Enthronement of the Sacred Heart
Dear friends,
Recently Pope Francis invited us to meditate on the Sacred Heart of Jesus. As a result, the parish staff has been prayerfully discerning how we can help the parish consider accepting his invitation. Meanwhile, when our beloved Fr. George Remm passed away, we were given the Sacred Heart image that hung in his childhood home. Long ago his family “enthroned” the Sacred Heart in their home.
The practice of the Enthronement of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in the home was begun by Father Mateo Crawley-Boevey, SS.CC (1875-1961). His mission was to help families unite Jesus in the Holy Eucharist with Jesus enthroned as the King of Mercy upon their hearts. The families would offer a series of prayers in their homes meditating on the Mysteries of the Heart of Christ. Then they would receive at church a blessed image of Jesus to enthrone in their home. On the image, they would sign and date their consecration to the love and grace of the Sacred Heart.
We would like to offer our parish the opportunity to consecrate their homes to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. We have made a high-resolution copy of the Remm family image so that those who participate can have a special connection to Fr. Remm.
If you would like to sign up for this enthronement, there is a cost of likely $20 for both the image and a copy of Pope Francis’ recent letter on the Sacred Heart, Dilexit nos. If you cannot afford this, please let Fr. Anthony know. If there are anonymous donors who would like to offset the costs, please let us know.
Important information:
On March 1-2, you can sign up for the enthronement in the vestibule near the display of the Sacred Heart.
The family enthronement prayers will begin May 2nd and end June 27th.
On April 27th, your family will receive instructions on the prayers to be offered in the vestibule and on our website. You can choose one of three options (each with different levels of difficulty). Your copy of Dilexit nos will be in the vestibule with your name on it.
On June 27th (at the 12:10 p.m. Mass) and 29th (at the 10 a.m. Mass) the images will be blessed and given to each family.
Jesus wants us to rediscover two hearts, his and our own.
May God bless you on your journey,
Fr. Anthony
Enthronement Prayers Below
Three Levels of Enthronement Prayers
Choose the level that best fits your needs
Level One: Family Friendly
With your family pray an Our Father, a Hail Mary, and a Glory be for 9 weeks
Finish with:
O most holy heart of Jesus, fountain of every blessing, I adore You, I love You, and with lively sorrow for my sins I offer You this poor heart of mine. Make me humble, patient, pure, and wholly obedient to Your will. Grant, good Jesus, that I may live in You and for You. Protect me in the midst of danger. Comfort me in my afflictions. Give me health of body, assistance in my temporal needs, Your blessing on all that I do, and the grace of a holy death. Amen.
*If you miss a day, do not worry. Just start up, again, the following day.
*If you cannot gather your family, pray the prayers yourself and invite them to do the same.
Level Two: The Next Level
(Like “Family Friendly” but with different prayers on Fridays)
Daily:
With your family pray an Our Father, a Hail Mary, and a Glory be for 9 weeks.
Finish with:
O most holy heart of Jesus, fountain of every blessing, I adore You, I love You, and with lively sorrow for my sins I offer You this poor heart of mine. Make me humble, patient, pure, and wholly obedient to Your will. Grant, good Jesus, that I may live in You and for You. Protect me in the midst of danger. Comfort me in my afflictions. Give me health of body, assistance in my temporal needs, Your blessing on all that I do, and the grace of a holy death. Amen.
Weekly:
On Fridays pray instead the following below:
St. Margaret Mary Alacoque and a Favorite of Padre Pio's
O my Jesus, you have said: "Truly I say to you, ask and you will receive, seek and you will find, knock and it will be opened to you." Behold I knock, I seek and ask for the grace of...(here name your request)
Our Father...
Hail Mary...
Glory Be to the Father…
Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in you.
O my Jesus, you have said: "Truly I say to you, if you ask anything of the Father in my name, he will give it to you." Behold, in your name, I ask the Father for the grace of...(here name your request)
Our Father...
Hail Mary...
Glory Be to the Father...
Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in you.
O my Jesus, you have said: "Truly I say to you, heaven and earth will pass away but my words will not pass away." Encouraged by your infallible words I now ask for the grace of...(here name your request)
Our Father...
Hail Mary...
Glory Be to the Father...
Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in you.
O Sacred Heart of Jesus, for whom it is impossible not to have compassion on the afflicted, have pity on us miserable sinners and grant us the grace which we ask of you, through the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary, your tender Mother and ours.
Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy,
our life, our sweetness and our hope.
To thee do we cry,
poor banished children of Eve.
To thee do we send up our sighs,
mourning and weeping in this valley of tears.
Turn then, most gracious advocate,
thine eyes of mercy toward us,
and after this our exile
show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
O clement, O loving,
O sweet Virgin Mary.
St. Joseph, foster father of Jesus, pray for us.
Level Three: Deep Dive
Pray the consecration prayers by Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque every day for nine weeks.
To the Sacred Heart of our Lord, Jesus Christ, I give myself and I consecrate my person and my life, my actions, pains, and sufferings so that I may be unwilling to make use of any part of my being other than to honor, love, and glorify the Sacred Heart.
This is my unchanging purpose, namely, to be all his and to do all things for the love of him, at the same time renouncing with all my heart whatever is displeasing to him. I, therefore, take you, O Sacred Heart, to be the only object of my love, the guardian of my life, my assurance of salvation, the remedy of my weakness and inconstancy, the atonement for all the faults of my life, and my sure refuge at the hour of death.
Be then, O Heart of goodness, my justification before God the Father, and turn away from me the strokes of his righteous anger. O Heart of love, I put all my confidence in you; for I fear everything from my own wickedness and frailty, but I hope for all things from your goodness and bounty.
Remove from me all that can displease you or resist your holy will; let your pure love imprint your image so deeply upon my heart that I shall never be able to forget you or to be separated from you.
May I obtain, from your loving kindness, the grace of having my name written in your heart; for in you, I desire to place all my happiness and glory, living and dying, in bondage to you.
Concluding Prayer
Father, we honor the heart of your Son, broken by our cruelty, yet symbol of love's triumph, pledge of all that we are called to be. Teach us to see Christ in the lives we touch and to offer him living worship by love-filled service to our brothers and sisters. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
———
Then starting May 2 begin the “First Friday Devotion.” You will not be able to complete this devotion by the time of the enthronement. However, this will fulfill your preparation and you can continue until January 2, 2026.
What is First Friday Devotion?
At the end of the 17th century, Our Lord appeared to St. Margaret Mary Alocoque (1647-1690) and asked her to spread devotion to His Most Sacred Heart. In a letter written to her Mother Superior in May 1688, St. Margaret Mary set out what is called The Great Promise Our Lord made regarding the Nine First Fridays and what we must do to earn it:
“On Friday during Holy Communion, He said these words to His unworthy slave, if I mistake not: ‘I promise you in the excessive mercy of My Heart that Its all-powerful love will grant to all those who receive Holy Communion on nine first Fridays of consecutive months the grace of final repentance; they will not die under My displeasure or without receiving their sacraments, My divine Heart making Itself their assured refuge at the last moment.'”
First Friday Requirements: To meet the requirements for the First Friday Devotion a person must, on each First Friday for nine consecutive months:
1. Attend Holy Mass
2. Receive Communion
3. Go to Confession*
*Some Catholic resources on this devotion say that Confession is not strictly required unless you need the sacrament in order to receive a worthy Communion, in other words, you need to go to Confession so you can be in the state of grace before you can receive Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. Other sources say you must go to Confession within eight days before or after the Friday. Even if you are in the ‘state of grace.’ If in doubt, consult your spiritual director. The more prevalent view prescribes the latter
The communicant should have the intention, at least implicitly, of making reparation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus for all the sinfulness and ingratitude of men.
Our Lord made these promises to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque regarding those who practice the Nine First Fridays and have a deep devotion to His Sacred Heart. The Twelve Promises listed below include the “Great Promise” (number 12).
1. I will give them all of the graces necessary for their state of life.
2. I will establish peace in their homes.
3. I will comfort them in all their afflictions.
4. I will be their strength during life and above all during death.
5. I will bestow a large blessing upon all their undertakings.
6. Sinners shall find in My Heart the source and the infinite ocean of mercy.
7. Tepid souls shall grow fervent.
8. Fervent souls shall quickly mount to high perfection.
9. I will bless every place where a picture of my heart shall be set up and honored.
10. I will give to priests the gift of touching the most hardened hearts.
11. Those who shall promote this devotion shall have their names written in My Heart, never to be blotted out.
12. I promise you in the excessive mercy of My Heart that My all-powerful love will grant all to those who communicate on the First Friday in 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.