The Litany to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
June is dedicated to Jesus Christ, whom we worship in a special way at this time in prayer dedicated to His Sacred Heart. It is - as Pope Leo XIII -
a zealous advocate of the worship of the Heart of Jesus said - "a symbol and vivid image of Jesus' infinite love to the faithful”. June prayer services, held in its present form, appeared quite late, only in the nineteenth century. The cult of the Heart of Jesus was already initiated by Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647-1690) - a French nun. June 16, 1675, when sister Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque prayed in the chapel of the monastery in Paray-le-Monial in France, the Lord Jesus appeared to her for the third time. He said to her: " Behold, this Heart which has so loved men that it has spared nothing, even to exhausting and consuming itself, in order to testify its love."
Jesus gave St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, twelve promises regarding worshipers of His Heart. Our Lord promised the following:
1. I will give them all the graces necessary for their state in life.
2. I will establish peace in their families.
3. I will comfort them in their trials.
4. I will be their secure refuge during life, and, above all, in death.
5. I will shed abundant blessings on all their undertakings
6. Sinners will find in My Heart an infinite ocean of mercy.
7. Lukewarm souls will become fervent.
8. Fervent souls will rapidly grow in holiness and perfection.
9. I will bless every place where an image of My Heart shall be exposed and honored.
10. I will give to priests the gift of touching the most hardened hearts.
11. The names of those who promote this devotion will be written in My Heart, never to be blotted out.
12. I promise thee, in the excessive mercy of My Heart, that My all-powerful love will grant to all those who receive Holy Communion on the First Friday of nine consecutive months, the grace of final penitence; they shall not die in My disgrace nor without receiving their Sacraments; My Divine Heart shall be their safe refuge in this last moment.
A significant event in the worship of the Heart of Jesus took place in Marseille, when in 1720 in the city an infectious disease - cholera - took a huge toll. The bishop of this city decided to seek help in the Merciful Heart of Jesus. A special decree ordered the solemn dedication of his diocese to the heart of Jesus. The act of sacrifice was made on November 1, 1720. The penitential singing had barely ceased, and this contagious gastrointestinal disease began to subside quickly. A year after the epidemic was over, the Ordinary of Marseille ordered a novena to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
The cult of the Sacred Heart of Jesus took various forms. And the June devotion itself appeared in Paris in the first half of the nineteenth century thanks to a nun - Aniela de Sainte-Croix. In thanksgiving after receiving Jesus in Holy Communion she thought that since May is dedicated to the Mother of God, it would be good to offer June to the Heart of Jesus. She shared this idea with others. This thought was apt enough to be officially accepted by the church hierarchy quite quickly. Pope Pius IX approved the June prayer service as the official prayer of the Church in 1873. The June prayers service consists of two basic elements:
• Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and
• Litany to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
The original text of Litany composed by sister Anne Madeleine Remuzat from Marseilles, had 27 invocations. 12 of these were taken by the nun from the Jesuit father Jan Croiset, who already in 1691 worshiped the Heart of Jesus in this way and gave the beginning to this beautiful prayer. An additional 6 invocations prayed today were made by the Roman Congregation of Faith with the final approval of the litany text in 1899. The present Litany contains 33 petitions that commemorate the symbolic number of the years of Jesus' life on earth. All invocations in this Litany have a deep reference to the Holy Scriptures. Most of them are almost literal quotes from the Bible, while others are inspired by it. Each call was preceded by the phrase Heart of Jesus. By saying
these two words we mean Christ Himself who loves us with His heart. This Heart is a symbol of all Mercy and Love that Christ has for people. If anyone is thirsty and believes in me, let him come to me and drink, because - as the Scriptures announced - the streams of living water will flow from my heart. In these words, Jesus revealed the deepest secret of His Heart. It is a source of living water, which, as Saint John express, means the Holy Spirit (cf. Jn 7:39). In other words, the gifts of the Holy Spirit flows from the Heart of Christ the Lord.
Until Tomorrow
fr. george