The Sacred Heart of Jesus and Consoling the Heart of Jesus

“Behold this Heart which has so loved men that It spared nothing, even going so far as to exhaust and consume Itself, to prove to them Its love.

And in return I receive from the greater part of men nothing but ingratitude, by the contempt, irreverence, sacrileges and coldness with which they treat Me in this Sacrament of Love.

But what is still more painful to Me is that even souls consecrated to Me are acting in this way.”

~Revelations of Jesus to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque~

The revelations of Jesus to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque contained beautiful truths about His Sacred Heart and the unfathomable Love contained within it.

Honestly, it is a message we all need to hear and to be reminded of, but in a very particular way, it was also a beautiful response to the Jansenist heresy that had taken root in France at the time of these revelations.

Jansenism basically distorted the idea of God as a wrathful deity who only gave His grace to some people — only died for some people — and not others.

Basically it was the Catholic version of the heresy of the predestination, and it took root in France with devastating results.

This concept of a God who only came to save some would obviously distort the idea of a loving God — a merciful God — who gives everybody the chance at salvation.

It resulted in men and women of faith growing afraid of God, scrupulous and incapable of understanding the depth of love Jesus had for the world.

As you can imagine, it made a truly loving relationship almost impossible once it would take root in a person’s heart and thoughts.

It was devastating to the faith and a true attack against the truth of WHO God is and WHO we are in His eyes.

Not only did the Church in France need a clarification and correction of these errors — but so did the whole world — and along came Margaret Mary of Alacoque.

She was a nun living in France who began to have visions of Jesus and His Sacred Heart. Jesus taught her of His unfathomable love for her and ALL SINNERS!

He taught her how to grow in devotion to His Sacred Heart and help, even the greatest sinners, to do the same! What a gift for the Church then and What a gift for us now!

These visions which portrayed God as He is and as He wanted us to know Him.

Imagine encountering and being led astray by Jansenism, and then encountering this message of a God who loves us so greatly and made His grace available to all.

Imagine the hope that it would bring to a tortured soul who felt despair at the Jansenist idea of God! What a gift! How wrong the Jansenist were!

The world needed a correction, Jansenists needed a correction, and so Jesus revealed Himself and His Sacred Heart to a humble nun and it is from this humble nun that a devotion to the Sacred Heart spread throughout the world.

With that gift, though, comes great responsibility! The revelations revealed the Heart of a Savior, breaking at the coldness of men and women — especially those who called themselves Christians — but it also offered the consolation He received from a soul who chose to remain with Him and comfort Him in his loneliness.

Learning to comfort Jesus in His loneliness, to meet Him in the Garden of the Agony or at the foot of the Cross, is a beautiful possibility that Jesus taught St. Margaret Mary Himself — and it’s something we can learn as well.

Devotion to the Sacred Heart is a beautiful devotion and what I find most beautiful is that Jesus assures Margaret that we can bring comfort and consolation to his Sacred Heart, wounded as it is by the sins of thankless men and women.

Imagine that! Your loving response can console the Heart of Jesus!

No matter what the world thinks of you — or if it thinks of you at all — that the God of the Universe thinks your love is so precious and so rare that He is waiting for YOU to meet Him in prayer and in adoration — wherever you are around the world.

Imagine that the next time you walk into a Catholic Church.

Jesus is waiting in that tabernacle to be consoled by you! Imagine one day, when you have breathed your last, that you will see Jesus face to face — and He will thank you for having consoled Him in His sadness, in His agony, in His greatest moments of need.

So go to Him. Console His Sacred Heart. Don’t be one of the many cold hearts walking the face of the planet, be one of the hearts that is burning with His love and with love for Him.

Be the heart that goes to Him and says “thank you” and “I love you” and “How can I console your heart in this moment”.

Yeah, be that girl or that guy and then get ready, because I have a feeling that simple devotion to His suffering and His passion will do beautiful things in our cold and listless hearts.

O, Sacred Heart of Jesus, make our hearts more like Thine!

“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.”

Ezekiel 36:26

You can learn more about the promises Jesus gave to Margaret Mary and how to consecrate yourself and your family to the Sacred Heart here.

Promises to those who honor the Sacred Heart:

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. They shall find in my heart an assured refuge during life and especially at the 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 [lukewarm] 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 be exposed 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 my heart, and it shall never be effaced [erased].
12. The all powerful love of my heart will grant to all those who shall receive communion on the first Friday of nine consecutive months the grace of final repentance; they shall not die under my displeasure, nor without receiving the sacraments; my heart shall be their assured refuge at the last hour.