Category Archives: Sacred Heart Friday

The Alliance of the Two Hearts of Jesus and Mary! Part 2

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As I stated in Part 1 of today’s Sacred Heart Friday post from last week (this makes sense only you read the conversation I had with the voices in my head that was transcribed in the Part 1 post) an alliance is always serves as a means to an end. Political alliances bolster the political standing of each member on the world stage. Military alliances ensure the security of each member. So, what is the end of the Alliance of the Two Hearts of Jesus and Mary?

Our salvation, of course!

Like I said in the previous post, all authentic Marian devotion leads the soul to Jesus. “To Jesus Through Mary” is the theme of many saints’ writings; especially St. Louis deMontfort and St. Maximilian Kolbe. Even Our Lady said at Fatima that she desired devotion to not just her Immaculate Heart, but of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

In Scripture, we’ve seen how Mary “kept all these things pondering them in her heart.” What things? What was being said about Jesus. Her heart was ever united to contemplating Him; she was His first disciple and greatest Apostle. Of course, neither role was mentioned in the Bible, but it stands to reason that she was. 

There is also another reason for the union of the Two Hearts: genetic. Jesus had no human father; He received all His humanity from Mary. What this actually means and its significance may be difficult to understand, but her heart was identical to His. Given His Sacred Humanity and Divinity and her Immaculate Conception, this must mean the union of the Two Hearts had to have supernatural implications.

Maybe we need to spend some time pondering these things in our hearts.

Now to the ‘our salvation’ part. Mary (our Mother and Jesus’) and Jesus (our brother) desire nothing less than we join them in Heaven. The devotion to the Hearts is geared towards that. The Immaculate Heart of Mary has suffered from the indifference of souls air not outright sacrilege and blasphemy. The Devotion of the Five First Saturdays is about reparation for the offenses against her Heart. Read about that here: Five First Saturday Devotions. Similarly, the Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is about reparation for our sins and the sins of others. You can read about that here: Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Both are about reparation for sin. Who knows how many have been turned back from the path of perdition and now enjoy the blessedness of Heaven because of these?

Next week: “The Alliance of the Two Hearts of Jesus and Mary! Part 3!” I think it will be on the history of the Alliance, the saints that promoted it and so forth. That might need to carry over into a Part 4. There might be a Part 5, and that might involve Catholic Prophecy!

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The Alliance of the Two Hearts of Jesus and Mary! Part 1

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Yes, I know this  Sacred Heart Friday post is late.

“What do you mean ‘late,’ Paulcoholic?”

“I mean that it was supposed to be published last Friday.”

“Oh, wow! That IS late! A whole week! What have you got to say for yourself?”

“I wasn’t feeling all that well last week and wasn’t confident of my writing and thinking skills and didn’t finish going over the post to publish it last Friday (it was written over the course of that past week, I just never finished it.) Then I had my laptop off most of the weekend and didn’t feel like editing it. And then the week started and… OK ‘stuff’ happened and I just never got to it. OK?”

“Um, yeah, OK! Just don’t let it happen again!”

“Oh, shut up.” Why do I let the voices in my head get access to the keyboard?

In this week-late Sacred Heart Friday post, I offer you the first of at least two on the union between the two hearts  of Jesus and Mary. It was to have been one long-ish post, but since I’m late enough as it is and I didn’t do much additional research for it this week, and I’m still not feeling all that well, it’s being split up in two. So here goes! And let’s hope that I can get Part 2 out by the end of today the 19th. If there’s a Part 3, that’ll be next week.

All authentic Marian devotion leads to Jesus. The basis for this fact is that Mary is our Mother. Because she loves us so much, she leads us to her Son. We are all her children (Jesus and us) and so she wants us all to be together. Our biological mother gave birth to us in our physical, temporal life and we were thus born into Original Sin. Mary, however, gave birth to us when we were baptized. Our baptism made us members of the Mystical Body of Christ; and as Mary is Christ’s Mother, she becomes ours as she is also the Mother of the Mystical Body. Original Sin was wiped away and we were born anew as brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ and children of God the Father. She can be said to be more our mother than our biological mother ever was and she loves us more than our Earthly mother ever could and by reason of her divine motherhood, enables us to gain eternity with Christ. 

