our consecration to the Heart of Jesus," writes St.Margaret Mary, "and let us live that consecration faithfully. The SacredHeart takes a singular pleasure in it.

"The devil has a most intense fear of the devotion to this loving Heart,because of the salvation of the multitude of souls which it effects in favorof those who consecrate themselves completely to the Sacred Heart for the purpose of loving It, honoring It, and glorifying It."

b) CONSECRATION 10 THE SACRED HEART IS A SOVEREIGNREMEDY AGAINST MORTAL SIN.

"I cannot believe," writes St. Margaret Mary, "that those consecrated to theHeart of Jesus will fall under the domination of Satan through mortal sin,

if having consecrated themselves to the Heart of Jesus, they endeavor tohonor It, love It, and glorify It, by conforming themselves in all things toIts holy maxims."


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c) CONSECRATION PUTS SOULS ON THE ROAD TOPERFECTION.

"There is no surer means of attaining perfection than to be consecrated tothe Heart of Jesus. If therefore, we wish to attain that perfection whichthe adorable Heart of Jesus desires of us, we must make an entire sacrificeof ourselves, and of everything that depends on us, to the Sacred Heart anlive entirely for It."

d) CONSECRATION WILL PROCURE PEACE.

"Establish your dwelling in the amiable Heart of Jesus, and you will findunalterable peace, strength to carry out all your good desires, and a protection against voluntary faults."

e) CONSECRATION IS THE KEY WHICH OPENS THE SACREDHEART TO US.

"Our Lord gave me to understand that He wishes to be known, loved andadored by men, and for that end He would give them many graces, providthey consecrated themselves to the devotion and love of His Sacred Heart

f) CONSECRATION TO THE SACRED HEART IS A PLEDGE OFSALVATION.

"There is no surer means of salvation than to consecrate oneself to theDivine Heart of Our Lord Jesus Christ. "The loving Heart of Jesus will noallow any of those consecrated to It to perish, so great is His desire that HSacred Heart be known, loved and honored by His creatures. In this SacreHeart they will find assistance during their life in all their necessities; It

will be their secure place of refuge at the hour of their death, into whichthey will be received and protected from their enemies."


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Promises Made In Favor Of The Just

"There is no shorter way of attaining perfection than to render to the DivinHeart an the homage, love, honor and praise in our power.

"I do not know of any other exercise in the spiritual life more calculated toraise a soul in a short time to the height of perfection, and make it taste thtrue sweetness that is to be found in the service of God; if it were knownhow pleasing this devotion is to Jesus Christ, there is no Christian, howevlittle his love for our amiable Savior, who would not begin to practice itimmediately."

"The names of beginners," writes St. Margaret Mary, "are written on theadorable Heart of Jesus only with ink. This signifies the initial grace givenus to combat and conquer our imperfections, especially our proud self-lovwhich insinuates itself everywhere, sullying and disfiguring our holiestactions. These black letters should be purified from the earth which theycontain and made bright in the crucible. This means that our inclinationsand actions should be purified in the furnace of the love of the DivineHeart from all that is earthly and human and from all self-seeking.

"These black letters will gradually brighten in the crucible of Divine Loveand become like silver, which signifies purity of heart. But when in the process of purification all the black letters are changed into letters of silvewe must not stop there, we must continue until they are changed into gold

"It is love that will change them into gold. Charity is the divine gold thatwill write our names on the Heart of Jesus in letters never to be effaced.We shall then become like holocausts, consumed completely in the ardent flames of the loving Heart of Jesus."


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Promises For The Afflicted

a) THE HEART OF JESUS CONSOLES HIS SERVANTSIN THEIR PRIVATE CALAMITIES.

b) THE HEART OF JESUS IS THE TRUE SOURCE OFCONSOLATIONIN PUBLIC CALAMITIES.

Promises That Have Reference To Our Last End

THE GREAT PROMISE

This promise is contained in a letter written in May, 1688, by St. MargaretMary to Mother Saumaise:

"On a Friday during Holy Communion, He said these words to Hisunworthy slave, if I mistake not: I promise you in the excessive mercy ofMy Heart that Its all-powerful love will grant to all those who receiveHoly Communion on nine first Fridays of the month consecutively, the grace of final repentance; they will not die under My displeasure or withoureceiving their Sacraments, My Divine Heart making Itself their assuredrefuge at the last moment."

