History

Heure de présence au Coeur de Jésus 

OFFICIAL NAME

L'Heure de Présence au Cour de Jésus - Garde d'Honneur du Sacré Coeur de Jésus 

ALSO KNOWN AS

Garde d'Honneur

Guard of Honour 

ESTABLISHED 

1863

HISTORY

L'Heure de Présence au coeur de Jésus has its origins on Calvary with the loving presence of Mary, John and Mary Magdalene at the foot of the Cross. In the 17th century, Christ reminded St Margaret Mary Alacoque, a Visitation sister, how much he loved humanity and suffered because of their indifference. Following these apparitions, in 1863, Sister Marie du Sacré Coeur Bernaud, a Visitation sister in Bourg en Bresse in France, was inspired to begin what would become the Garde d'Honneur du Sacré-Coeur de Jésus and then the L'Heure de Présence au coeur de Jésus. The aim is to respond to the desire of Jesus, "I looked for compassion, but there was none, for comforters, but found none" (Ps 69:21) and "Let you at least love me" (Jesus' invocation to Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque). From the very first year, the activity flourished and became a confraternity and then an archconfraternity which, on its 50th anniversary, already had 30 million committed members all over the world. In 1969 the archconfraternity became an association with its own statutes. On 6 December 1977, the Pontifical Council for the Laity approved the new statutes of the L'Heure de Présence au Cour de Jésus. After a period of decline in the 1980s (except in Poland and South America, where devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus remains strong), the association expanded again in 2008 and grew in France and abroad. 

IDENTITY 

The purpose of the association is to choose one hour a day and live it to the fullest by offering Jesus everything you do (work, travel, free time, housework, meals, studies... etc.). It is in the very heart of daily tasks that Christ is most forgotten and offended and it is there that He wants to reach every baptized person to seek their love. It is not a question of changing anything in our activities, but only of changing the disposition of our hearts so that they are closer to the heart of Jesus at the chosen hour. It is to sanctify the present moment wherever we are. It means applying oneself to the best of one's ability, and to accept joys or difficulties with the sole purpose of pleasing Jesus. We thus console His Heart that is offended by sins and the indifference of human beings. The Garde d'honneur is called to respond to Jesus' love for humanity through the daily offering of the chosen hour. In this way, at every moment men and women of every condition return love for love to Jesus. 

ORGANIZATION

The Association is composed of an International Director, national and diocesan directors, local coordinators and tens of thousands of committed people worldwide. 

WORKS 

The local coordinators regularly organize retreats and meetings to make current devotions to the Sacred Heart of Jesus better known and to promote them. These are the enthronement of the Sacred Heart in the family, personal and family consecration, the Holy Hour and the practice of the first Friday of each month dedicated to the Sacred Heart. 

PUBLICATIONS

The Association publishes a quarterly Bulletin dedicated to its members in several countries (in French, Spanish, Portuguese, English, Polish, etc.) to spread devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.