History of the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
In 1670, the French priest Father Jean Eudes celebrated the first feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. However, the spread of public worship of the Heart of Jesus has its origin in the mystical revelations that Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque began to experience in Paray-le-Monial, France, from 1673 until her death in 1690.
Saint Claude de la Colombière, Saint Margaret Mary’s spiritual director, and Fathers John Croisset and Joseph de Galliffe, who wrote the first treatises on the Sacred Heart, were among the first to promote this devotion.
Saint Margaret's main aspiration was the papal approval of the public worship of the Heart of Jesus. However, it was necessary to wait until the pontificate of Pope Clement XIII in 1765 for its approval. On July 21, 1899, Pope Leo XIII urgently recommended that all the bishops of the world observe the feast in their dioceses.
1. Finding Peace in the Heart of Christ: a homily on the feast of the Sacred Heart. Read or listen on YouTube or Spotify:
2. Commentary on the Gospel of the Mass for this solemnity
3. The origin of the devotion to the Sacred Heart and an explanation of the liturgy of the feast
4. Dilexit nos: Pope Francis’ encyclical on the Heart of Christ
5. Message from the Prelate (19 June 2020), inviting us to ask our Lord for hearts like his in order to bring peace to those around us
6. God’s Tenderness: an audiobook containing 8 articles on mercy
7. Meditation to inspire your prayer on the solemnity