*The heart is a common symbol of love in our day, used in song and poetry, as well as everyday speech. So, it should be no surprise that the Church has a feast day dedicated to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, the one who loves us beyond love. The most significant promoter of the devotion to the Sacred Heart was St. Margraret Mary Alacoque of France in the 17th century. She received apparitions of the Sacred Heart and promoted its devotion.
The first papal approval came from Pope Innocent VI in 1353 when he instituted a Mass in honor of the Sacred Heart. Pope Pius IX authorized the feast for the whole Church in 1856. Pope Leo XIII decreed a consecration of the world to the Sacred Heart of Jesus in 1899 as well as First Friday Devotions. Pope Pius XII wrote a letter instructing the Church on the devotion to the Sacred Heart in 1956 and Pope Benedict XVI reaffirmed the importance of this devotion in 2006.
Pope Benedict wrote, “When we practice this devotion, not only do we recognize God's love with gratitude but we continue to open ourselves to this love so that our lives are ever more closely patterned upon it. God, who poured out his love ‘into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us’ (cf. Rom 5: 5), invites us tirelessly to accept his love. The main aim of the invitation to give ourselves entirely to the saving love of Christ and to consecrate ourselves to it is, consequently, to bring about our relationship with God. This explains why the devotion, which is totally oriented to the love of God who sacrificed himself for us, has an irreplaceable importance for our faith and for our life in love.”
*https://live.staticflickr.com/2327/2317894926_8585f50d6b_c.jpg
https://www.vaticannews.va/sv/varlden/news/2019-06/juni-manad-tillagnad-jesu-heliga-hjarta.html
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