Day 7: Novena to the Sacred Heart

Let us pray to the heart of our Lord Jesus Christ, patient and full of mercy.

Father of Mercy, You sent Your Son into the world. Though we were sinners, You filled his Heart with love and mercy so He may redeem our sins through His Passion and Death and make us Your children. May we be forever grateful, and remember Your mercy and the mercy of Your Son, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Ezekiel 36: 24-28

For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. Then you will live in the land I gave your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God.

Meditation

When reading this beautiful passage from Ezekiel, how can we not be reminded of of the Yazidis and Christians of Irak, who were chased from their secular lands, lost everything, and who nowadays try to make their homes in makeshift camps, unsure of their future? Is it not a profanity to replace the formerly peaceful atmosphere of these landscapes with murderous violence? The Word of God is truth. May it be accomplished for our brothers and sisters in humanity, those who flee and those who repress them! May the Lord bring the exiled back to their land, and grant them new spirits and hearts.

Pray the Sacred Heart Chaplet. Here's how to proceed:

Begin with the following prayer on the Crucifix (written by St. Ignatius of Loyola, or St. Thomas of Aquinas):

'Soul of Christ, sanctify me/Body of Christ, save me/Blood of Christ, inebriate me/Water from the side of Christ, wash me/Passion of Christ, strengthen me/O Good Jesus, hear me/Within your wounds, hide me/Permit me not to be separated from you/From the wicked foe, defend me/At the hour of my death, call me and bid me come to you/That with your saints I may praise you forever and ever. Amen.

On the large beads say:

'O sweetest Heart of Jesus, I implore that I may ever love you more and more.'

On the small beads say:

'Sweet Heart of Jesus, be my love.'

At the end of each decade, say:

'Sweet Heart of Mary, be my salvation'.

Upon completing the chaplet, say:

'May the Heart of Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament, be blessed, adored and praised with grateful affection, at every moment in all the tabernacles of the world, even to the end of time.'

Community prayer

Act of Consecration to the Sacred Heart by St. Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647-1690)

O Sacred Heart of Jesus, To you I consecrate and offer up My person and my life, My actions, trials, and sufferings, That my entire being may henceforth only be employed In loving, honoring and glorifying you. This is my irrevocable will, To belong entirely to you, And to do all for your love, Renouncing with my whole heart all that can displease you. I take you, O Sacred Heart, For the sole object of my love, The protection of my life, The pledge of my salvation, The remedy of my frailty and inconstancy, The reparation for all the defects of my life, And my secure refuge at the hour of my death. Be you, O Most Merciful Heart, My justification before God your Father, And screen me from His anger which I have so justly merited. I fear all from my own weakness and malice, But placing my entire confidence in you, O Heart of Love, I hope all from your infinite goodness. Annihilate in me all that can displease or resist you. Imprint your pure love so deeply in my heart That I may never forget you or be separated from you. I beseech you, through your infinite goodness, Grand that my name be engraved upon your Heart, For in this place all my happiness and all my glory, To live and die as one of your devoted servants. Amen.

Thank you! 43 people prayed

Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer everyone. Col 4:6