With regard to this promise it may be remarked: 1) that Our Lord requiredCommunion to be received on a particular day chosen by Him; 2) that thenine Fridays must be consecutive; 3) that they must be made in honor of HiSacred Heart, which means that those who make the nine Fridays must practice the devotion and must have a great love for Our Lord; 4) that OurLord does not say that those who make the nine Fridays will be dispensed

from any of their obligations or from exercising the vigilance necessary tolead a good life and overcome temptation; rather He implicitly promisesabundant graces to those who make the Nine Fridays to help them to carry


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out these obligations and persevere to the end; 5) that perseverance inreceiving Holy Communion for nine consecutive First Fridays helps the faithful to acquire the habit of frequent Communion, which Our Lordeagerly desires; and 6) finally, that the practice of the Nine Fridays is very

pleasing to Our Lord since He promises such a great reward, and that allCatholics should endeavor to make the Nine Fridays.

PROTECTION PROMISED BY OUR LORD AT THE MOMENT OFDEATH.

"The Divine Heart of Jesus again gave me to understand and assured me,"

writes St. Margaret Mary, "that the pleasure which He takes in beingknown, loved and honored by His creatures is so great that He promised mthat none of those who practice this amiable devotion and are devoted toHis adorable Heart will ever perish."

SPECIAL REWARDS IN HEAVEN FOR THOSE WHO AREDEVOTED TO THE SACRED HEART

"The adorable Heart of Jesus has shown inexpressible favor to our HolyFounder [St. Francis de Sales] because the devotion has been established iour Institute. Never has his accidental glory been so much increased as bythis means. [The order is the Visitation Order.]

"Our good Father Claude de la Colombiere by his intercession in Heaven the cause of what takes place here on earth for the glory of the SacredHeart."

Promises Made For People In The World And Their Families

"Our Divine Lord assured me," writes St. Margaret Mary, "that He takes

such pleasure in being known, loved and honored by His creatures, that H promises: 1) that people in the world will find through this amiabledevotion all the helps necessary for their state of life, that is to say; 2) pea


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in their families: He promised me that He will unite families that aredivided. Our Divine Lord wishes us to have great charity for our neighbor;He wishes us to pray to Him for our neighbor as we would for ourselves, foit is one of the special effects of this devotion to unite hearts divided and to

bring peace to souls; 3) consolation in their afflictions; 4) solace in theirlabors: He promised that He would protect and assist families that were inany necessity, if they addressed themselves to Him with confidence; 5) theblessings of Heaven on all their enterprises; 6) that in His Sacred Heartthey would find refuge during their life and especially at the hour of theirdeath."

Special Promises Made To Persons Consecrated To God

Promises Made To Religious Communities

"Our Divine Lord promised me," writes St. Margaret Mary, "that as HisSacred Heart is the source of all blessings, He will pour out the sweetunction of His ardent charity on all those communities where His SacredHeart is honored and who place themselves under Its special protection.

"He promised me that He would keep their hearts united so that they would form but one.

"He promised me that He would turn away the thunderbolts of DivineJustice from them and restore them to favor, if they should fall.

"Let religious embrace this amiable devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, for they will draw from It such help that no other means will be needed toreestablish in their first fervor and in the most exact observance of their rulethose communities that have become lax, and to bring to the height of

perfection communities that are already fervent."


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Ten Promises For The Apostles Of The Sacred Heart

First Promise For Apostles Of The Devotion

"My Divine Master;' writes St. Margaret Mary, "showed me the names ofseveral persons written in letters of gold on His Sacred Heart, names ofwhich He will never allow to be effaced. These are the names of the persowho have labored the most to make His Sacred Heart known and loved."

Second Promise For Apostles Of The Devotion

"The Sacred Heart of Jesus has such a great desire to be known, loved andhonored by men; He wishes so ardently to establish the empire of His lovall hearts by destroying in them the empire of Satan, that He promises grerecompenses to all those who devote themselves with their whole hearts testablishing the reign of His Sacred Heart according to the lights and gracwhich He gives them."

