Guard of Honor of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

In her letter to Mother de Saumaise at Dijon in March 1687, St. Margaret Mary Alacoque addresses the dilemma about spending time with others – or with Jesus.

She writes from the perspective of a cloistered nun, and believed that distractions of writing letters or visiting with others would take her away from prayer, and attention drawn to her, when she could spend this time with God.

St. Margaret Mary disliked such social activities and found them “repugnant” because she believed they were wasteful. She was concerned in replying to the people, she would be “continuously making new acquaintances,” which did not interest her, as her focus was on a contemplative life of solitude, silence, and prayer.

Yet, St. Margaret Mary tells us, “He gave me to understand that writing was for His glory; that I should answer those who write to His wretched slave about the devotion to the Sacred Heart.” In other words, St. Margaret Mary realised that writing becomes an opportunity, the occasion to speak to others of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, to make his Sacred Heart known.

And similarly, the parlour where she met with visitors, she “finds this so painful that often I show much repugnance.” Reflecting on this afterwards, St. Margaret Mary confides, “I feel great remorse in not doing what I think God demands of me” not responding to the people who seek her because she prefers to remain unknown. By showing this repugnance, St. Margaret Mary regrets she fails God’s “design of doing them good” — they are deprived of God’s graces.

To make matters worse, St. Margaret Mary believes she is deceiving people because she is far worse than how they think of her. What we might call hypocrisy since we often find ourselves behaving one way, and yet, we are well aware of our sins and sinfulness. What St. Margaret Mary Alacoque conveys is the pain in being present to others, having their attention, and the good impression the people have of her.

St. Margaret Marry understands the suffering she must undergo, united with the Sacred Heart of Jesus; the graces she received were for those whom Jesus sent her way. Is this not also true for us, Jesus sends us those individuals so they may receive graces through the Sacred Heart? And this is a great act of Charity.