October 16 2026 - St. Margaret Mary - Love of the Sacred Heart

 

Throughout the ages, some of the Saints have been gifted by God with visions or visitations from heaven. St. Paul is of course had a vision of Jesus on the road to Damascus. Legend has it the Lord also appeared to St. Peter before his own martyrdom. The book of Acts says that St. Stephen the Deacon had a vision of Jesus right before his martyrdom, and St. John the Evangelist of course, writes of his many visions in the Book of Revelation.

St. Francis famously had a vision of Jesus speaking to him from the cross in the chapel of San Damiano telling him to rebuild his Church. St. Clare, was given visions of the Holy Mass when she was bed-ridden due to infirmity.

In 1677, St. Margaret Mary, a Visitation nun in France, had a vision of the Lord revealing to her, His Sacred Heart. In her diary, she wrote “I could plainly see His heart, pierced and bleeding, yet there were flames, too, coming from it and a crown of thorns around it. He told me to behold His heart which so loved humanity. Then He seemed to take my very heart from me and place it there in His heart. In return He gave me back part of His flaming heart.”

Our Lord charged St. Margaret Mary with making known the powerful devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which today has spread throughout the world.

This parish of the Sacred Heart of Jesus has a special connection to St. Margaret Mary. This parish was formed from a merger of two former parishes, St. Gregory the Great, and the parish of St. Margaret Mary. Many, former St. Margaret Mary parishioners now have membership in Sacred Heart. Each Friday, we pray the Sacred Heart Devotion, calling to mind, the vision, the message, and also the promises made to St. Margaret Mary.

“Behold this Heart which has so loved men that it has spared nothing, even to exhausting and consuming itself, in order to testify its love.”

The Sacred Heart is a symbol of God’s love for us and a model for how we are called to love God in return and to love our neighbor.

Consider the love revealed in his Heart: a love that gives generously, perseveres through rejection, and pours itself out even for those who offer nothing in return. This is how Jesus loves us, and this is how he teaches us to love.

We love God in return by giving him our time and attention, obeying his commandments, and seeking his will even when it requires sacrifice. We are to love our neighbor by allowing Christ’s love to shape our response to the people he places before us—with patience, mercy, and generosity.

For a parish bearing his name, this is our daily calling: to make the love of the Sacred Heart visible through our worship, our service, our evangelization, and our care for one another.

Through St. Margaret Mary’s intercession, may we receive his love gratefully, return it faithfully, and share it generously. Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make our hearts like unto thine for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

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In reparation to the Sacred Heart for all sin and all blasphemy, let us pray to the Lord.

For an increase in faith, hope, and love for all Christians.

That our children and young people may be kept safe from the poisonous errors of our culture, and that their families may be places where the faith is practiced and cherished.

For all those whose love for God has grown cold, who have fallen into moral laxity or despair of the mercy of God, for all souls in danger of hell, for their conversion and the conversion of all hearts.

For all the needs of the sick and the suffering, the homebound, those in nursing homes and hospitals, the underemployed and unemployed, victims of natural disaster, war, and terrorism, for all those who grieve the loss of a loved one, and those who will die today, for their comfort, and the consolation of their families.

For the repose of the souls of our beloved dead, for all of the poor souls in purgatory, for the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish, for the deceased priests and religious of the diocese of Cleveland, for all of the deceased parishioners of former St. Margaret Mary parish.

Gracious Father, hear our prayers, and through the infinite mercy of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, grant us what we truly need, through the same Christ our Lord.

 

 

October 16 2024 - St. Margaret Mary Alacoque - Visions of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

 Throughout the ages, some of the Saints have been gifted by God with visions or visitations from heaven. St. Paul is of course visited by Jesus on the road to Damascus. Legend has it that Jesus appeared to St. Peter before his own martyrdom. The book of Acts says that St. Stephen the Deacon had a vision of Jesus right before his martyrdom, and St. John the Evangelist of course, writes of his vision of heaven in the Book of Revelation. 

St. Francis famously had a vision of Jesus speaking to him from the cross in the chapel of San Damiano telling him to rebuild his Church. St. Catherine of Siena’s life was filled with visions. St. Juan Diego received a vision of Our Lady of Guadalupe. 

In 1677, St. Margaret Mary, a Visitation nun in France, received visions of Our Lord. She writes in her diary how she plainly saw His heart, pierced and bleeding, yet there were flames, too, coming from it and a crown of thorns around it. She writes, “He told me to behold His heart which so loved humanity. Then He seemed to take my very heart from me and place it there in His heart. In return He gave me back part of His flaming heart.”

St. Margaret Mary received not just a vision, but a command. Our Lord charged her with making known the powerful devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which today has spread throughout the world. 

