
“Come to Me all you that labor and are burdened, and I will refresh you” (Matt. 11, 28).
First Prelude: Behold Jesus revealing His Sacred Heart and inviting us to imitate His virtues.
Second Prelude: O my beloved Saviour, Divine Model of virtues, grant me light and grace to recognize Thy love and to imitate Thee.
First Point
The Heart of Jesus a Pattern of Every Virtue
“This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matt. 3, 17). With these words the heavenly Father presents the Saviour to us our sublime Model. Truly, the heart of Jesus is the embodiment of all perfection. The sentiments of the Sacred Heart of Jesus toward His heavenly Father are incomprehensibly perfect; perfect is the love that rendered Him obedient until His death on the cross; perfect, His complete abandonment and humble submission to His heavenly Father. The Sacred Heart of Jesus represents the highest type of divine worship, perpetual adoration of the Divine Majesty and infinite thanksgivings for divine mercy and clemency bestowed on His Sacred Humanity. The sentiments of the Sacred Heart towards us creatures His brethren are likewise perfect. Whatever there can be found in a heart that is good and noble may be found in infinite measure in the Sacred Heart of Jesus. It is the Heart of the noblest of Kings, the most merciful Shepherd, the most amiable Brother, the most affectionate and tender Bridegroom of our souls.
Therefore, this Sacred Heart has been from time immemorial the object of the intense longing and the sweetest love of all holy souls and their most delightful resting place. According to the Will of the heavenly Father, this magnanimous and holy Heart must be the Model of my heart and life. Why do I so seldom and so superficially ponder this embodiment of all beauty? How long have I been a disciple of the Sacred Heart and what meager progress have I made! Where is my love of God, my heavenly Father, where my gratitude for so many extraordinary graces lavished upon me? How cold and negligent are my prayers, how am I lacking in love of the cross, and in zeal to promote the honor of God and the salvation of souls! In short, how unlike the Sacred Heart of Jesus is my poor heart! Oh, that I would, henceforth, at least strive earnestly to mold myself on the sublime model of this adorable Heart, and by faithful imitation become a worthy venerator of the Divine Heart.
Second Point
The Sacred Heart of Jesus Teaches Us Religious Perfection
The observance of the evangelical counsels constitutes the foundation of our perfection, and herein the Heart of Jesus is our most sublime Exemplar. How great was His love of poverty, and how brightly does it shine out from the poor stable, from Nazareth, during His public life, in His death, and even now in the Sacrament of His Love! From the Sacred Heart of Jesus there shines out, also, the greatest purity in its brightest splendor, and from It, these rays stream into the hearts of all who are called to follow the Immaculate “Lamb whithersoever It goeth.” In Holy Communion Jesus unites His most pure Heart with ours and nourishes us with the wine whose fruit are virgins.
Oh, the marvelous obedience of our Divine Saviour! For our sake, He became obedient unto the cross. It was not enough for Him to obey His heavenly Father, His purest Mother, St. Joseph, His foster father; He subjected Himself to the soldiers sent to capture Him, to His unjust judges and His executioners. Thus He could rightly say: “Learn of Me, for I am meek and humble of heart,” and could exhort us to the practice of these two virtues which are the embodiment of perfection. Let us seek ever more and more to fathom the mystic treasure concealed in the Heart of Jesus, which He reveals only to interior souls. Let us, above all, learn to be humble, because humility unlocks for us the most precious treasures of the Sacred Heart. The humble man, above all, will preserve the treasure of chastity, he will bear meekly and patiently the trials and hardships met with in following Christ Crucified; he will find the peace and repose of a heart, resting in God.
O Heart of Jesus, model of all virtues, make our hearts like unto Thine.
Affections:
O most amiable, meek and humble Heart of my Jesus, the more brilliantly Thy sublime example of virtue shines out, the more it humiliates and covers me with profoundest shame, since It discloses all the imperfections of my heart. How far am I removed from likeness to Thee! The slightest reverse, the least suffering suffices to disquiet and annoy me. O Divine Heart, Thou sublime Exemplar of all hearts, imbue me with sentiments of true humility, that Thou mayest confirm the reign of Thy love in my heart and may it be wholly Thine for time and for eternity.
Resolution:
For the love of the Sacred Heart, I will exercise myself in humility today.
Spiritual Bouquet:
“Learn of Me, for I am meek and humble of heart.”
Prayer:
O Jesus, Living in Mary
O Jesus, living in Mary! come and live in Thy servants, in the spirit of Thy holiness, in the fullness of Thy might, in the truth of Thy virtues, in the perfection of Thy ways, in the communion of Thy mysteries; subdue every hostile power, in Thy spirit for the glory of the Father. Amen.
