June is the month dedicated to devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, a great sign of God’s love for every person and of his redeeming mercy. This devotion has its roots in Christian revelation and the history of the Church, finding a special place in the hearts of the faithful.
The Apostle of the Sacred Heart
Devotion to the Sacred Heart began with the visions of Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque in the 17th century. In these apparitions, Jesus expressed his desire to spread devotion to his Sacred Heart, the source of infinite love for humanity; from that moment on, the Saint’s mission became the spread of this message; a message - ancient and ever new - that brings Jesus’ divine and human love back to the center of attention; his presence among people through sharing in the joys and sorrows of everyday life.
The Sign of a Love Without Limits
The heart of Jesus is seen as the center of Christ’s human person, from which love for every man and woman flows. It is a heart that beat to the rhythm of our humanity, that knew joy and sorrow, and that offered itself in sacrifice for the salvation of all, no one excluded. It is a heart that continues to beat in unison with the hearts of all people, a heart without limits of space and time, a heart that shows no partiality but loves everyone and gives itself to everyone. A heart capable of understanding, accompanying, and sharing in every beat of the human heart: every joy, every sorrow, every abandonment, every sadness, every loneliness, every success, every failure…
How to Live the Month of June
During the month of June, we are invited to renew our devotion to the Sacred Heart through prayer, meditation, and participation in Holy Mass. Many parishes organize special celebrations, such as Eucharistic adoration and consecration to the Sacred Heart, to deepen our relationship with Jesus and his Sacred Heart and learn to live it each day with greater intensity.
In a world that often seems to take for granted the importance of selfless love that gives without calculating the cost, devotion to the Sacred Heart reminds us that at the center of our faith is a heart that beats for us, inviting us to love as he loved, without reservation.
June offers us the opportunity to reflect on the love that the Sacred Heart of Jesus has for each of us. It is an invitation to respond to that love with our hearts, with our lives, with our capacity to love and to let ourselves be loved.
