When Sister Margaret Mary Alacoque writes to Sister Félice-Madeleine de la Barge at Moulins in 1686, we are given the Short of Act of Consecration that the Saint writes for her Visitandine Sister at Moulins. The words in this Short Act of Consecration reflect the central elements of the devotion to the Sacred Heart of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The consecration begins with “I” and the person’s name, “I…X give and consecrate to the Sacred Heart…” This tells us that the person acts in two ways: to “give” and to “consecrate”: our entire being is given and consecrated to the Sacred Heart of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Now, what does this mean when we “give” and “consecrate”? It means we offer ourselves, placing ourselves before the Sacred Heart of Jesus. He makes us “sacred” by His own Heart. So, what we are doing in fact, is allowing Jesus to penetrate our Heart with His.

Jesus is the centre of this act of consecration, “my person and my life, my actions, trials and sufferings…” because each day we choose Jesus to be our all: when we have difficult choices, when we face challenging trials, and especially endure suffering: the Sacred Heart of Jesus is the one to be honoured, loved, and glorified, and that becomes the sole purpose of our being, only to “honour, love, and glorify Him.” This is consistent with the first words, “I…X…” because in the consecration we are giving ourselves, our complete being, there is nothing left behind or excluded. Love is generous, not selfish. Love does not hold back, love gives all. This is what the consecration tonthe Sacred Heart teaches us: giving all our being to Jesus.

The meditation on St. Margaret Mary’s Short Consecration will continue next month.

St. Margaret Mary Alacoque writes in September 1686 to Mother Louise-Henriette de Soudeilles who is the Superior of the Visitandine community at Moulins. We discover in this letter the passion that moves St. Margaret Mary so in love with the Sacred Heart of Jesus, that she wants to share with her sisters, in her Visitandine communities, so that this burning love of the Sacred Heart may spread like wildfire. Love is conveyed by sharing love; love is not meant to be contained for oneself. The truest love is the Heart of Jesus offered as a sacrifice for us. This explains why St. Margaret Mary is so eager to make the Revelations known, to love the Sacred Heart of Jesus. This is why St. Margaret Mary insists – with mindful humility – on devotion to the Sacred Heart by the placing the image of the Sacred Heart in a prominent position for the protection of oneself and one’s family, and also to honour the Sacred Heart of Jesus. In writing to Mother Louise-Henriette, three significant words are used in relation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus: to be “loved,” “honoured,” and “glorified.” We understand from St. Margaret Mary’s writings that this is the mission given to her by Jesus. St. Margaret Mary’s letters express the missionary quality – and appeal — of making the Sacred Heart of Jesus not only known, for knowing Jesus is the start, but to lead others to love, honour, and glorify Jesus. St. Margaret Mary knows this to be her mission, but she reminds us that this is our mission, the mission of the Church: to make Jesus loved, to make Jesus honoured, to make Jesus glorified. This mission St. Margaret Mary carries out with faith and courage. We also need to pray for faith and courage. St. Margaret Mary also reminds us that devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus has its source in the Gospel: The Heart of Jesus was sacrificed on the “tree of the Cross” to show His love for us, and “continues to do so in the Blessed Sacrament.” The love of the Sacred Heart is the one and same sacrifice offered on the Cross and continues to be offered in the Blessed Sacrament. The love of Jesus is true because it is real. As St. Margaret Mary conveys in her letter, Jesus still reaches out to us in His Body and Blood offered for us and to us.

As we read St. Margaret Mary’s letters, we discover her ongoing struggle: to make the Sacred Heart of Jesus known. On July 4 th , St. Margaret Mary writes from Paray-le-Monial to Mother Louise-Henriette de Soudeilles at Moulin. Jesus tells St. Margaret Mary that His Sacred Heart is meant to be adored – and so the significance to display the image of the Sacred Heart. 

