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Show Sacred Reart league. Feast of the Sacred Heart Friday, June 6 An Appeal to the Members to Celebrate the Feast. Written for The Intermountain Catholic. As you are aware, the first Friday of the coming month of June is also the feast of the Most Sacred Heart of our divine Redeemer. It is. the, .'.one great feasts of the League of the Sacred Heart. The members of it should be invited to celebrate it in due manner, and no one should let the great day pass by without giving our dear Lord the tribute of holy communion In the spirit of thanksgiving for his many favors, as well as of reparation for their own shortcomings and their ungratefulness, un-gratefulness, as also for the outrages committed against him. especially in the most adorable sacrament, where his wonderful love manifests itself in I a manner passing their understanding. ! lie should receive by union and, communion com-munion with him in the mystery of love their adoration, their homage and in-tensest in-tensest response to his love. The devotion to the Sacred .Heart, as you know, is not made by man, but is his own desire, as nianfested in his apparitions to, and his colloquies., with, the humble nun of Pa ray Le. Monial, the blessed Margaret Mary Alaeoque. Showing her his divine heart, bleeding and crowned with thorns, and with flames issuing forth from it, and complaining com-plaining of the coldness of . men, he commanded her to make it known that I he desired the love of mankinds in return re-turn for the love of his heart. '.. Since the hearts of men had- growfi cold towards him, he desired, as a last means, to rekindle their love, to reveal the fire of love consuming, as it .were, his own divine heart. He significantly added that he had reserved th(s devotion devo-tion for the last days, and as the last means to draw the hearts of the children chil-dren of man to him in holy love. Our dear Lord, centuries before lie manifested himself to blessed Margaret Mary, appeared to others of, his servants, ser-vants, revealing in tenderest words the love of his divine heart. The holy nun St. Gertrude was especially favored. Burning with intense love for the heart ' of her divine spouse, she begged of him that she might make it Known to others, oth-ers, and that as shepherds .and, kings adored him in Bethlehem, so alj the. hearts of men might come to adore him in the love of his divine heart in his tabernacles. But mark well, our dear Lord denied her the privilege, telling her that he had reserved this devotion for later times, as a last means to rekindle re-kindle love to him in the hearts of men grown cold. In the days of St. Gertrude the world was still aglow with love of our divine Redeemer, there was still one God. one faith, one baptism. The "latter days" had not come as yet. j Our divine Lord communicates with his servant and spouse in holy and tender love. How different when again, centuries cen-turies after St. Gertrude had rone to dwell with him. he appears to blessed Margaret Mary, addressing her in Words Of Intense snrvnii; orirl renrnaeh j the hearts of men having grown cold. The latter days had come, the devotion to his divine heart had become urgent and necessary. And as. the saintly nun shrinks back In her humility and retirement, re-tirement, to reveal his manifestations, desires, promises and threats, he commands com-mands her to carry out his designs, and makes the most solemn promises, so well known to the members of the League, of wonderful privileges' and blessings for those who would love him in his burning heart. Is it not remarkable remark-able in times of faith St. Gertrude is anxious to spread the devotion to the Sacred Heart and is denied, which, when the latter, days had come and the hearts of men grown cold, blessed Margaret Mary has to be commanded to publish his desire and to urge upon the world having this devotion? Does not each one of . the holy nuns. represent repre-sent unknowingly and in a strange manner the spirit of her times, the conditions of a religion among the Christian world? Against itself the world has to accept the devotion to the Sacred Heart as an anchor of salvation. sal-vation. As the feast of the Sacred Heart is coming near, let all the numerous members mem-bers of our local League make up their minds to' come to his altar. May none stay away from the holy table where he lovingly awaits them to enkindle their, hearts with the fire of his undying un-dying love. He demands of us- specially special-ly attached to him by the bonds of his i - . League, the sDirit of love and of reparation. repar-ation. Should we consider but for a moment the tendency of our "latter days." the prevailing religious doubts, the confusion in spiritual matters, skepticism skep-ticism .agnosticism, rank infidelity and blasphey even in the name of God and of religion, why, would it be possible that we fail to understand the necessity neces-sity of the devotion to the Sacred Heart, the one central object of divine love? Devotion to our Most Holy Redeemer, Re-deemer, who descended from the mighty throne of his Father in heaven, annihilates himself the God thrice holy. 1 for our sake, and becomes in all things like ourselves, sin excepted, and finally extends his arms on the cross of Calvary Cal-vary in sacrifice, his most noly heart pierced for our redemption. More than any generation before us, we, living In these latter days, need his watchful love. An evil world would even lead astray the elect. A world I who has come to admire infidelity as j independence," rebellion against eternal laws as true liberty, accepts the sins of the age as mere weakness and excuses ex-cuses the most heinous crimes as an inheritance in-heritance for which man is not responsible. respon-sible. Let us at least unite in the love of the divine heart, let us enter into the snirit of his church and his vicar, who has ordained the consecration of individuals, families, communities, states and nations, and of all the world, to the divine Redeemer in his most Sacred Heart.. Let us flock around our altars and around our shepherd and his worthy clergy on the day of the feast of the Sacred Heart to renew the solemn sol-emn consecration of ourselves and of all we have. May he. who Is the manifestation mani-festation of his ominpotent power and majsety. rain clouds of mercy on an unbelieving un-believing world, in his goodness and mercy descend sweetly in our hearts and inflame them with the fire of his saving and everlasting love and till them with the peace of the children of God. Let us continue to promote the devotion to his Sacred Heart-that "our names shall be written in his heart, never to be blotted out." |