It is love which unites the two. The Heart of Mary beats with a love for Jesus and for us; His Sacred Heart beats with love for His Mother and for us. Mary’s Heart has a maternal love for us and so yearns for us to belong to Jesus. His Heart, as I’ve said before in these Sacred Heart Fridays, loves us, since as God He loves His own creation. His love for us is so great that He suffered and died to free us from our sins.

This then, is the Alliance of the Two Hearts of Jesus and Mary. An alliance typically is a means to an end. What is the end of this Alliance?

I think I’ll answer that in Part 2, and whatever I was gonna come up with for Part 2 will be Part 3 next week!

I have a new book! "The Sober Catholic Way" is a handbook on how anyone can live a sober life, drawn from over 17 years of SoberCatholic posts! It's out now on "Amazon," "Apple Books," "B&N" and and others!"!

My two other books are still available! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)

May, Mary, and the Sacred Heart

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For this Sacred Heart Friday, I bring to your attention the (perhaps unintended?) symbolism of May coming just before June, in the sense of who these months are dedicated to.

May is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary; June to the Sacred Heart. The Church teaches that all authentic Marian devotion leads us to Jesus. Therefore, we can spend this month of Mary, with its holidays of Our Lady of Fatima (May 13th) Mary, Mother of the Church (right after Pentecost) and the Feast of the Visitation (May 31st) preparing for the Sacred Heart. We can focus on each of those days and meditate or reflect on their significance, all with a mind as to how they lead us to Jesus.

The message of Our Lady of Fatima is prayer, penance and reparation. War is punishment for sin; immodest fashions offend God; we must pray the Rosary every day for the conversion of Russia as well as the World. Mary said, ‘In the end my Immaculate Heart will triumph!” This means the ultimate end of Satan’s free rein of terror and a period of peace before the Second Coming.

Mary, Mother of the Church :the Church is the Mystical Body of Christ, therefore Mary is our Mother. The Church was established by Christ to facilitate our redemption. The Church has one job: to save souls. It was started out of love for us; without it, we would have no Shepherd and no way to authentically interpret Scripture. No Church and there would be the confusion and chaos as evidenced by the countless Protestant and Evangelical denominations. 

The Feast of the Visitation celebrates when Mary made haste to visit her cousin Elizabeth, who was miraculously pregnant with St. John the Baptist. What lesson can we derive from this? Hospitality, for one. Make time in your life to come to the aid of your family, friends, kindred, tribe, clan, whatever. Your neighbor! Also, it is the declaration from Elizabeth that Mary IS the Mother of God, with Mary’s response that her should magnifies the Lord and her spirit rejoices in God, her saviour; as well as that all generations will call her blessed. Does your soul magnify the Lord? Are you grateful for all the things He has done for you? Do you call Mary ‘Blessed?’ 

Don’t forget! One if the ways to honor the Blessed Mother is doing the Five First Saturday Devotions.

Next Sacred Heart Friday: The Alliance of the Two Hearts of Jesus and Mary!

I have a new book! "The Sober Catholic Way" is a handbook on how anyone can live a sober life, drawn from over 17 years of SoberCatholic posts! It's out now on "Amazon," "Apple Books," "B&N" and and others!"!

My two other books are still available! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)

Try Adoration!

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For this Sacred Heart Friday I’m renewing a call to my readers to begin Adoration. Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament is at the center of the Sacred Heart Devotion. The two go hand in hand. When one begins their devotion to the Sacred Heart it follows that they are inevitably led to Adoration. He left us the Blessed Sacrament behind after His Ascension to keep company and give us bread for the journey to our true Home, Heaven

So, this is an invitation to all of you who are able to do so to consider spending time with the Lord in Adoration. Jesus is truly Present: Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity in the Eucharist. If the Catholic parishes near you do not have Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament exposed sometime during the week or even 24/7, perhaps try to attend Mass earlier than usual and adore Him while He’s reposed in the tabernacle.