(Indulgence of 300 days, once a day. — Pius IX, Oct. 14, 1859)
First Prelude: Behold Jesus revealing His Sacred Heart and inviting us to imitate His virtues.
Second Prelude: O my beloved Saviour, Divine Model of virtues, grant me light and grace to recognize Thy love and to imitate Thee.
First Point
The Heart of Jesus a Pattern of Every Virtue
“This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matt. 3, 17). With these words the heavenly Father presents the Saviour to us our sublime Model. Truly, the heart of Jesus is the embodiment of all perfection. The sentiments of the Sacred Heart of Jesus toward His heavenly Father are incomprehensibly perfect; perfect is the love that rendered Him obedient until His death on the cross; perfect, His complete abandonment and humble submission to His heavenly Father. The Sacred Heart of Jesus represents the highest type of divine worship, perpetual adoration of the Divine Majesty and infinite thanksgivings for divine mercy and clemency bestowed on His Sacred Humanity. The sentiments of the Sacred Heart towards us creatures His brethren are likewise perfect. Whatever there can be found in a heart that is good and noble may be found in infinite measure in the Sacred Heart of Jesus. It is the Heart of the noblest of Kings, the most merciful Shepherd, the most amiable Brother, the most affectionate and tender Bridegroom of our souls.
Therefore, this Sacred Heart has been from time immemorial the object of the intense longing and the sweetest love of all holy souls and their most delightful resting place. According to the Will of the heavenly Father, this magnanimous and holy Heart must be the Model of my heart and life. Why do I so seldom and so superficially ponder this embodiment of all beauty? How long have I been a disciple of the Sacred Heart and what meager progress have I made! Where is my love of God, my heavenly Father, where my gratitude for so many extraordinary graces lavished upon me? How cold and negligent are my prayers, how am I lacking in love of the cross, and in zeal to promote the honor of God and the salvation of souls! In short, how unlike the Sacred Heart of Jesus is my poor heart! Oh, that I would, henceforth, at least strive earnestly to mold myself on the sublime model of this adorable Heart, and by faithful imitation become a worthy venerator of the Divine Heart.
Second Point
The Sacred Heart of Jesus Teaches Us Religious Perfection
The observance of the evangelical counsels constitutes the foundation of our perfection, and herein the Heart of Jesus is our most sublime Exemplar. How great was His love of poverty, and how brightly does it shine out from the poor stable, from Nazareth, during His public life, in His death, and even now in the Sacrament of His Love! From the Sacred Heart of Jesus there shines out, also, the greatest purity in its brightest splendor, and from It, these rays stream into the hearts of all who are called to follow the Immaculate “Lamb whithersoever It goeth.” In Holy Communion Jesus unites His most pure Heart with ours and nourishes us with the wine whose fruit are virgins.
Oh, the marvelous obedience of our Divine Saviour! For our sake, He became obedient unto the cross. It was not enough for Him to obey His heavenly Father, His purest Mother, St. Joseph, His foster father; He subjected Himself to the soldiers sent to capture Him, to His unjust judges and His executioners. Thus He could rightly say: “Learn of Me, for I am meek and humble of heart,” and could exhort us to the practice of these two virtues which are the embodiment of perfection. Let us seek ever more and more to fathom the mystic treasure concealed in the Heart of Jesus, which He reveals only to interior souls. Let us, above all, learn to be humble, because humility unlocks for us the most precious treasures of the Sacred Heart. The humble man, above all, will preserve the treasure of chastity, he will bear meekly and patiently the trials and hardships met with in following Christ Crucified; he will find the peace and repose of a heart, resting in God.
O Heart of Jesus, model of all virtues, make our hearts like unto Thine.
Affections:
O most amiable, meek and humble Heart of my Jesus, the more brilliantly Thy sublime example of virtue shines out, the more it humiliates and covers me with profoundest shame, since It discloses all the imperfections of my heart. How far am I removed from likeness to Thee! The slightest reverse, the least suffering suffices to disquiet and annoy me. O Divine Heart, Thou sublime Exemplar of all hearts, imbue me with sentiments of true humility, that Thou mayest confirm the reign of Thy love in my heart and may it be wholly Thine for time and for eternity.
Resolution:
For the love of the Sacred Heart, I will exercise myself in humility today.
Spiritual Bouquet:
“Learn of Me, for I am meek and humble of heart.”
Prayer:
O Jesus, Living in Mary
O Jesus, living in Mary! come and live in Thy servants, in the spirit of Thy holiness, in the fullness of Thy might, in the truth of Thy virtues, in the perfection of Thy ways, in the communion of Thy mysteries; subdue every hostile power, in Thy spirit for the glory of the Father. Amen.
(Indulgence of 300 days, once a day. — Pius IX, Oct. 14, 1859)
No comments:
Post a Comment