The Dial
When Jesus entrusted to St. Margaret Mary the mission of promoting the devotion to His Divine Heart, He specified as follows:
“I take singular pleasure in seeing my love honored under the image of a heart of flesh. It is my desire that this image be exposed in public in order to touch the unfeeling hearts of men. Wherever this image is exposed for the purpose of being honored there, it will attract all manner of blessings.”
In answer to this call, the Guard of Honor takes for its emblem a dial with the Heart of Jesus at its center, and above the dial the words, “VIVE + JÉSUS” (or rendered in English as “Live + Jesus”).
This is followed by the legend:
“GLORY! LOVE! REPARATION! TO THE HEART OF JESUS”
which sums up the primary purpose of the Guard of Honor, after the words of Psalm 69: “Insult has broken my heart, and I despair; I looked for compassion, but there was none, for comforters, but found none.”
Around the Heart pierced by the lance are 12 stars bearing the 12 hours on the dial and the names of the associates. Everything converges on this pierced Heart. As soon as they are enrolled, the names of the associates are inscribed upon the dial, on the hour chosen by each. The dial is displayed in an oratory, chapel, church, school, etc.
When the dial is full, it is not destroyed but kept inside the frame, beneath the dial that replaces it.
Perpetual Supplication
During the course of their hour of guard, Associates of the Guard of Honor may, if they wish, participate in the intentions of our perpetual (i.e., round-the-clock) supplication. The dial below indicates the intentions assigned to each hour (a.m. or p.m.). Because of the differences in time zones, the 24 hours of the day are covered throughout the world, even though the dial only shows 12 hours.
From 12 t0 1 – With the Blessed Virgin: For Holy Mother Church, the Pope, the Bishops, Religious Orders, Seminaries and Novitiates, and difficult and despaired-of cases.
From 1 to 2 – With St. Joseph and the Saints: For the Nations of the World and those who govern them, for all levels of civic administration, for peace and harmony.
From 2 to 3 – With the Righteous of the Earth: For the Great Institutions, be they political, civil, or social; for the religious character of laws and social mores; for a greater respect for the holiness of the Sabbath.
From 3 to 4 – With the Seraphim: For the Family, for fathers and mothers and their children, for Christian marriage and its holy laws, for engaged couples, for temporal matters.
From 4 to 5 – With the Cherubim: For the Education of Youth, for teachers, for the choice of careers and vocations.
From 5 to 6 – With Thrones: For Work and Workers, for all social and economic problems, unemployment.
From 6 to 7 – With Dominions: For the Afflicted, for the poor, for those incarcerated, for those who are undergoing trial or temptation.
From 7 to 8 – With Virtues: For the Propagation of the Faith, for missions and missionaries.
From 8 to 9 – With Powers: For the Conversion of Sinners, and of those who have strayed from the Faith; for reparartion for blasphemies and sacrileges.
From 9 to 10 – With Principalities: For the Sick, and the dying, for final perseverance.
From 10 to 11 – With the Archangels: For the Souls in Purgatory, for deceased members.
From 11 to 12 – With the Angels: For the Reign of the Heart of Jesus, for all efforts intended to give greater glory to the Holy Eucharist and to the Sacred Heart of Jesus; for the growth and well-being of the Guard of Honor; for the faithfulness and unity among its members; in thanksgiving for benefits received.
The Dial of Mercy
As the Guard of Honor began to spread throughout the world, its Associates became increasingly aware of the important role reparation played in the devotion to the Sacred Heart. Our increasingly secular world gives rise to much anxiety among parents, friends, etc. over the abandonment of religious practices and the fact that so many souls stray from the path due to the culture of today. It is our duty to take responsibility for those who turn away from God.
This concern for the salvation of souls gave origin to the “Dial of Mercy”. Associates choose a supplemental hour of guard to obtain mercy for those individuals recommended whose initials are inscribed upon the Dial. The Dial of Mercy was first implemented at Bourg in 1882 as a complement to the Dial of the Guard of Honor.