Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
by Most Reverend Raymond L. Burke, D.D., J.C.D.
Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is a most effective means of living always in the company of Our Lord Jesus Whom we receive in Holy Communion. In other words, our devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is an extended act of love for Him Who shows us the greatest possible love by offering His Body and Blood for us in the Eucharistic Sacrifice. In His fourth apparition to Saint Margaret Mary, Our Lord revealed His Sacred Heart, declaring:
"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" (Louis Verheylezoon, S.J., Devotion to the Sacred Heart, Westminster, Maryland: The Newman Press, 1955, pp. xxvii).
When the devotional life is neglected, then there is a loss of gratitude and reverence, and a coldness before Our Lord in the Eucharist. Our Lord asks Saint Margaret Mary to make known His desire for a renewed devotion to His Sacred Heart, so that He might give His love ever more abundantly and we might respond with gratitude and return love for His divine love.
Originally published in the Saint Louis Review, June 4, 2004