The message of the Sacred Heart is powerful. It is the message, that Jesus’ Heart—the heart of God—burns with love for sinners, and so he calls sinners to repent—to turn away from their sin—so that their hearts might be set afire like His. 

The message of the Sacred Heart addresses two errors of the spiritual life. On one hand, there is the temptation to see oneself as a hopeless sinner unworthy of God’s love, to see God as a task master who demands the rigid observance of the law or else he will send you to the eternal hell-fires. On the other hand, there is the temptation to explain away sin, to claim that since God’s mercy is so great, we really don’t have to put in that much effort to reform our lives: that it doesn’t really matter what we believe or what we do.

Rather, the devotion to the Sacred Heart shows us that we are loved intensely by God, his love for us is a fiery furnace. But because we are so loved, we must respond to God by seeking purification of all that is unlovable in us, the selfishness, impurity, pride, error, and hardheartedness.

May the message which St. Margaret Mary faithfully made known—the message of the love of the heart of Jesus—resound in our lives—that all of our selfishness may be burned away—that we may be set aflame with love for our fellow man and concern for his eternal well-being, for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

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In reparation to the Sacred Heart for all sin and all blasphemy.

For an increase in faith, hope, and love for all Christians.

That our children and young people may be kept safe from the poisonous errors of our culture, and that their families may be places where the faith is practiced and cherished.

For all those whose love for God has grown cold, who have fallen into moral laxity or despair of the mercy of God, for all souls in danger of hell, for their conversion and the conversion of all hearts.

For all the needs of the sick and the suffering, the homebound, those in nursing homes and hospitals, the underemployed and unemployed, victims of natural disaster, war, and terrorism, for all those who grieve the loss of a loved one, and those who will die today, for their comfort, and the consolation of their families.

For the repose of the souls of our beloved dead, for all of the poor souls in purgatory, for the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish, for the deceased priests and religious of the diocese of Cleveland, and for those who have fought and died for our freedom.

Gracious Father, hear our prayers, and through the infinite mercy of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, grant us what we truly need, through the same Christ our Lord.

First Friday Holy Hour - June 2023 - Love of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

 

The month of June is traditionally dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The reason June is dedicated to the Sacred Heart is primarily because during this month we celebrate the Feast of the Sacred Heart on the Friday after Corpus Christi. This year that will be June 16. Is it a coincidence that June is also the middle of the calendar year, or the heart of the calendar year.

But during this month with seek to deepen our devotion to the Sacred Heart—the heart of intense love for us.

During this month we seek to understand and be grateful for and encounter more deeply and spread for easily the human and divine love of Jesus for the world. And so this devotion gets to the heart of our Faith, the heart of Christianity. God loves us, and commands that we love each other. Love is the Lord’s first and greatest commandment. God asks for our love because He wishes to be the God and Master of our hearts through love. Our Lord has loved us with an infinite love, even unto death, and still loves us without limit. He wants to be loved by us. He appeals to our hearts and bids us love Him in return.

St. Margaret Mary to whom the Lord revealed the devotion to his Heart writes, “He made me see that it was the great desire He had of being loved by men, and of withdrawing them from the road of perdition, that induced Him to conceive this plan of making His Heart known to men, with all the treasures of love, of mercy, of grace, of sanctification, and of salvation, in order that those who wish to render and procure Him all the honor, glory, and love of which they are capable, might be abundantly and profusely enriched with the treasures of the Heart of God.”

Some amazing things in that one statement. First, Jesus revealed to St. Margaret Mary that he desires to be loved by us. God wants our love. God wants signs of our love. God wants us to spend time with him. He wants to hear our words of adoration and receive the silent gaze of adoration.

In the Eucharist, he has certainly given us this opportunity. For when we kneel in Eucharistic Adoration we are able to express our love for God through words and in silence, in simple loving attention. In fixing our hearts on his, present in the Eucharist, our hearts can be set ablaze like his.

And that’s the other thing from that passage from St. Margaret Mary: we are abundantly and profusely enriched with treasure from the heart of God when seek to love God as we can. This gets to the very heart of who God is. God is love. And he enriches us as we seek to love Him. We become better and richer when we love, because by doing so we become like Him.

To know and love Jesus Christ is our highest gain both for time and eternity. No sacrifice could be too great to attain it. And yet, we have this simple blessed hour, which is more like a gift than a sacrifice, to know His love and to seek to love Him more. May this time be blessed, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

28th Week in OT 2020 - Friday - All that is concealed will be revealed

 As the Lord’s public ministry brings him closer to Jerusalem, large crowds of people begin to follow him and listen to his teaching. This morning’s passage begins a long sermon contrasting genuine discipleship with the hypocrisy of the Pharisees.

