Mass Schedule of Rev. Fr. David Hewko

Today, the Church celebrates the Festival of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. In 1856, at the request of the Bishops of France, Blessed Pope Pius IX decreed it obligatory for the celebration of today’s feast by the Universal Church. Then in 1928, Pope Pius XI, raised the rank of the feast to Double of the First Class. He also ordered that a solemn Act of Reparation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus be prayed annually on this feast day. By reciting this prayer on today’s feast (see below) the faithful may obtain a plenary indulgence, under the usual conditions.

Our Lady of Fatima Chapel celebrates today’s great festival with 5:30 PM Holy Mass, then followed by Benediction of the Most Blessed Sacrament with the recitation of the Act of Reparation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Confessions and Rosary will be 30 minutes before Mass.

Holy Mother Church encourages Her children to have strong devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. In these times of religious indifference, when fervor and charity have grown cold, Christ exhibits to the world His Sacred Heart as the image of God’s infinite love for mankind. This Divine Heart is a furnace with burning rays of Love, ready to re-animate faith and enkindle His Divine fire in hearts so selfishly filled with apathy and ingratitude.

This is the same Divine Love burning from the Sacred Heart whereby our Redeemer created His Holy Church. Abbot Guéranger, O.S.B. further explains this great mystery, teaching that the Sacred Scriptures for today’s feast relate entirely to the cruel opening of Christ’s side on the Cross:

“Let us imitate our Mother the Church, who hears these mysterious words with such profound attention. This Gospel tells us of the beautiful path by which She was created: She was conceived in the pierced Heart of the God-Man. She could not have had any other beginning than this; for She is the work, par excellence, of His love; and it is for this, His Bride, that He has accomplished all His other works. Eve was taken from Adam’s side, in figure of a future mystery; but, for the very reason of its being a type and a prediction, no trace was to be left of the fact itself. But in the mysterious fulfillment of the figure, that is in Jesus’ side being opened that His Bride may come forth, the trace was to remain forever. As often as She looks upon this wound, She is reminded of Her glorious origin; and that open side is like a ceaseless reminder that She has but to go to that Sacred Heart, and there She will find everything She needs for Her children.”

O sweet Jesus, Whose overflowing charity for men is requited by so much forgetfulness, negligence and contempt, behold us prostrate before Thy altar eager to repair by a special act of homage the cruel indifference and injuries, to which Thy loving Heart is everywhere subject.

Mindful alas! that we ourselves have had a share in such great indignities, which we now deplore from the depths of our hearts, we humbly ask Thy pardon and declare our readiness to atone by voluntary expiation not only for our own personal offenses, but also for the sins of those, who straying far from the path of salvation, refuse in their obstinate infidelity to follow Thee, their Shepherd and Leader, or, renouncing the vows of their Baptism, have cast off the sweet yoke of Thy law.

We are now resolved to expiate each and every deplorable outrage committed against Thee; we are determined to make amends for the manifold offenses against Christian modesty in unbecoming dress and behavior, for all the foul seductions laid to ensnare the feet of the innocent, for the frequent violation of Sundays and holidays and the shocking blasphemies uttered against Thee and Thy Saints.

We wish also to make amends for the insults to which Thy Vicar on earth and Thy priests are subjected, for the profanation, by conscious neglect or terrible acts of sacrilege, of the very Sacrament of Thy Divine love; and lastly for the public crimes of nations who resist the rights and the teaching authority of the Church which Thou hast founded.

Would, O Divine Jesus, we were able to wash away such abominations with our blood. We now offer, in reparation for these violations of Thy Divine honor, the satisfaction Thou didst once make to Thy eternal Father on the Cross and which Thou dost continue to renew daily on our altars; we offer it in union with the acts of atonement of Thy Virgin Mother and all the Saints and of the pious faithful on earth; and we sincerely promise to make reparation, as far as we can with the help of Thy grace, for all neglect of Thy great love and for the sins we and others have committed in the past.

Henceforth we will live a life of unwavering faith, of purity of conduct, of perfect observance of the precepts of the gospel and especially that of charity. We promise to the best of our power to prevent others from offending Thee and to bring as many as possible to follow Thee.

O loving Jesus, through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary our model in reparation, deign to receive the voluntary offering we make of this act of expiation; and by the crowning gift of perseverance keep us faithful unto death in our duty and the allegiance we owe to Thee, so that we may all one day come to that happy home, where Thou with the Father and the Holy Ghost livest and reignest God, world without end.  Amen.

Reflections on the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Our Lord suffered so much, in order to show how much He loves us, and how greatly God is offended by sin. A single word of Christ would have fully sufficed to redeem us, but it was not enough to make manifest the love of God. It is because of the great love Christ displays towards us, that we venerate the most Sacred Heart of Jesus.

The heart is the center of the physical life; from it the blood flows into every part of the body, maintaining its vitality. And since there is an intimate connection between body and soul, the heart is spoken of as the center of the spiritual life, whence all the thoughts and feelings take their rise. Hence we say: “My heart rejoiced, my heart is grieved, etc.” The heart is regarded pre-eminently as the seat of love.

When we venerate the Sacred Heart of Jesus, we call to mind His exceeding great love for us, and are stimulated to return love for love. God made use of a French nun at Paray-le-Monial, named Margaret Mary Alacoque, to propagate this devotion. Our Lord appeared to her repeatedly, showing her His Heart pierced by the lance, emitting flames of fire, surrounded by a crown of thorns – to signify the pain sinners cause to Our Savior – and surmounted by a shining cross. Our Lord intimated His desire that images of His Heart should be exposed for veneration, and promised signal blessings to all who should practice reparation.

He also commanded the Festival of the Sacred Heart to be kept on the Friday after the octave of Corpus Christi. This day is a most appropriate one, for it was on a Friday that Our Lord by His death gave the greatest possible proof of His love, and His Heart was pierced by the lance. Moreover, the Adorable Sacrament of the Altar affords abundant testimony to the love of the Savior, for as the sun’s rays are focused in a lens, so the rays of the sun of Divine Love are concentrated in the Sacrament of the Altar. Hence the feast of Corpus Christi is a special memorial of the love of Christ for man.

The devotion to the Sacred Heart, opposed at the outset, as are all works that are of God, spread rapidly over all the earth, and was attended by great graces and signal blessings.

O Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make our hearts like unto Thine.