Chapter 19: Forty Flames or Aspirations of Love: Offered to the Loving Heart (3)

Eighth Meditation

The Sacred Heart of Jesus Is the King of Martyrs

Sufferings of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Because

Of Our Sins

ALL THE SUFFERINGS of the holy martyrs pale into insignificance in comparison to the infinite sufferings of the adorable Heart of the King of martyrs. If you could number all the sins of the universe, you would count the myriad sharp arrows that pierced the divine Heart of our Saviour with so many wounds. These wounds caused the Sacred Heart to burn with love for His Eternal Father, whom He saw outraged and dishonored by innumerable crimes. 0 my Saviour, I hate all my sins, because they are the detestable executioners that brought Thy most gentle Heart to martyrdom.

Again, picture to yourselves a countless number of miserable souls for whom our Saviour had an incredible love. He foresaw that, notwithstanding all His sufferings for their salvation, they would by their own fault be lost forever. This vision of the damned inflicted unutterable sorrow on the most charitable Heart of Jesus. 0 unhappy souls, why have you not loved Him, who has loved you more than Himself, since He has given His very life and blood for your salvation? 0 Dearest Jesus, give me all the hearts of these unfortunate souls, that I may love and praise Thee for them eternally.

Sufferings of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Because of the Trials and

Torments of the Martyrs and Christians

Recall to your minds all the sufferings, the agony, the trials and the torments of so many millions of martyrs and of all true Christians. All these afflictions are so many bleeding wounds for the most Sacred Heart of Jesus. His most benign Heart could suffer more than the tenderest of hearts because it was filled with an infinite charity for His beloved children. He had before His eyes all their crosses and sufferings. In the hour of affliction each one sought consolation from His adorable Heart. No human mind can understand the agonizing martyrdom suffered by this all paternal Heart i n union with His heroic martyrs. This is expressed most remarkably in the words of the Prophet Isaias: Vere dolores nostros ipse tulit, (1) and also in the words of Saint Matthew: Ipse nostras infirmitates accepit, et aegrotationes nostras portavit. (2) Truly we can call the Sacred Heart the King of martyrs and the Glory of the Cross! How consoling it is for the afflicted to know that all their pain and sorrow have already been suffered by the most benign Heart of Jesus! He has borne all sufferings first out of love for His martyrs! Let us give ourselves also to Him to bear all our afflictions in union with immeasurable love with which He first suffered them.

Sufferings of the Sacred Heart of Jesus on the Cross

All the other sufferings of our Saviour seem to diminish when compared to those borne by His divine Heart on the Cross. The (1). Is. 53, 4. (2). Matt. 8, 17

sufferings of Calvary were so excruciating that the perfect body of our Saviour was broken with pain and sorrow, and His soul He commended into the hands of His Father. 0 my Saviour, what made Thee suffer so many torments, if it was not Thy infinite love for Thy Father and for us? Indeed, we can say that Thou hast died of loving sorrow and that Thy Heart has been torn and broken by sorrowing love for the glory of Thy Father and for our redemption. 0 most adorable Heart of Jesus, how shall I thank Thee for the excess of Thy bounty? Oh, that I could possess all the hearts of heaven and earth to sacrifice them in the flames of Thy love!

0 Most Holy Father, how canst Thou refuse what anyone asks of Thee through the amiable Heart of Thy Son, broken with sorrow for love of Thee and for love of us? No, it is impossible. Rather wouldst Thou allow heaven and earth to disappear. It is, then, through this divine Heart overcome by love and sorrow for me that I implore Thee, 0 Adorable Father, to take full and entire possession of my heart and to establish there perfectly and forever the reign of the holy love of Jesus and Mary.

Ejaculatory prayer:

Hail! Victim of all woes enthroned

Upon the Cross, the Martyrs' King!

Make Thou the Cross a joy intoned,

The crown and glory that we sing

Ave, dolorum victima,

Centrum crucis, Rex Martyrum,

Fac nostra sit Crux gloria,

Amor, corona, gaudium

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Ninth Meditation

The Sacred Heart of Jesus Is the Heart of Mary

MUTUAL LOVE Of THE SACRED HEARTS OF JESUS AND MARY

THE VIRGINAL HEART of the Blessed Mother of Jesus has more love for her Dear Son than all the angels and saints together; thus the Sacred Heart of the Only Son of Mary is so full of love for His most loving Mother that He is more to her than all created things together.

Let us offer to Jesus the Heart and love of His Blessed Mother in reparation for all our want of love and service towards Him. Let us offer to His most worthy Mother, who is also our Mother, the Heart and love of her Son in satisfaction for our ingratitude and infidelity towards her.