Beware hypocrisy for “there is nothing concealed that will not be revealed”. The Pharisees were hypocrites because on the outside they acted as if they were upright, but inside they were full of evil. They were quick to point out what they perceived as the faults of others but did not see or repent of their own. Behind a mask of righteousness, the concealed an inner coldness, malice, pride, and lust for power. They were pretenders, play acting at holiness. 

And the Lord explains that in the end, no one will get away with hypocrisy. There is nothing concealed that will not be revealed. God sees to the heart. Jesus saw through the façade, the deception of the Pharisees. And offered them warnings and invited them to repent.

All Hypocrisy will certainly be exposed on judgment day, we will certainly have to answer for any evil deeds and division we sowed in private. There will be some Christians who will be exposed as shams and false prophets on judgment day.

So in this sermon, the Lord is certainly warning his disciples not to follow such false-teachers. After his return to the Father, the Church will be have to be on guard against false teachers, false apostles, he sew division and heresy.  

But, in this warning against hypocrisy, the Lord also wants to ensure that his followers, his disciples don’t fall into this sin. Genuine Christian discipleship isn’t about play acting at holiness, but cultivating genuine authentic love of God and neighbor. We are truly to repent of our sins so that they may be replaced with virtue and righteousness.

Today, we celebrate the feast of St. Margaret Mary, that great visionary who made known the powerful devotion to the Lord’s sacred heart. In 1677, Jesus appeared to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, a Visitation nun in France and revealed his Sacred Heart. She said, “I could plainly see His heart, pierced and bleeding, yet there were flames, too, coming from it and a crown of thorns around it. He told me to behold His heart which so loved humanity. Then He seemed to take my very heart from me and place it there in His heart. In return He gave me back part of His flaming heart.”

Here is the remedy for all hypocrisy. Again the Lord doesn’t want play actors, rather he wants to replace our cold, divisive hearts with his own. And that comes through prayer, devotion, right belief, repentance, and works of charity.

May the burning fire of his sacred heart, burn away all hypocrisy in our lives and in our parish, that we may witness to the transforming and saving power of Christ for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

 

That all Christians may grow in devotion to the Lord’s sacred heart, that sinner may turn to the infinite ocean of God’s mercy, lukewarm souls may grow fervent, and fervent souls may grow in perfection.

That world leaders may look upon the Son of God, believe in him, and seek the peace and justice that only he can bring.

That our young people may take seriously the call to holiness, and turn away from the evils of our culture to spread the good news of Christ’s eternal kingdom.

That, during this month dedicated to the Holy Rosary, many Christians will discover new and deep devotion to Our Lady’s powerful intercession and maternal care for the Church.

For all whose lives are marked by suffering may come to know the healing and peace of Christ.

For the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish, and all the poor souls in purgatory, for deceased clergy and religious, and for those who have fought and died for our freedom.

 O God, you know that our life in this present age is subject to suffering and need, hear the prayers of those who cry to you and receive the prayers of those who believe in you. Through Christ our Lord.

Sacred Heart 2019 - Infinite Love of Jesus Christ

“There is in the Sacred Heart a symbol and a sensible image of the infinite love of Jesus Christ which moves us to love one another.” So wrote, Pope Leo XIII in his 1899 encyclical, Annum Sacrum, in which the Holy Father consecrated the world to the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ. Devotion to the Sacred Heart had been spreading throughout the world for about two hundred years, after the visions of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, when Our Blessed Lord appeared to this visitation nun, and tasked her with making known his desire that devotion to His Sacred Heart be practiced by members of His Church.

In his encyclical, Pope Leo called to mind the “abundance of evils…which pressingly call upon us to seek for help from Him whose strength alone they can be driven away”. All the evil in the world, and all the evil in the church, can be said to be a failure of mankind to learn and adopt the love of the Sacred Heart. It is our task to allow the infinite light and love of the Sacred Heart to penetrate our lives, and to spread that same light and love through word and deed. To quote St. Margaret Mary, “we need nothing, but to lose ourselves in the Heart of Jesus.”

As promised to St. Margaret Mary, those with devotion to the Sacred Heart, Jesus says, -I will give them all the graces necessary for their state of life. -I will give peace in their families. -I will console them in all their troubles. -I will be their refuge in life and especially in death. -I will abundantly bless all their undertakings. -Sinners shall find in my Heart the source and infinite ocean of mercy. -Tepid souls shall become fervent. -Fervent souls shall rise speedily to great perfection. -I will bless those places wherein the image of My Sacred Heart shall be exposed and venerated. -I will give to priests the power to touch the most hardened hearts. -Persons who propagate this devotion shall have their names eternally written in my Heart. -In the excess of the mercy of my Heart, I promise you that my all powerful love will grant to all those who will receive Communion on the First Fridays, for nine consecutive months, the grace of final repentance: they will not die in my displeasure, nor without receiving the sacraments; and my Heart will be their secure refuge in that last hour.”

