A short history of the cult of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
"(...) with the Heart of Jesus, the human heart learns to know the true and only meaning of his life and destiny: with the Heart of Jesus, the human heart acquires the ability to love." (Saint John Paul II)
The mystery of the Heart of Jesus comes from the teachings of Jesus flowing from the Gospels. The essence of the devotion is the veneration of the Heart of Jesus Christ as a symbol of God's love for man. This cult developed from the very beginning of Christianity, and its first worshipers were Mary and the apostles. However, it especially developed in the middle Ages, where mysticism combined the devotion to the Heart of Jesus with a very lively devotion to the Most Holy Wound of Jesus' Side. The precursor who, in the wound of the side opened by a spear "found" God's Heart is the unknown author of the beautiful song the Mystical Vine. It was in this wound that he found God's heart, he rested next to Jesus' Heart, and he promised to never part from it.
The cult of the Heart of Jesus initially was a private one, but with time was spread to large masses of society and the whole church. The entire Order of St. Dominic Guzman - Dominicans - very early assimilated the devotion to the wounded side and the Heart of Jesus. On Friday, after the octave of Corpus Christi, is the day that Christ chose for himself for the feast of His Heart, the day that the Dominicans recited the office of the Wound of the Lord Jesus' Side.
It is worth mentioning at least a few saints and blessed who distinguished themselves in the middle Ages with a special devotion to the Heart of Jesus; in this heart they found for themselves a source of special joy and sanctification:
Saint Mechtilde of Hackeborn (1241-1298), encouraged by the Lord Jesus Himself, entered His Heart and rested in it. Jesus gave her his Heart as a sign of the covenant he had made with her. One day during a meeting, the Lord pressed her heart so tightly to His Heart, that she had the impression that from then on the two hearts were one. Mechtilde greeted the heart of God every morning and every evening bid farewell to it.
Saint Gertrude (1250-1303), Mechtilde's younger sister, enjoyed a similar privilege. Her principal work, which made her name famous throughout Europe, is “The Herald of Divine Love”. It is a true poem about God's love for soul and soul for God. Its source is the Sacred Heart of the Son of God. It can be said that Gertrude communed with the Heart of Jesus every day.
Saint Margaret of Cortona (1252-1297). To her, the Lord Jesus said one day: "Put your hands on the wounds of my hands!" And the Saint answered: "No, Lord!" At that moment, the wound of Christ's side was opened and the saint saw in it the Heart of the Savior.
From the 17th century, devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus became known to all believers and the entire Church. Two saints contributed to this: St. John Eudes and St. Margaret Mary Alacoque. The first acted more on his own initiative, while St. Margaret - influenced by the orders that she received from Christ himself, who wanted to use her to reveal the truth about His Most Sacred Heart.
Saint John Eudes. In the 1903 decree on the heroic virtues, St. John Eudes is called "the creator of the liturgical worship of the Hearts of Jesus and Mary". In the Beatification breve we read directly: "Burning himself with special love for the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, he took the first step - and it was not without divine inspiration - to the idea of public cult in their honor. Therefore, he should be considered the father of this devotion, so dear to us. ...) He was also a teacher of this cult, because in honor of both Hearts he composed the Liturgy of Hours and Holy Mass. Finally, he was their apostle, because he put his whole heart into spreading this salvific devotion." John Eudes wanted it to be the property of all. The novelty he introduced was also the fact that the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus was closely linked with devotion to the Sacred Heart of Mary. He could not separate these two Hearts. He also founded a separate religious family in honor of these two Hearts and under their names (1641) so that the priests of this congregation would devote themselves ex professo to spreading the devotion to these two Hearts. In honor of these two Hearts, he prescribes for his spiritual sons separate devotions and prayers, among them a beautiful greeting: Ave Cor sanctissimum, ave Cor amantissimum Jesu et Mariae! In 1643, he ordered the solemn celebration of the Sacred Heart of Mary (February 8) and the Sacred Heart of Jesus (October 20) in his order. He arranged a Liturgy of Hours for this holiday. In 1648 he published booklets on the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Mary (“Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus” and “The Admirable Heart of Mary”). In 1670 he received the approval of the texts of the Holy Mass and the Office of the Sacred Heart of Jesus from the theologians.
Pope Benedict XVI said about St. John Eudes: "The path of holiness that he himself followed and which he showed to his disciples was based on an unwavering trust in the love revealed by God to humanity in the priestly Heart of Christ and in the maternal Heart of Mary".
Until Tomorrow
fr. george