Christians often meditated on the Five Wounds of Jesus in the eleventh century, and the devotion to the Sacred Heart developed from this meditation. St. Gertrude the Great had private revelations regarding Jesus’ Sacred Heart and advanced its understanding in the late 13th century. In 1673, St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, a French Visitation nun, also received private revelations in which Jesus explained His love for all people and invited St. Margaret to lay her head on His Heart, which St. Gertrude also experienced. Jesus asked that Catholics receive Holy Communion on the First Friday of the month and adore Him in the Holy Eucharist. In 1675, Jesus told St. Margaret that He wanted an annual feast in honor of His Sacred Heart. In 1856, Blessed Pope Pius IX designated that the Feast of the Sacred Heart would be celebrated each year universally on the Friday after the Corpus Christi octave.
The hearts of Jesus and Mary are deeply connected. The Blessed Virgin gave her consent to God’s plan of redemption (Luke 1:38), so it is fitting that the Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of Mary is always the day after the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. The Servant of God Lúcia dos Santos, one of the visionaries of Fatima, has commented, “[While Jesus was in Mary’s womb], the Heart of Christ was beating in unison with the Heart of Mary.” Jesus Himself appeared to Sr. Lucia, saying, “I want My Church to … put the devotion to this Immaculate Heart beside the devotion to My Sacred Heart.”
Devotions to the two hearts encompass special prayers, novenas, and acts of consecration. Sacred Heart devotees can make a more formal proclamation of Jesus as the King and Head of their household or business through the Sacred Heart Enthronement. Father Mateo Crawley-Boevey, a 20th-century Chilean priest who advocated throughout his life for the Sacred Heart Enthronement, has said, “The enthronement is the official and social recognition of the rule of the Sacred Heart of Jesus over the Christian family, a recognition affirmed, outwardly expressed and made permanent by the solemn installation of the image of the divine Heart in a conspicuous place in the home and by the Act of Consecration.”
The Family Room, The Quest’s own local show airing Wednesdays at 11 a.m., featured an episode on the Sacred Heart Enthronement Network ministry. Listen on-demand and access the show notes for links to information about the Sacred Heart of Jesus and resources to enthrone your parish, home, school, or workplace.