Sacred Heart of Jesus, have Mercy on us. For the Glory of God and Salvation of souls.

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We bring our needs to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

That the Church may be continually cleansed and sanctified by the blood and water that gave us new birth.

For all who have fallen away from the Church, for those who lack faith, and in reparation to the Sacred Heart for all sin and all blasphemy.

For all those who are sick or burdened in any way, may come to know and experience the refreshment of Christ’s love.

For the repose of the souls of our beloved dead, for all of the poor souls in purgatory, for the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish, for the deceased priests and religious of the diocese of Cleveland, and for those who have fought and died for our freedom.

Incline your merciful ear to our prayers, we ask, O Lord, and listen in kindness to the supplications of those who call on you. Through Christ our Lord

October 16 2018 - St. Margaret Mary - Circumcision of Hearts

In ancient Israel, circumcision was a sign of one’s membership in the community. The uncircumcised was seen as less of a man, who had not fulfilled the prescriptions of the law proscribed by God, and therefore unreceptive of the blessing of God.

Israel, however, would be tempted to consider circumcision sufficient to gain a share in the blessings of God. This led Jeremiah the prophet would go so far as to say that physical circumcision had no value in itself, what mattered was the circumcision of the heart. If the greatest command in the Law was to love God with your whole heart and to love your neighbor as yourselves, to circumcise the heart meant to remove all obstacles, all hardness, which kept one from the love which was to characterize God’s people.

St. Paul develops the teaching of the prophets in our first reading today, when he says, “neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.” What makes one an heir to the kingdom of heaven, is not circumcision, but faith in Jesus Christ which strips the heart of all selfishness, which seeks to imitate Christ’s outpouring of love in his self-sacrifice to the Father. To be a Christian is to seek to make one’s heart like the heart of Christ.
In 1677, Our Blessed Lord appeared to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, a Visitation nun in France and revealed his Sacred Heart.

She said, “I could plainly see His heart, pierced and bleeding, yet there were flames, too, coming from it and a crown of thorns around it. He told me to behold His heart which so loved humanity.”

The Lord lamented to St. Margaret Mary that he found so few souls on earth who truly loved him. So many lukewarm hearts, so many slothful hearts, so many divided hearts, so many ungrateful hearts, so many hearts indifferent to his sacrifice, hearts that could not care less that the Son of God became man and suffered and died for them. The Lord particularly lamented the irreverence and coldness of his people for the Eucharist, the sacrament of his love.

“Behold this Heart,” the Lord said to Margaret Mary, “which has so loved men that it has spared nothing, even to exhausting and consuming itself, in order to testify its love. In return, I receive from the greater part only ingratitude, by their irreverence and sacrileges, and by the coldness and contempt they have for me in this sacrament of love....”

In order to circumcise our hearts, to strip our hearts of indifference, ingratitude, lukewarmness, and irreverence for the Eucharist, we do well to ponder and behold, like St. Margaret Mary, the Lord’s Sacred Heart, to contemplate his love for us and his suffering for us, to repent of our sins and to engage in the prayer and fasting and penances and works of charity that will enkindle the fire of love for God, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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In reparation to the Sacred Heart for all sin and blasphemy, ingratitude and indifference, we pray to the Lord.
For an increase in faith, hope, and love for all Christians, for a renewed reverence for the Holy Eucharist, we pray to the Lord.
That our children and young people may be kept safe from the poisonous errors of our culture, and that their families may be places where the faith is practiced and cherished.
For all those whose love for God has grown cold, who have fallen into moral laxity or despair of the mercy of God, for all souls in danger of hell, for their conversion and the conversion of all hearts.
For all the needs of the sick and the suffering, the homebound, those in nursing homes and hospitals, the underemployed and unemployed, victims of natural disaster, war, and terrorism, for all those who grieve the loss of a loved one, and those who will die today, for their comfort, and the consolation of their families.
For the repose of the souls of our beloved dead, for all of the poor souls in purgatory, for the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish, for the deceased clergy and religious of the diocese of Cleveland, and for those who have fought and died for our freedom.
Holy Father, hear our prayers, and enkindle in our hearts the fire of your love, circumcise our hearts to make them evermore like the Sacred Heart of Your Son, who is our Lord forever and ever.