"Take me, O Heart of Christ..."

Take me, O Heart of Christ, in all that I am, take me in all that I have and that I do, in all that I think and all that I love!

Take me in my spirit, that it may cling to Thee; take me in my willing, that it will but Thee; take the depth of my heart, that it love only Thee!

Take me, O Heart of Christ, in my secret desires so that you be my dream and only goal, my one affection and my complete happiness!

Take me for the work of Thy great mission, for a complete gift toward my neighbor’s salvation, and for every sacrifice in service of your people!

Take me, O Heart of Christ, without limits, without end; take even what I’ve failed to offer Thee; and never give back to me what you have taken in hand!

Take for eternity all that is in me, that one day I may, O Heart, possess Thee, in the embrace of Heaven take Thee and keep Thee!

–by Rev. Fr. Jean Galot, 1919-2008

Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

Ave Maria!  Today is another beautiful solemnity as we pay special homage to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Gertrude von le Fort wrote a powerful Litany for the Feast of the Most Sacred Heart that will be my heart's song today, especially the lines that follow.  Come, let us worship the Lord, whose heart overflows with love for us!  Alleluia!

Holy Heart, divine Heart, almighty Heart...

Lonely Heart, flaming Heart, unquenchable Heart...

Overflowing Heart, overflaming Heart, overstorming Heart...

Mighty Heart, ineluctable Heart, all-consuming Heart...

World-ordering Heart, world-conquering Heart, Thou only Heart of hearts...

Be loved, Love, everlasting Love, be everlastingly loved...

Amen. Amen. 

May the day of Thine infinite love come quickly.

The Litany of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

During the month of June, traditionally devoted to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, what better prayer could we pray daily than the Litany of the Sacred Heart? Pope John Paul II stressed this in his Angelus message of 6/27/82, an excerpt from which appears below. Each day of this month I am focusing on a single line from this beautiful prayer, meditating upon it and letting it form and inform me, making it the cry of my heart as I make my daily rounds and especially when I pray. Happily, this litany can be found all over the Web on 62,000+ sights, such as here, here, here, here, and here.

Thanks to my beloved parents, I have a great love for and devotion to the Sacred Heart. My most treasured material possession, which I wear constantly, is a very small but lovely scapular medal that Daddy gave Mummie when he was courting her. It has the Sacred Heart on one side and Our Lady of Mount Carmel on the other. During their long courtship, they used to meet each other and take the bus together to morning Mass on the First Friday of the month. Daddy liked to tell me the story about Mummie finally saying to him, after about eight years, "Richard, don't you think it's about time that we got married?" And, thankfully, they did! Daddy used to carry a well-worn cartoon in his wallet of a woman dressed in her wedding gown and bridal veil, talking on the phone and exclaiming, "Ready? I've been ready for eight years!" Ah, what a patient woman my mother was!

Blessed be the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus!!

The month of June is especially dedicated to the veneration of the Divine Heart. Not just one day, the liturgical feast that usually falls in June, but every day. Connected with it is the devout practice of daily reciting or singing the Litany of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

It is a marvelous prayer, totally concentrated on the interior mystery of Christ, the God-Man. The Litany to the Heart of Jesus craws abundantly from biblical sources, and at the same time reflects the deepest experiences of human hearts. It is also a prayer of veneration and authentic dialogue.

In it we speak of the Heart, and we also allow our hearts to speak with this unique Heart that is the "fountain of life and holiness" and the "desire of the everlasting hills," with the Heart that is "patient and most merciful," enriching all who call upon him.

This prayer, recited and meditated, becomes a true school of the interior life, the school of the Christian.... Reciting the litany -- and in general venerating the Divine Heart -- we learn the mystery of redemption in all its divine and human depth.

At the same time we become sensitive to the need for reparation. Christ opens his Heart to us that we may join him in his reparation for the salvation of the world. The language of the pierced Heart speaks the whole truth about his gospel and about Easter.

Let us try to understand this language even better.

~Pope John Paul II, Angelus message of June 27, 1982

The Pierced Heart of Jesus

Lord, be the goal of my pilgrimage here upon the earth.

Let me cling to you with all the force of my longing.

Let me penetrate the very depth of your heart.

Let me breathe through you and let me live by the breath of your love.

Let me work for you, not shunning hardship and fatigue.

Let me rest in you, peacefully, in unending confidence and friendship.

Let me radiate, through you, your divine, loving kindness and apostolic zeal.

Let me remain in you forever, firmly rooted in your love.

~from Prayers to the Sacred Heart of Jesus by Rev. Jean Galot, S.J.

Prayer for a First Friday

O most sacred, most loving heart of Jesus, Thou art concealed in the Holy Eucharist, and Thou beatest for us still. Now as then Thou sayest, "With desire I have desired." I worship Thee, then, with all my best love and awe, with my fervent affection, with my most subdued, most resolved will. O make my heart beat with Thy heart. Purify it of all that is earthly, all that is proud and sensual, all that is hard and cruel, of all perversity, of all disorder, of all deadness. So fill it with Thee, that neither the events of the day nor the circumstances of the time may have power to ruffle it; but that in Thy love and Thy fear it may have peace.

~John Henry Cardinal Newman

Solemnity of the Sacred Heart

May Your Heart dwell always in our hearts! May Your Blood ever flow in the veins of our souls! O sun of our hearts, You give life to all things by the rays of Your goodness! I will not go until Your Heart has strengthened me, O Lord Jesus! May the Heart of Jesus be the King of my heart! Blessed be God. Amen.

~To the Sacred Heart by St. Francis de Sales

A Prayer for First Friday

O most sacred, most loving heart of Jesus, Thou art concealed in the Holy Eucharist, and Thou beatest for us still. Now as then Thou sayest, "With desire I have desired." I worship Thee, then, with all my best love and awe, with my fervent affection, with my most subdued, most resolved will. O make my heart beat with Thy heart. Purify it of all that is earthly, all that is proud and sensual, all that is hard and cruel, of all perversity, of all disorder, of all deadness. So fill it with Thee, that neither the events of the day nor the circumstances of the time may have power to ruffle it; but that in Thy love and Thy fear it may have peace.

John Henry Cardinal Newman

Blessed be the Sacred Heart of Jesus!

Love of the Heart of Christ, inflame my heart.

Charity of the Heart of Christ, flow into my heart.

Strength of the Heart of Christ, support my heart.

Mercy of the Heart of Christ, pardon my heart.

Patience of the Heart of Christ, grow not weary of my heart.

Kingdom of the Heart of Christ, be in my heart.

Wisdom of the Heart of Christ, teach my heart.

Will of the Heart of Christ, dispose of my heart.

Zeal of the Heart of Christ, consume my heart in the great love of your Most Sacred Heart.