Third Promise For Apostles Of The Devotion

In addition to the friendship of the Divine Heart, the apostles of theDevotion are assured of the protection of the Blessed Virgin and of theSaints, especially of St. Margaret Mary.

She writes: "Oh! what happiness for us and for all who contribute inmaking the loving Heart of Jesus known and glorified! For they will drawdown upon themselves the friendship and eternal blessings of this uniqueLove of our hearts. The Blessed Virgin will be their special protectress, shwill assist them in attaining to the perfect life."

Fourth Promise For Apostles Of The Devotion

The apostles of the Sacred Heart will make rapid progress in virtue. TheSacred Heart of Jesus will sanctify and glorify them.


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"The loving Heart of Jesus," writes St. Margaret Mary, "has made known tome that He will take care to sanctify and glorify us before His HeavenlyFather in the measure in which we exert ourselves to procure glory for Him

and to increase the reign of His love in the hearts of men."Fifth Promise For The Apostles Of The Devotion

The apostles of the Sacred Heart will receive the grace of the pure love ofGod."The zeal with which you labor to make the Sacred Heart of Jesus known

and loved will gain for you in an ever increasing degree the crowning gift othe pure love of God."

Sixth Promise For The Apostles Of The Devotion

The apostles of the Sacred Heart will draw down special blessings on theirnative land and on their families.

"Oh! what happiness for those who contribute to making the adorableHeart of Jesus known, loved and glorified! By what means they will securea powerful Protector for their native land."

Seventh Promise For The Apostles Of The Devotion

Great blessings are reserved for the works of zeal undertaken by thoseapostolic workers who propagate the devotion to the Sacred Heart. Theywill make great conversions.

"My divine Savior," writes St. Margaret Mary, "assured me that those wholabor for the salvation of souls will have the art of touching the hardest

hearts and will obtain marvelous success, if they themselves are animatedwith a tender devotion to His Divine Heart.


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"He will penetrate the most unfeeling hearts by the words of His preacherand faithful friends. He will so pour out the sweet unction of His ardentcharity with such strong and powerful graces on their words that He willmake them like a flaming sword which will cause the most frozen hearts t

melt in His love. The words of these apostles will be like two-edged sworwhich will penetrate the most hardened hearts and make the holy fountainof penance spring up in them, purifying and sanctifying the most obstinatsinners and rendering them susceptible to the love of this Divine Heart. Bthis means the most criminal souls will be led on to salutary penance."

Eighth Promise For The Apostles Of The Devotion

It will be given to the apostles of the Sacred Heart to understand theinestimable value of the Cross, and they will obtain strength andconsolation in their difficulties.

"The adorable Heart of Jesus," writes St. Margaret Mary, "wishes toestablish the reign of His pure love in all hearts. Happy are those whom Hwill employ to aid Him to establish His reign! But He did not tell me thatHis friends would have nothing to suffer, for He wishes them to make the greatest happiness consist in tasting its bitterness."

Ninth Promise For The Apostles Of The Devotion

The apostles of the Sacred Heart will obtain the grace of final perseverancand of a holy death.

Tenth Promise For The Apostles Of The Devotion

The Sacred Heart Itself will be the reward of Its apostles. "Happy arethose," writes St. Margaret Mary, "whom the Sacred Heart of Jesus will

employ in establishing His reign. For it seems to me .that It is like a kingwho thinks only of recompensing His friends while He gains victories and


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triumphs over His enemies. When this Heart reigns victorious on Its throneIt will be Itself their eternal recompense."

Particular Promises Made And Special Mission Entrusted To The Order OfThe Visitation And To The Jesuit Fathers

"This mission," writes Father Ramiere, S.J., "is not of an exclusive characteIt is a source of joy for the Sisters of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque and theconfreres of Blessed Claude de la Colombiere to see their efforts shared byreligious of the various orders and congregations, by secular priests of ever

rank and even by the simple faithful."

