The Sacred Heart of Jesus and Immaculate Heart of Mary
by Theologian Father William G. Most
Pius XII, in his Encyclical Haurietis Aquas -
May 25, 1956 carefully explained that this Devotion is not a Peripheral Thing, like
Devotions to various Saints. It is part of the Main Line of our Faith, since it is really
Honor paid to the Love of God for us, as Embodied in and Manifested in the
Heart of Jesus.
Pius XII explained that in the Heart of Jesus there is a
Triple Love:
"It is a Symbol of that Divine Love, which He shares with the Father and the Holy Spirit but which He,
the Word made Flesh, alone Manifests through a Weak and Perishable Body.
It is besides, the Symbol of the Burning Love which, Infused into His Soul, Enriches the Human Will of
Christ, and Enlightens and Governs its Acts by the most Perfect Knowledge derived both from the Beatific Vision and that which is
Directly Infused.
And finally - and this in a more Natural and Direct Way - it is the Symbol also of Sensible Love, since the
Body of Jesus Christ, formed by the Holy Spirit in the Womb of the Virgin Mary, possesses Full Powers of Feelings and Perception, in
fact more so than any other Human Body". (Vatican Press Version, as revised by Francis Larkin, SS. CC. , 1974, § 55-57).
Since to Love is to Will Good to another, for the
other's sake, then His Love consists in Willing the Good of
Eternal Happiness to us, and being Willing to go so far as the
Dreadful Death of the Cross, to make that possible for us. Thus
He "Proved His Love" (Romans 5:8). The
Love of Feeling of which Pius XII speaks is the
Natural Counterpart in the Body, of the Love
in the Spiritual Will.
It is an Outgrowth of Devotion to Christ's Sacred Humanity. Yet, the
Revelations given to Saint Margaret Mary gave a Great Impetus to it. And the
Church has shown Special Favor to the Great Promise of the Nine (9) First Fridays, even making Special Liturgical
Provision for the use of the Mass of the Sacred Heart, on most First Fridays throughout the Year.
That Nine (9) First Friday Promise, although it is found in a Private Revelation, has yet received, as we said, so many Marks of Favor of
the Church. The Best Interpretation of it is this: If someone,
Once in a Lifetime, made the Nine First Fridays Sincerely, and did not at the Start or Later intend to use it in
Presumption to Safely enter on a Life of Sin - yet if someone out of Weakness, not out of Presumption, were later to Fall into Sin, the
Promise seems to assure us that such a one "will not die out of My Grace".
The Essence of the Devotion was well explained by Pius XI in his
Miserentissimus Redemptor, of May 8, 1928. He explains that there are
Two (2) Essential Things: Consecration and Reparation for
Sin: "If the First and Chief Thing in Consecration is the Repayment of the Love of the
Creature to the Love of the Creator, the Second Thing at once follows from it, that, if that Uncreated Love has been Neglected by
Forgetfulness or Violated by Offense, Compensation should be made in some way for the Injustice that has been Inflicted: in Common Language,
we call this Debt, one of Reparation". Pius XI adds ( AAS 20. 174): "Now if
the soul of Christ [in Gethsemani] was made Sorrowful even to Death on account of our Sins, which were yet to come, but which were foreseen,
there is no doubt that He received some Consolation from our Reparation, likewise foreseen". The means of that Foresight of
course was the Beatific Vision in His Human Soul.
Pope Leo XIII, when he Consecrated the World to the Sacred Heart
(Annum
Sacrum, May 25, 1889. ASS 31. 649) explained well:
"For we, in dedicating ourselves, not only recognize and accept His Rule Explicitly and freely, but we
actually testify that if that which we give were ours, we would most willingly give it, and we ask Him to Graciously Accept from us that
very thing, even though it is already His".
We already have a Consecration to God through
Baptism, but it Pledges Less, being Primarily Concerned with the
Commandments. With the Sacred Heart Consecration we Pledge
to do much More, and Better.
The various Externals of Piety, such as Statues, Hymns, while to be Promoted, are not the
same as this Essence, which lies in Consecration and Reparation. It is in this Perspective that Pius XII called this
Devotion part of the Main Line of our Faith.
The Haurietis Aquas adds the following (§ 124):
"Let the Faithful see to it, that to this Devotion, the Immaculate Heart of the Mother of God be Closely
Joined. For, by God's Will, in carrying out the Work of Human Redemption, the Blessed Virgin Mary was Inseparably Linked with Christ in
such a manner that our Salvation sprang from the Love and the Sufferings of Jesus Christ to which the Love and Sorrows of His Mother were
Intimately United". In other words, she was as Pius XII
said (Munificentissimus Deus, AAS 42. 768)
"always sharing His Lot" even in Cooperation in the
Redemption, which Pius XII, in the same document, spoke of a 'Work' "Common
to the Blessed Virgin and her Son". Vatican II splendidly filled-in this picture showing that from
Eternity, before time began, to Eternity
after the End of Time, and in every one of the Mysteries of
His Life and Death, she was
"always sharing His Lot".
|
Return to Index Page