Most diocesan websites have directories of parishes including whether or not they have Adoration (as well as when it is scheduled.) You can also look this up of Facebook.

There is nothing on Earth like being in the Presence of the Lord. That’s HIM there, no symbol. HIM.

Eucharist

Here is an Adoration Directory. I do not know how up-to-date it is, so perhaps call the parish in advance to confirm.

I have a new book! "The Sober Catholic Way" is a handbook on how anyone can live a sober life, drawn from over 17 years of SoberCatholic posts! It's out now on "Amazon," "Apple Books," "B&N" and and others!"!

My two other books are still available! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)

Mother Angelica and the Sacred Heart

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Yesterday was the 100th Anniversary of Mother Angelica’s birth and so for this Sacred Heart Friday I thought I’d share this “Mother Angelica Live” classic TV episode (taken from the EWTN YouTube Channel.)

Enjoy! I did! After her Scripture reading she picks up a black-covered book that she says contains writings from some saints as well as stuff Jesus told these saints in private revelations. “Oh! I wish I had that book!” I think. Then as she’s holding it and flipping through it I notice it looks familiar. Black, hardcover, four words on the cover – two on the first line, two on the second….. waitaminute, that looks familiar! Could it be? So I pause the video, go off to my little prayer corner and pick up a black, hardcover book with four words on the cover. I go back and resume the video and carefully watch Mother holding it and when she manages to hold it up long enough to reveal the cover I hit pause and look. IT’S THE SAME BOOK I HAVE!!!!! I DO HAVE IT! WHEEEEEE!!!!!!!

Oh, it’s the “Sacred Heart Prayer Book,” (and she mentions it by name at 34:20. I could have just waited.) and  it was published by the Sacred Heart Publishers, out of San Bruno, California in 1980. It was compiled and edited by a Brother James, SDB (Salesians of Don Bosco) of Saints Peter and Paul Church, in San Francisco, California. I did an Internet search, the publisher is apparently no more, the address given in the book looks on Apple Maps and Google Earth to be a small office building, which indicates it may have been self-published? It does not look like it was professionally produced by an established publisher. It is sturdy and the binding is excellent and all that, but there’s no artwork or anything else common to traditionally made books. That church exists, and is well-known, and has been featured in numerous films. I bought my copy of it maybe 20+ years ago at a used book shop near Utica, New York.

IMG 0799

Oh hey! Right at the end she said she had 100s of copies of it and gave them away to anyone whom wanted them. I wonder if mine originally came from someone who received it from her? (Yes, I’m writing this post while the episode is running; I also downloaded it to watch offline whenever I want.)

I have a new book! "The Sober Catholic Way" is a handbook on how anyone can live a sober life, drawn from over 17 years of SoberCatholic posts! It's out now on "Amazon," "Apple Books," "B&N" and and others!"!

My two other books are still available! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)

Sacred Heart and Divine Mercy Sunday

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Today is once again Sacred Heart Friday. We are also on the cusp of Divine Mercy weekend, since Divine Mercy Sunday is coming up! It is one of my favorite days on the Church’s liturgical calendar. It give me great hope for the absolute washing away of my sins, a firm purpose of amendment, and final perseverance.

The fact that I got married on the Vigil of Divine Mercy Sunday in 2008 is also a factor 😉

This post continues my attempt to link the Sacred Heart Devotion to that of the Divine Mercy. 

In the Sacred Heart Devotion we have love of Jesus for Humanity. Our returning that love in reparation for sins is another core part of the devotion.

On Divine Mercy Sunday the floodgates of Mercy shower down upon us all to cover our sins. Soon after Jesus died on the Cross to redeem us for our sins, a Roman centurion threw a lance at his side to ensure He was dead; as the lance pierced Him blood and water flowed from His side.

John 19:34 Instead, one of the soldiers opened his side with a lance, and immediately there went out blood and water.

Courtesy: Sacred Bible: Catholic Public Domain Version

O Blood and Water, which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a fountain of Mercy for us, I trust in you!

So goes the ‘Divine Mercy 3 O’Clock Prayer,’ which all devotees of the Divine Mercy Devotion typically say at 3PM local time every day.

