Eastern Oklahoma Catholic June 2012 : Page 19
ing and the all-too-wonderful truth that through His death, he made it possible to share in His very life, became known to me only upon entering the Catholic Church. Yet even through my Catho-lic years, the idea of “consoling the Heart of Jesus” was some-what foreign. I would leave that to the saints. They are what I am not and they love as I do not. But me? How can my feeble attempts at love please God, let alone console Him? I feel the same way, Moth-er. Is it for every Catholic Christian to strive to console the Heart of Jesus or is that sort of love or spirituality reserved for those who have that calling? Zelda, I have come to believe that it is Jesus Who desires our love and whose heart longs for ours to console His. There is no mystery on earth or in heaven greater than the love of God for us. It was the surpris-ing and overwhelming fact of God’s love that drew me to Him many years ago. I remem-ber the astounding words of a small tract I was handed one day. It said, “God loves you.” To learn that God not only loves me, but that He loves me, changed my life forever. It meant to me that He knew me and loved me anyway. And then to learn that Love Himself desires to be loved! How, though, can we con-sole Jesus today for past sins which nailed Him to the cross? Our Lord’s sacrifice is an eternal sacrifice that exists outside of time because God Himself exists outside of time. (cf. Rev. 13:8) It is this once-for-all sacrifice that is brought through time, and down upon the altar at every Holy Mass at the words of consecration by the priest. If at Mass, I am able to enter into the very sacrifice of Christ, is the same not true of every as-pect of our Lord’s life? Is there any area or moment of His life on earth into which I cannot enter? If the sins we would commit 2,000 years later were joined to those that nailed Him to the cross, why then could not my reparation of those sins just as equally enter into every phase of His life and console Him who gave His all for me? There is a wonderful state-ment by Pope Pius XI who said, “If in foreseeing the sins of the future, the soul of Jesus became sorrowful unto death, it cannot be doubted that He already felt some comfort when He foresaw our reparation … ” That’s a lot to take in, but I do want to console our Lord’s Heart, especially for the pain I’ve caused Him through my own sin, but also for oth-ers who do not believe or understand. Their sins and offenses hurt Him just the same, don’t they? They do. The Apostle Paul said that those who were most directly responsible for our Lord’s crucifixion would not have crucified Him had they understood otherwise. I want to learn how to make reparation for the of-fenses against our Lord. How I can start? You have already begun, dear Zelda, by the very fact of your desire. Here is a “Litany of Reparation” you might wish to pray, perhaps even before the Blessed Sacrament – the Sacra-ment of His Love: Litany of Reparation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus O Sacred Heart, hear us. Sacred Heart, graciously hear us. For the forgetfulness and ingratitude of men, We will console Thee, O Lord. For the way Thou art de-serted in Thy Tabernacle, For the crimes of sinners, For the blasphemies uttered against Thee, For the sacrileges which pro-fane Thy Sacrament of Love, For the coldness of the great-er part of Thy children, For the abuse of Thy grace, For our own unfaithfulness, For the incomprehensible hardness of our hearts, For our long delay in loving Thee, For Thy bitter sadness at the loss of souls, For Thy long waiting at the door of our hearts, For Thy loving sighs, For Thy loving tears, For Thy loving imprisonment, For Thy loving death. Learn of Me: Because I am meek and humble of heart. O Heart of Jesus, by Thy sor-row for those who know Thee not, Have mercy on me as Thou seest best. O Heart of Jesus, by Thy sorrow for those who do not believe in Thee, O Heart of Jesus, by Thy sor-row for those who are incon-stant and ungrateful, O Heart of Jesus, by Thy sor-row during the whole course of Thy mortal life, O Heart of Jesus, by Thy sor-row in Thy agony and in Thy death, O Heart of Jesus, by Thy sor-row for those who neglect their eternal salvation, O Heart of Jesus, by Thy sor-row for those who offer the most Holy Sacrifice unwor-thily, Heart of Jesus, by Thy sorrow for the scarcity of those who love Thee fervently, Sweet Heart of Jesus: Be not my Judge but my Savior. O Jesus, loveliest of all beau-ty, wash me more and more from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin, that, purified by Thee, I may approach to Thee, the pure One, and may be worthy to dwell in Thy Heart all the days of my life, that I may both see and do Thy will. For this cause was Thy side pierced, that an entrance might be opened for us. Who is there who would not love this wounded Heart? Who would not return love for love to Him that hath loved so well? Amen. O adorable Heart of Jesus, if men did but know Thee: How they would love Thee! Thank you, Mother Miriam. I am grateful for such prayers that express what I would wish, but often do not know how to put into my own words. Our Lord understands, dear Zelda. He understands our hearts and the strivings of His children, just as a parent anticipates, understands and appreciates the efforts of his or her children. The key is to trust His love, to trust His delight in having us come to Him, and to trust that we do, in fact, bring consolation to His most Ador-able Heart by giving Him ours. Mother Miriam of the Lamb of God, O.S.B. 19
Publication List
Using a screen reader? Click Here