THE SACRED  HEART 1

Biblical Roots

It all begins in Scripture, where the heart becomes the language of God. In the Old Testament, God speaks in human words: “My heart is turned within me, my bowels are moved.” Already, we glimpse a God who loves and suffers. The Psalms pray for a pure heart. In the New Testament, Jesus defines Himself by His heart: “I am gentle and humble of heart.” And at Calvary, His pierced side lets blood and water flow—a sign of infinite love.

 

Chapter 2 – Early Spiritual Developments

Over the centuries, human voices deepen the mystery of the open heart. Saint Augustine speaks of the pierced side as the gateway to life. Saint Bernard emphasizes Christ’s passionate love. In the Middle Ages, Saint Gertrude of Helfta writes that she felt “welcomed into the heart of Christ as into a home.”

 

Chapter 3 – Paray-le-Monial and Margaret Mary

In Paray-le-Monial, a young nun becomes the messenger of the burning Heart. In the 17th century, Saint John Eudes organizes the first liturgical celebrations of the Sacred Heart. Then, between 1673 and 1675, Sister Margaret Mary Alacoque receives profound revelations: Jesus shows her His heart “aflame with love,” surrounded by fire and crowned with thorns. She writes: “Behold this Heart which has so loved men… and receives in return only ingratitude and contempt.”

These apparitions mark a turning point. Margaret Mary, a Visitation nun in Paray-le-Monial, lives an intense mystical experience. She sees Christ asking her to spread devotion to His Heart—wounded yet burning with love. In her letters, she describes inner struggles, misunderstandings, and the deep peace that follows each apparition.

Three essential practices arise from these revelations:

  • Consecration to the Sacred Heart: offering one’s life, home, and community to this open heart.

  • First Fridays: receiving Communion in reparation for offenses against Christ.

  • Holy Hour: spending one hour in prayer on Thursday night, in memory of Jesus’ agony in Gethsemane.

At first, her sisters and superiors doubt her. But gradually, her testimony touches hearts. Priests, families, and communities adopt these practices. Devotion spreads across France, then the world.

Margaret Mary dies in 1690 at age 43, leaving behind letters full of fire and tears. In 1920, she is canonized by Pope Benedict XV. Today, her room and the chapel of the apparitions in Paray-le-Monial are pilgrimage sites. Thousands come each year to pray before the tabernacle where she saw Christ

Chapter 4 – The Revolution and the Vendée

In the dark hours of the Revolution, the Sacred Heart becomes a sign of resistance. In Vendée, peasants rise against religious persecution and revolutionary violence. They sew a small red heart onto their shirts, sometimes embroidered with a cross or flame—this is the sauvegarde. A simple gesture, yet immense in power.

  • A visible sign of fidelity: wearing the Sacred Heart is a public declaration of loyalty to Christ and the Church, even at the risk of death.

  • A silent prayer: this piece of cloth becomes an act of faith, a mute invocation amid battle.

  • A spiritual shield: fighters believe this heart protects them, an invisible armor against fear and death.

A Vendéen peasant writes: “We wear the Sacred Heart sewn onto our clothes; it is our safeguard and our hope.” Grieving families collect bloodstained sauvegardes as relics, passing them down as tangible memories of fidelity and sacrifice

 

Chapter 5 – Montmartre, Memory and Reparation

On the hill of Montmartre, wounded France raises a monument of prayer. After the Franco-Prussian War and the Paris Commune, France is scarred. Military defeats, political divisions, and violent uprisings leave deep wounds. In this context, Catholics make a national vow: to build a basilica dedicated to the Sacred Heart—a symbol of reparation and hope.

In 1873, the National Assembly votes to construct the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Montmartre. The choice of Montmartre is deliberate: a site marked by bloodshed becomes a place of peace. The first stone is laid in 1875. Architect Paul Abadie designs a Romano-Byzantine edifice with a great white dome visible across Paris.

On August 1, 1885, even before the basilica is completed, perpetual Eucharistic adoration begins. Since that day, day and night, without interruption, adorers have kept vigil before the exposed Blessed Sacrament

 

Chapter 6 – The Adorers, Sentinels of Prayer

Since 1885, an unceasing vigil keeps the flame alive. Day and night, men and women take turns before the Blessed Sacrament. These adorers, called sentinels, testify that this hour of prayer has become the center of their lives

 

Chapter 7 – The 20th Century and Universalization

In the century of wars, the Sacred Heart becomes universal. Popes Pius XI and Pius XII affirm that this devotion is “the summary of all religion.” In homes, an image of the Sacred Heart is hung on the wall. Popular practices become spiritual landmarks for millions of faithful

 

 

Chapter 8 – Pilgrimages Then and Now

Walking toward the Sacred Heart—once clandestine, now joyful. In the past, Vendéen peasants walked in secret to hidden chapels. Today, crowds gather at Paray-le-Monial and Montmartre