Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is so important for Catholics!
Jesus presented the Sacred Heart devotion to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque during four visions in 1673-1675:
“My Divine Master revealed to me that it was His ardent desire to be known, loved and honored by men, and His eager desire to draw them back from the road to perdition, along which Satan is driving them in countless numbers, that induced Him to manifest His Heart to men with all the treasures of love, mercy, grace, sanctification and salvation that It contains.”
To help you answer Christ’s call for devotion to His Sacred Heart, here’s seven powerful and important prayers:
Act of Consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus by St. Margaret Mary Alacoque
O Sacred Heart of Jesus, to Thee
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 Thee.
This is my irrevocable will,
to belong entirely to Thee,
and to do all for Thy love,
renouncing with my whole heart
all that can displease Thee.
I take Thee, 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 Thou, O Most Merciful Heart,
my justification before God Thy 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 Thee, O Heart of Love,
I hope all from Thine infinite Goodness.
Annihilate in me
all that can displease or resist Thee.
Imprint Thy pure love so deeply in my heart
that I may never forget Thee or be separated from Thee.
I beseech Thee, through Thine infinite Goodness,
grant that my name be engraved upon Thy Heart,
for in this I place all my happiness and all my glory,
to live and to die as one of Thy devoted servants.
Amen.
Morning Prayer to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary,
I offer You my prayers, works, joys and sufferings of this day
for all the intentions of Your Sacred Heart,
in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world,
in reparation for my sins, for the intentions of all our associates,
and in particular for the intentions of our Holy Father.
Prayer of Reparation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus by Pope Pius XI
O sweetest Jesus, whose overflowing charity towards men
is most ungratefully repaid
by such great forgetfulness, neglect and contempt,
see, prostrate before Thy altars,
we strive by special honor to make amends
for the wicked coldness of men
and the contumely with which Thy most loving Heart is everywhere treated.
At the same time, mindful of the fact that we too
have sometimes not been free from unworthiness,
and moved therefore with most vehement sorrow,
in the first place we implore Thy mercy on us,
being prepared by voluntary expiation
to make amends for the sins we have ourselves committed,
and also for the sins of those who wander far from the way of salvation,
whether because, being obstinate in their unbelief,
they refuse to follow Thee as their shepherd and leader,
or because, spurning the promises of their Baptism,
they have cast off the most sweet yoke of Thy law.
We now endeavor to expiate all these lamentable crimes together,
and it is also our purpose to make amends
for each one of them severally: for the want of modesty in life and dress,
for impurities, for so many snares set for the minds of the innocent,
for the violation of feast days,
for the horrid blasphemies against Thee and Thy saints,
for the insults offered to Thy Vicar and to the priestly order,
for the neglect of the Sacrament of Divine love
or its profanation by horrible sacrileges,
and lastly for the public sins of nations
which resist the rights and the teaching authority of the Church which Thou hast instituted.
Would that we could wash away these crimes with our own blood!
And now, to make amends for the outrage offered to the Divine honor,
we offer to Thee the same satisfaction
which Thou didst once offer to Thy Father on the Cross
and which Thou dost continually renew on our altars,
we offer this conjoined with the expiations
of the Virgin Mother and of all the Saints,
and of all pious Christians,
promising from our heart that so far as in us lies,
with the help of Thy grace, we will make amends for our own past sins,
and for the sins of others,
and for the neglect of Thy boundless love,
by firm faith,
by a pure way of life,
and by a perfect observance of the Gospel law,
especially that of charity;
we will also strive with all our strength
to prevent injuries being offered to Thee,
and gather as many as we can to become Thy followers.
Receive, we beseech Thee,
O most benign Jesus,
by the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Reparatress,
the voluntary homage of this expiation,
and vouchsafe, by that great gift of final perseverance,
to keep us most faithful until death in our duty and in Thy service,
so that at length
we may all come to that fatherland,
where Thou, with the Father and the Holy Ghost,
livest and reignest God for ever and ever.
Amen.
Litany to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy. Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
Christ, hear us. Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us. Christ, graciously hear us.
God the Father of Heaven, have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us.
God, the Holy Spirit, have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, One God, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, Son of the Eternal Father, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, formed by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mother, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, substantially united to the Word of God, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, of Infinite Majesty, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, Sacred Temple of God, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, Tabernacle of the Most High, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, House of God and Gate of Heaven, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, burning furnace of charity, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, abode of justice and love, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, full of goodness and love, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, abyss of all virtues, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, most worthy of all praise, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, king and center of all hearts, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, in whom are all treasures of wisdom and knowledge, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, in whom dwells the fullness of divinity, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, in whom the Father was well pleased, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, of whose fullness we have all received, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, desire of the everlasting hills, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, patient and most merciful, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, enriching all who invoke Thee, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, fountain of life and holiness, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, propitiation for our sins, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, loaded down with opprobrium, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, bruised for our offenses, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, obedient to death, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, pierced with a lance, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, source of all consolation, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, our life and resurrection, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, our peace and our reconciliation, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, victim for our sins, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, salvation of those who trust in Thee, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, hope of those who die in Thee, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, delight of all the Saints, have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world, spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world, graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world, have mercy on us, O Lord.
V. Jesus, meek and humble of heart.
R. Make our hearts like to Thine.
Let us pray:
Almighty and eternal God,
look upon the Heart of Thy most beloved Son
and upon the praises and satisfaction
which He offers Thee in the name of sinners;
and to those who implore Thy mercy,
in Thy great goodness, grant forgiveness
in the name of the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son,
who livest and reignest with Thee forever and ever.
Amen.
Prayer of St. Gertrude to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Sanctity of the Heart of Jesus, consecrate my heart;
Providence of the Heart of Jesus, watch over my heart;
Unchangeableness of the Heart of Jesus, strengthen my heart;
Purity of the Heart of Jesus, purify my heart;
Obedience of the Heart of Jesus, subjugate my heart;
Amiability of the Heart of Jesus, make Thyself known to my heart;
Divine attractions of the Heart of Jesus, captivate my heart;
Riches of the Heart of Jesus, do Ye suffice for my heart;
Floods of grace and blessing that flow from the Heart of Jesus, inundate my heart;
O Heart of Jesus! Be Thou my joy, my peace, my repose in this world and the next.
O Heart of Jesus! Adored in heaven, invoked on earth, feared in hell, reign over all hearts, reign throughout all ages, reign forever in celestial glory.
Amen.
Memorare to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
that no one who has had recourse to Thy Sacred Heart,
implored its help, or sought its mercy was ever abandoned.Encouraged with confidence, O tenderest of hearts,
we present ourselves before Thee,
crushed beneath the weight of our sins.In our misery, O Sacred Heart of Jesus,
despise not our simple prayers,
but mercifully grant our requests.
Prayer for the Dying and a Special Soul
O most merciful Jesus, Lover of souls,
I beseech Thee, by the agony of Thy most Sacred Heart,
and by the sorrows of Thine Immaculate Mother,
wash clean in the Thy Blood
the sinners of the whole world who are to die this day.
Remember most especially
the soul I spiritually adopt
with the intention of entrusting him or her to Thy Shepherd’s care:
I beseech Thee for the grace to move this sinner,
who is in danger of going to Hell, to repent.
I ask this because of my trust in Thy great mercy.
If it should please Thy Majesty to send me a suffering this day
in exchange for the grace I ask for this soul,
then, it, too, shall please me very much,
and I thank Thee, Most Sweet Jesus,
Shepherd and Lover of Souls;
I thank Thee for this opportunity to give mercy
in thanksgiving for all the mercies
Thou hast shown me.
Amen.