Today—Friday, 27 June 2025—the Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, which this year also crowns the Jubilee of Priests in Rome. In St Peter’s Basilica this morning, Pope Leo XIV ordained thirty-two new priests and urged them—and all the faithful—to “let themselves be constantly shaped by His love,” so that the Church might become a beacon of unity in a fractured world.
Love Revealed in Scripture
The pierced Heart of Christ is not a pious after-thought; it is the biblical center of salvation history. The prophet Ezekiel foretells a Shepherd who will “bind up the wounded” (Ez 34:16), and St Paul proclaims that “while we were still weak, Christ died for us” (Rom 5:6). In today’s Gospel, the Good Shepherd rejoices over the one lost sheep (Lk 15:3-7). Pope Leo XIV’s homily weaves these texts together, reminding us that the Eucharist—“source and summit of the Christian life”—is the living Heart that nourishes and reconciles the flock.
The Heart of Catholic Doctrine
Saints and popes alike have recognized that devotion to the Sacred Heart safeguards the very substance of the faith. In Haurietis Aquas (1956), Pope Pius XII called the Heart of Jesus “the synthesis of the whole mystery of our redemption.” The devotion is therefore not optional sentimentality but an “excellent act of religion” that calls every baptized person to total self-surrender in love.
From Private Vision to Universal Feast
Although Christians have pondered the Heart of Jesus since the early Fathers, the modern feast traces its flowering to the Visitation nun St Margaret Mary Alacoque, who received a series of revelations beginning in 1673. The Lord showed her His Heart “aflame and encircled by thorns” and asked for Holy Hours, First Friday Communions, and a liturgical feast.
Papal Endorsement and Consecration
• Leo XIII, Annum Sacrum (1899). The Pope consecrated the entire human race to the Sacred Heart, calling the act “the summit and crowning of all the honours” the Church can give Christ.
• Pius XII, Haurietis Aquas (1956). He clarified the theological foundations of the devotion and urged public acts of adoration, thanksgiving, and reparation.
• John Paul II & Francis. Successive popes linked the Heart of Jesus to the evangelizing mission of the Church (Redemptoris Mater 38; Dilexit Nos 103).
A Feast for Priests—and for All
Since 1995, the Solemnity has doubled as the World Day of Prayer for the Sanctification of Priests. This year Pope Leo XIV, in a letter released today, implores priests to be “builders of unity and peace,” assuring them that the Lord seeks “humble hearts, not perfection.” His words echo the perennial teaching that every Christian vocation—lay or ordained—finds its model in the Heart that was “pierced for love” on Calvary.
Living the Devotion in 2025
- First Fridays. Attend Mass and make a sincere Act of Reparation on the nine consecutive First Fridays promised by Christ to St Margaret Mary.
- Holy Hour. Spend an hour of Eucharistic adoration each Thursday evening, uniting your heart to His vigilance in Gethsemane.
- Enthronement at Home. Consecrate your family to the Sacred Heart, placing an image in a place of honor as a daily reminder to practice charity and forgiveness.
- Works of Mercy. The Heart that burns with love for humanity sends us to the margins; volunteer at a food pantry, visit the sick, and accompany the lonely.
- Pray for Priests. Offer today’s Rosary and sacrifices for the holiness of clergy, that their ministry may overflow with pastoral charity.
Consecration Prayer (adapted from Annum Sacrum)
O Jesus, Redeemer of mankind, look upon us humbly prostrate before Your altar. We are Yours, and Yours we wish to be. Therefore we freely consecrate ourselves today to Your Most Sacred Heart. Reign in our hearts, families, parishes, and nation; reign in minds by the light of Your Gospel, in wills by the obedience of faith, and in our bodies by the purity of charity, so that all may proclaim: “Christ’s Heart has loved us to the end.”
Walking Forward
The Heart of Jesus is more than an image: it is the living furnace of divine charity blazing at the center of the Church. Draw near to it—especially in the Eucharist—and you will find the strength to heal division, the courage to evangelize, and the joy that no trial can extinguish. On this feast, let us echo Pope Leo XIV’s desire for a reconciled Church and pray: “Sacred Heart of Jesus, we place our trust in You.”