Devotion To The Souls In Purgatory And The Devotion To The SacredHeart

Among the devotions which should form a crown of honor around theSacred Heart, St. Margaret Mary gives a privileged place to devotion to theSouls in Purgatory. She herself had an extraordinary devotion to theseSouls and called them her good suffering friends. The revelations which shereceived about the sufferings of these Souls, about our Divine Lord's tenderlove for them and His eager desire for their deliverance, of the great efficacof the devotion to the Sacred Heart for their early release, and the fact thatSt. Margaret Mary, the apostle of the public devotion to the Sacred Heart,combined these two devotions so intimately in her own person, indicate thathere is such a close connection between the two devotions that thedevotion to the Souls in Purgatory may be said to form a part of thedevotion to the Sacred Heart. Her extraordinary compassion for thesesuffering Souls may be said to be a share of the compassion of the DivineHeart for them; she called the devotion to the Sacred Heart the sovereignremedy for their relief.

It is a remarkable fact that our Divine Lord demanded of the two pioneersof the public devotion to His Sacred Heart an act of consecration of


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themselves to It, and a total donation in favor of the Souls in Purgatory ofall the satisfactory merits of their lives and of all the prayers, Masses and good works offered for them after their death, and that they were the firstto make this heroic offering.

St. Margaret Mary was in constant communication with the Souls inPurgatory; our Divine Lord allowed many privileged Souls among them tvisit her, to tell her of their great sufferings and what it was that causedthem, and to appear to her in glory after their deliverance. Towards the enof her life this became known outside the convent and people came toinquire from her about their deceased friends. While she usually declined

give any reply at the time of the inquiry, later on she sometimes declaredthat such a person was now in Heaven and exhorted the relatives of othersto continue their prayers.

Marvelous Efficacy Of The Devotion To The Sacred Heart To Succor TheSouls In Purgatory"Would that people knew;' writes St. Margaret Mary, "with what eagernesthe poor Souls in Purgatory ask for this new remedy which is so powerfulrelieve their sufferings. They call the Devotion to the Sacred Heart the'Sovereign remedy,' and ask particularly for Masses in honor of the SacredHeart of Jesus."

St. Margaret Mary Recommends Novenas In Honor Of The Sacred Heart

For The Souls In PurgatoryWriting to Mother de Saumaise she says: "There is a Soul in Purgatory thaI cannot comfort as much as I desire. She told me to apply to you and ask you to have three Masses said for her, and, in addition, to offer your Rosaand all the practices of our holy rule for nine days, and a generalCommunion. She said that these things would greatly alleviate her painsand that she would not be ungrateful."

St. Margaret mary was accustomed to offer her prayers to our blessed ladythrough the souls in purgatory, and in a letter to mother grefi she explainthe reason:


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"It is not through any want of confidence in Our Blessed Lady that we askthe help of the Holy Souls in Purgatory; it is in order that they may jointheir supplications to ours and offer them up to this Good Mother to obtain for us the continuation of her maternal assistance. By doing so we confess

that, after God, it is from the Blessed Virgin that all good comes to us."Of all the practices for the relief of the Holy Souls, the most efficacious isthat which is called "the Heroic Act of Charity," which, as already stated,both St. Margaret Mary and Blessed Claude de la Colombiere made at ourDivine Lord's request. It consists in offering up in favor of the Souls inPurgatory all our satisfactory merits and all the indulgences we can gain

during our lives, and all the prayers, Masses and good works offered for usafter our death, thus reserving nothing for ourselves and trustingcompletely in the mercy of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. St. Margaret Marymakes reference to it in several of her letters.

Prayer For The Holy SoulsO Divine Heart of Jesus, grant I pray Thee, eternal rest to the Souls inPurgatory, the final grace to those who are about to die this day, true

repentance to sinners, the light of faith to pagans, and Thy blessing to meand to all who are dear to me. To Thee, therefore, O Most Merciful Heart

of Jesus, I commend all these souls, and in their behalf I offer unto Thee alThy merits in union with the merits of Thy Most Blessed Mother and of allthe Angels and Saints, together with all the Masses, Communions, prayers

and good works which are this day being offered throughout ChristendomO Most Holy Heart of Jesus, shower Thy blessings in abundant measureupon the Thy Holy Church, upon the Supreme Pontiff and upon all the

clergy; to the just grant perseverance; convert sinners; enlighten unbelieverbless our relations, friends and benefactors; assist the dying; deliver the

Holy Souls in Purgatory; and extend over all hearts the sweet empire of Th

love. Amen.

book the nine days novena to the sacred heart of jesus

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