The feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, celebrated the day after the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, three weeks after Pentecost The Sacred or Immaculate Heart of Mary has been the subject of great Marian devotion since the apparitions of Fatima, when the Virgin asked us to consecrate ourselves to her Immaculate Heart.
Dedicate yourself to the Immaculate Heart of Mary with this online retreat: https://hozana.org/en/community/7668-thirty-days-of-prayer-for-our-consecration-to-the/landing
Before explaining what devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary is, it is appropriate to clarify what the heart means in Catholic theology. In the Bible, the heart defines the most intimate place of man, his “secret garden”, known to God alone, the seat of his feelings, his will, his impulses and his desires… It is the human heart that seeks God, and it is in the heart that God allows himself to be found, because the desire for God dwells in the heart of man.
Thus, to speak of the Heart of Mary is to penetrate into the mystery of God, who “is made flesh in her” and truly makes the heart the temple of the Holy Spirit. For this reason, the Church honors the Immaculate Heart of Mary, for it is the absolute symbol of purity, faith and trust in God. Indeed, Mary responded to God's call and welcomed Christ better than anyone. Thus, her Immaculate Heart is closely linked to that of her son, the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Saint John Eudes, who was the first to spread devotion to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary, wrote in this regard: “These two Hearts of Jesus and Mary are so intimately united, that the Heart of Jesus is the principle of that of Mary, as the Creator is the principle of the creature; and that the Heart of Mary is the origin of the Heart of Jesus, as the mother is the origin of the heart of her child. This is admirable!”
Devotion to the Heart of Mary dates back to the seventeenth century, when Saint John Eudes propagated it in a very special way, uniting it with that of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. A few centuries later, in the nineteenth century, a feast with the “Most Pure Heart of Mary” was born under the impetus of Pius VII.
During the Second World War, and following the request of the Virgin Mary during her apparitions in Fatima, Pope Pius XII consecrated the world to Mary in order to place it under her maternal protection. Then, he instituted the feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary and fixed it on August 22, in the octave of the feast of the Assumption. He thus wanted to obtain, through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin, “the peace of nations, the freedom of the Church, the conversion of sinners, the love of purity and the practice of virtues.”
Since 1969, the date of the feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary has been fixed on the Saturday following the feast of the Sacred Heart.
The feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary is elevated to the status of a liturgical memorial. The celebration of the Mass thus gives glory to Mary through prayers, and in particular the Eucharistic preface which reveals to us the nature of her Immaculate Heart: “You gave the Virgin Mary a wise and docile heart so that she would perfectly fulfill Your will; a new and gentle heart, where You could engrave the law of the new covenant; a simple and pure heart, so that she could conceive Your Son in her virginity and see You forever; a firm and vigilant heart to bear without weakening to the sword of pain and wait with faith for the resurrection of Your Son.”
The Gospel of the day is that of Jesus lost and found in the temple, a passage that also reveals to us the heart of Mary, a model of faith and trust in God! We read in this passage of the Gospel of Luke how Mary sought and followed Jesus, and how, after finding Him, she “kept and meditated on all these events in her heart”. Mary stood in a humble and docile disposition of heart, welcoming God's plan into her life, regardless of events.
During her apparitions in Fatima in 1917, the Blessed Virgin, after showing the three young children Hell, explained to them: “You have seen Hell, where the souls of poor sinners go. To save them, God wants to establish the world's devotion to my Immaculate Heart. If you do what I tell you, many souls will escape and you will have peace.” And she added: “In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph!”
Thus, Mary explicitly asks us to consecrate ourselves to her Immaculate Heart by means of five practices: personal consecration; the reparation communion of the first Saturdays of the month; the offering of sacrifices for the conversion of sinners; the daily recitation of the rosary, and finally the wearing of the scapular.
“Virgin Mary, Mother of God and our Mother, we consecrate ourselves to your Immaculate Heart to be fully offered and consecrated to the Lord. Through you, we will be presented to Christ, your Son and Only-begotten Son of God, and, through Him and with Him, to his Eternal Father. We will walk in the light of faith, hope and love so that the world will believe that Christ is the sent of the Father whose word He has come to transmit to us. We too will be His envoys to make him known and loved to the ends of the earth. Thus, under the maternal protection of your Immaculate Heart, we will be one people with Christ who acquired us by His Death, witnesses of His Resurrection, and through Him offered to the Father for the glory of the Most Holy Trinity, whom we adore, praise and bless. So be it.”
Through devotion to her Immaculate Heart, the Blessed Virgin Mary wishes to place us under her maternal protection and to place us at her school so that we may live, like her, filled with the Holy Spirit. As we consecrate ourselves to Mary and pray to her, let us also ask for her intercession to reach the Sacred Heart of Jesus!
Join the prayer communities of Hozana to fully experience the feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and to respond to her call during her apparitions in Fatima!