L’Abbé Martin Berlioux (1829‒1887):
The devotions of the Month of Mary have just been brought to a close, and the result of those devotions should be the resolution to begin well and to sanctify as far as possible the Month dedicated to the Sacred Heart. You owe it to that tender Mother, who says to you: “My child, I am the road which leads to Jesus. Go, kneel at His holy altar, and there contemplate the beauties and riches of His Divine Heart. I will impart to you my spirit to understand It, my heart, with which to love It, and each day I will implore It to bless you and to shower down on you the treasures of Its love.”
The Church unites her voice to that of the Blessed Virgin. The month of flowers, consecrated to the Queen of Heaven, is no sooner ended than she ardently desires that the month of fruits should be dedicated to the Heart of Jesus. She wills that we should turn from the powerful mediation of our advocate to the infinite mercy of our Saviour. The Church says to us with the prophet: “You will draw waters with joy out of the Saviour’s fountains” (Isaias xii. 3).
The illustrious Pius IX of holy memory enriched the Month of the Sacred Heart with many precious indulgences, and uttered the following most consoling words: “There is no hope for the Church and society but in the Sacred Heart of Jesus. It alone can remedy the evils of these days.”
Finally, Jesus invites and urges us to hasten to His Heart. To each of us He shows His wounded side, as He did to the apostle Saint Thomas, saying: “Come, touch, see, and taste the sweetness of my Heart. It belongs to you, and Its delights are to be with the children of men. Come, then, to me during these thirty days consecrated to my honour. Come, whatever may be your sorrow and your miseries, and I will refresh you. If you knew the gift of God, if you knew who I am, and what I am able to bestow on you, with what eagerness would you not respond to my loving call.”
Let us, then, go, Christians, where the Saviour’s love summons us: that place, we know well, should be at His feet, like Magdalene, to bedew them with our penitential tears. But since He offers us the privilege of Saint John, let us raise ourselves up to that divine and tender Heart: Accedet homo ad coraltum (Man will come to a deep heart) (Psalms Ixiii. 7). We will inhale Its fragrance, listen to Its soft voice, make known to It our sorrows, and we will obtain for ourselves and relations, for the Church, for our beloved country, for the just, and for poor sinners, all we need. We will be able to say with Solomon, speaking of the gift of wisdom: “Now all good things came to me together with it” (Wisdom vii. 11).
That we may spend this month in a proper manner, let us consider, in the presence of God, what are the graces that we hope to gain by our practices of devotion, and let us offer up our prayers, Communions and good works for this intention. Let us have in our rooms a picture of the Sacred Heart: the sight of it will remind us of our practices of devotions, and kindle in our breasts the fire of divine love. Our Lord has promised that wherever the representation of His Sacred Heart is exposed and venerated, it will be a source of abundant benedictions. We should communicate, if possible, every Friday, and during the day repeat often the invocation: Heart of Jesus, burning with love for us, inflame our hearts with your love!
O GOOD Master and Saviour Jesus Christ, vouchsafe to accept our loving adoration on this first day of the month dedicated to your divine Heart. What joy to come each day and offer you our homage, and what a source of grace and blessings will it be to us. Help us to profit by this holy time, and do you, O Virgin Mary, our Mother, lead us to the Heart of Jesus, and lend us your own with which to love Him. Amen.