Blood is symbolic or representative of Holy Communion. Valid reception of Communion ‘builds us up in Christ’ and destroys venial sin along with giving us ‘bread for the journey,’ strength to make through our lives. Likewise, Water serves as a reminder of Baptism. When we are baptized we are initiated into the Mystical Body of Christ, and along with all other Christians, we can call God our Father and Christ our Brother. (And Mary our Mother!)

The Sacred Heart Devotion is centered on Christ and that in His love for us He left behind the sacrament of His love: Holy Communion; which I referenced in the previous paragraph as being symbolized by the Blood pouring forth from His side.

Our devotion to the Sacred Heart leads us to make reparation for our sins and those of others. “For the sake of His Sorrowful Passion, have Mercy on us and on the whole World.” So goes the prayer Divine Mercy devotees recite on the beads of the Chaplet of Divine Mercy.

Therefore, recitation of the Divine Mercy Chaplet can be considered to be a part of the Devotion to the Sacred Heart, since it involves a petition for mercy on not just ourselves, but for others, too, who most likely are not invoking God’s Mercy on themselves.

So, that’s it for now. I’ve liked this; I may attempt more posts linking the Sacred Heart and Divine Mercy.

I have a new book! "The Sober Catholic Way" is a handbook on how anyone can live a sober life, drawn from over 17 years of SoberCatholic posts! It's out now on "Amazon," "Apple Books," "B&N" and and others!"!

My two other books are still available! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)

Good Friday and Sacred Heart Friday

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O Blood and Water, which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a fountain of Mercy for us, I trust in you!

And so goes the  ‘Divine Mercy 3 O’Clock Prayer,’ which all devotees of the Divine Mercy Devotion typically say at 3PM local time every day.

That is the time when Jesus died on the Cross to redeem us for our sins. Soon after, a Roman centurion threw a lance at his side to ensure He was dead; as the lance pierced Him blood and water flowed from His side.

John 19:34 Instead, one of the soldiers opened his side with a lance, and immediately there went out blood and water.

Courtesy: Sacred Bible: Catholic Public Domain Version

Divinemercyvilniusimage

On this Sacred Heart Friday, we honor the Passion and Death of Our Lord. For today is Good Friday. On this day he trod the Way of the Cross and was finally nailed to it, suffering the horrific pain and humiliation for three hours until He died.  

On this day we also begin the Divine Mercy Novena, which leads up to the celebration of Divine Mercy Sunday. This my favorite Novena to pray, even more so than those to the Immaculate Conception or St. Maximilian Kolbe! Given what I subjected other to and what I myself endured as a consequence of my alcoholism, Divine Mercy Sunday has a very special meaning for me. (I was also married on the Vigil of Divine Mercy Sunday in 2008; so there’s another dimension to the holyday.) I’ll post more on Divine Mercy Sunday when we get closer to it.

Good Friday reminds us of the unity of the Sacred Heart Devotion and the newer Divine Mercy Devotion. They go hand-in-hand and complement each other. The visual imagery of the lance that pierced His side and the blood and water that flowed out and the Image of the Merciful Jesus (“Jesus, I trust in You.”) bind the two devotions. If you are a devotee of one, you really should be also of the other. There is a fulness or completion in uniting the two…

I have a new book! "The Sober Catholic Way" is a handbook on how anyone can live a sober life, drawn from over 17 years of SoberCatholic posts! It's out now on "Amazon," "Apple Books," "B&N" and and others!"!

My two other books are still available! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)

The Sacred Heart devotion is a summary of the spiritual life and of religion

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For this Sacred Heart Friday, there is a great article from Aleteia on “How the Sacred Heart devotion is a summary of the spiritual life.”

Indeed, if you look at the Devotion, with its central theme being the redemptive love of Jesus to all of Humankind, our response to that love as a means or reparation, and all the devotional acts (prayer, Mass the Blessed Sacrament,) one can see that it is a basic summary of the practice of the Catholic religion.

Want to better practice your Catholic Faith? Just work out the Sacred Heart Devotion.