St. Margaret Mary insists on this point. The struggle she has manifests itself in two ways: 1.) the blasphemes against the Holy Eucharist in the form of indifference, rejection, and unprepared reception of the Sacrament; and 2.) the numerous obstacles that St. Margaret Mary encounters to spread the devotion. St. Margaret Mary tells Mother Louise-Henriette, “I do not know, dear Mother, whether you understand this devotion to the Sacred Heart of Our Lord Jesus Christ of which I am speaking.” St. Margaret Mary even had difficulty to have the devotion accepted in her own monastery at Paray-le-Monial. Mother Greyfié at Semur, St. Margaret Mary’s former Superior, was the first to introduce the devotion — at the monastery of Semur. Devotion to the Sacred Heart spread because St. Margaret Mary persevered, conveying what Jesus revealed to her in spite of the skepticism of her own Religious Sisters. In other words, the Sacred Heart devotion we promote today and that we strive to live by started with serious difficulties, nevertheless, a courageous woman; namely, the cloistered Visitandine nun. St. Margaret Mary guides us in what we still find today: the indifference towards the Sacred Heart of Jesus and His precious Body and Blood in the Sacrament; the challenges in spreading the devotion in our pagan culture. Yet, if a cloistered nun by the grace of God succeeded in transmitting the devotion that is now spread across the world, we can certainly persevere in transmitting the devotion in our own communities.

St. Margaret Mary writes to Mother Greyfié who is at the Visitandine convent of Semur. Writing at the end of June, beginning of July in 1686, St. Margaret Mary confides that she feels “annihilated” by her “destroyed” reputation. The acceptance of the divine Revelations was not immediate; and while St. Margaret Mary sought approval for the Revelations, she also faced ridicule by her own community.

We often overlook the fact that the Saints we attach ourselves to had undergone great suffering and purification in order to please God. To simply attach ourselves to a Saint or a devotion without fully appreciating the trials the Saint had undergone is to miss the message: the Church canonizes a Saint recognising holy sanctity — heroic virtue — a model whom we can follow and through whom we can seek intercession. The austerity of Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque may not be for everybody, but radicality in living the Gospel is meant for all the followers of Christ. The willingness to defend and correct errors and to live in truth is intended for all of us. Radicality is the opposite of lukewarm. In our religious zeal of reparation to the Sacred Heart, we reduce the outrages and blasphemies directed towards Jesus.

The revelation to St. Margaret Mary is to ask the Father to make the Sacred Heart known, the Holy Spirit to make the Sacred heart loved, and the Virgin Mary, using her maternal influence, have the effects of the Sacred Heart are experienced by all those who turn to Jesus. The Visitandine community of Semur was the first to honour the Sacred Heart of Jesus and so the Semur community won the friendship  of Jesus. Semur becomes the well-beloved community of the Sacred Heart. While the Sacred Heart receives bitterness by the offenses caused by many, Jesus takes pleasure where His Sacred Heart is honoured.

On June 21st, 1686, the Friday following the Octave of Corpus Christi, Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque writes a note to Sister Marie-Madeleine des Escures. Devotion to the Sacred Heart spreads in the Visitandine convent of Paray-le-Monial thanks to Sister Marie-Madeleine. The feast on the Friday after Corpus Christi was designated by Jesus speaking to Saint Margaret Mary to be devoted to His Sacred Heart. With the help of Sister Marie-Madeleine, Paray-le-Monial was the first convent to observe the devotion.

Sister Margaret Mary’s letter teaches us that devotions do not “just happen.” The cloistered nun is the instrument to whom Jesus reveals Himself with his message. But how can Sister Margaret Mary reach out to others when she is cloistered in her convent? She relies on her communication with Sisters who will listen to her–always under obedience to her superiors and director–and those who will promote the devotion. We rely on the goodwill, faith, and spiritual disposition of others. Our relationship with Christ our Lord is not only between ourselves and our Saviour, but also a shared faith, a community of believers that we call Catholics whom we embrace with the language of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. And we even reach out to those non-Catholics who are willing to listen.

Saint Margaret Mary starts simply with the convents of nuns who are willing to listen to her, read the message — and share the Revelation. Sister Margaret Mary states, “It seems to me that Our Lord greatly desires His Sacred Heart to be honoured in some special way so that the effects of the Redemption may be renewed in souls.” The Sacred Heart devotion strengthens us to combat sins and help others battle against sin that continue to accumulate. Jesus wishes to abundantly impart on us his graces and mercy which He does through his Sacred Heart — in the depths of His love, Jesus uses every means to save us.