 

I have a new book! "The Sober Catholic Way" is a handbook on how anyone can live a sober life, drawn from over 17 years of SoberCatholic posts! It's out now on "Amazon," "Apple Books," "B&N" and and others!"!

My two other books are still available! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)

Three Drops of Blood: The Creation of the Sacred Heart

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On this Sacred Heart Friday, I am relating to you something about the creation of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. This is appropriate given that as this is posted, it is the Vigil of the Solemnity of the Annunciation.This comes from a private revelation, and thus is not binding on Catholics. However, my personal opinion regarding approved private revelations is that they are not binding on the faithful in much the same way that putting on a parachute is not binding on you when you jump out of a plane. You don’t have to wear one, but it’s a good idea anyway.

It comes from “The Mystical City of God,” by the Venerable Mary de Jesus de Agreda. Mary de Agreda was a Franciscan nun who served as abbess of a cloistered convent in Agreda, Spain, in the 17th Century. She experienced a series of visions during which the Blessed Mother communicated her life to the abbess. It’s the most complete biography of the Virgin Mary ever written and there are quite a lot of deep insights into theology and doctrine, as well as a host of mystical meditations and…. well, words don’t do it justice but the volumes are incredible and worth getting. “The Mystical City of God” comes in four volumes and is 2,700 pages long. Don’t let that intimidate you. If you read a lot, it’s like the equivalent of 8-10 books. You’re gonna read at least that many this year, ain’t you? Well, these are better! You can pace yourself, if needed. Eight pages a day will get you done in one year. One chapter a day (more sensible a task than 8 pages/day) will take you through it in seven months. They are available for sale through various publishers, as well as free PDFs online (the books are public domain.) I’ve read the four volume unabridged edition twice, and am embarking upon a third reread. (There is an abridged version.)

It happens immediately after Mary gave her consent for the Holy Spirit to overshadow her causing the Incarnation. Here is an image of the passage from “The Incarnation,” the volume from which it was taken (the “Incarnation,” the second of the four volumes.)

Three Drops of Blood Passage

Three drops of blood from Our Lady’s Immaculate Heart gathered and deposited in her sacred womb. From this, Jesus drew His genetic material and His Sacred Humanity. 

The issuing of the blood from her heart symbolized her Sorrowful Heart, which was to suffer much as prophesied by Simeon. So, there in a connection between her Sorrowful Heart and His Sacred Heart. This makes sense, given her sorrow was over His passion and death for the love of us that emanated from His Sacred Heart; and our devotion to the Sacred Heart serves as a reparation for sins committed against Him, and, by extension, Our Lady. When we make reparation to the Sacred heart, we are also consoling her.

The Solemnity of the Annunciation can be considered a celebration of the union of the Two Hearts – The Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Our Lady and the Sacred Heart of Jesus. (There is a devotion to the Two Hearts (as well as prophecies), which I’ll look into and write about later (May/June?)

I have a new book! "The Sober Catholic Way" is a handbook on how anyone can live a sober life, drawn from over 17 years of SoberCatholic posts! It's out now on "Amazon," "Apple Books," "B&N" and and others!"!

My two other books are still available! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)

Adoration Sodality

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I was watching EWTN Mass the other day and Fr. Joseph mentioned an initiative of the nuns there concerning establishing an “Adoration Sodality.” It is an organization where members sign up and commit to a Holy Hour.

I immediately went to the site he mentioned and signed up (if you go to that link, you’ll be redirected to another site.)

There’s more here:

I bring this for a variety of reasons, but mainly that today is Sacred Heart Friday and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament is at the core of the Sacred Heart Devotion. Those who adore Our Lord in the Blessed Sacramant are performing one of the essential acts of the devotion: Loving Jesus. He Ascended in to Heaven after He completed his mission on Earth and left behind the Sacrament of His love for us. Adoring returns that love. Love for love. 

I have a new book! "The Sober Catholic Way" is a handbook on how anyone can live a sober life, drawn from over 17 years of SoberCatholic posts! It's out now on "Amazon," "Apple Books," "B&N" and and others!"!

My two other books are still available! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)