The Three Divine Persons Gave the Heart of Jesus to Mary,

And Throuch her to Us

Not only is the Blessed Virgin the first object, after God, of the ardent love of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, but the Sacred Heart is really the Heart of Mary for five principal reasons. The first three reasons are: I. because the Eternal Father has given her the Heart of His Only-begotten Son as a father gives the heart of a son to his mother; 2. because the Son has given His most loving Heart to the most admirable of mothers; 3. because the Holy Ghost has given

Mary the very spirit of love which unites the Blessed Trinity in the Sacred Heart of her Son. These Three Divine Persons continually and eternally give Mary the adorable Heart of the God-Man, so that she may give us her most precious gift, the Sacred Heart of her Divine Son.

Incessant and everlasting praise be to the Father, to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost for this infinitely precious gift that They have given to our Blessed Mother and through her to us. 0 Most Holy Trinity, I offer Thee the most adorable Heart of Jesus and the most loving Heart of His Mother i n thanksgiving for Thy infinite goodness in my regard. I also offer Thee, in union with those two most amiable Hearts, my own unworthy heart, with the hearts of all my brethren, humbly beseeching Thee to take full possession of them forever.

Other Reasons Why the Sacred Heart of Jesus is

The Holy Heart of Mary

The fourth reason why the Sacred Heart is truly the Heart of Mary is that the Eternal Father, having considered the Blessed Virgin from the very instant of her conception as the one chosen to be the Mother of God, gave her from the first moment of her life a love similar to His love for His Divine Son. According to many theologians, Mary had more love for Jesus at that moment than all the Seraphim will ever have. Therefore, Mary's incomparable love for Jesus drew Him into her sacred womb and into her Heart to rest there eternally as the Heart of her Heart and as a Divine Sun that sheds its celestial light into her soul and inflames it with divine fire.

The fifth reason why the Sacred Heart of Jesus is the heart Of Mary is that, at the moment of the Incarnation, she cooperated with the Blessed Trinity to form the human Heart of Jesus, which was formed of her virginal blood. The blood Of her holy Heart passed into the Heart of Jesus and received the perfection that was needed

to form the Heart of the God-Man. This divinely human and humanly divine Heart dwelt in the sacred womb of Mary as a furnace of divine love, a furnace which transformed the Heart of Mary into the Heart of Jesus and made these two Hearts but one and the same Heart in a unity of spirit, affection and will.

The holy Heart of Mary was, therefore, always closely united to the Sacred Heart of her Divine Son. She always willed what He willed and also consented to act and to suffer so that the work of our salvation might be accomplished. Hence, the Fathers of the Church plainly assert that the Mother of the Saviour cooperated with Him in a very special way in the redemption of mankind. That is why our holy Redeemer told St. Bridget of Sweden, whose revelations have been approved- by the Church, that He and His holy Mother worked in perfect harmony, uno corde, for our salvation.

Thus the Sacred Heart of Jesus is the Heart of Mary. These two Hearts are but one Heart, which was given to us by the Blessed Trinity and by our Blessed Mother, so that we, the children of Jesus and Mary, might have but one Heart with our Heavenly Father and our holy Mother and that we might love and glorify God with the same Heart, a Heart worthy of the infinite grandeur of His divine majesty.

Ejaculatory prayer: 0 Heart of Jesus and Mary, my most loving Heart!

0 Car Jesu et Mariae, Cor meum amantissimum! 111-

Eight Other Meditations

On the Sacred Heart of Jesus

First Meditation

The Blessed Trinity Lives and Reigns in the Sacred

Heart of Jesus

The Eternal Father Lives in the Sacred Heart of Jesus

CONSIDER that the Eternal Father is in the Sacred Heart of Jesus, bringing to birth His Well-beloved Son and causing Him to live there the same all-holy and divine life that He lives in His own adorable bosom from all eternity. He imprints there a perfect image of His own divine Fatherhood, so that this humanly divine and divinely human Heart shall be Father to all the hearts of the children of God. Therefore, we should look upon Him, love and honor Him as our Loving Father, and endeavor to imprint upon our own hearts a perfect likeness of His life and virtues.

0 Good Jesus, engrave the image of Thy most holy Heart upon our hearts and make us live only by love for Thy Heavenly Father. Would that we might die of love for Thee, as Thou didst die of love for Thy Eternal Father!

The Divine Word Lives and Reigns in the

Sacred Heart of Jesus

Consider that the Eternal Word is in that royal Heart, united with it in the most intimate union imaginable, the hypostatic union, which causes that Heart to be worshipped with the adoration that is due to God. He is there with a life that is somehow more helpful, if one may so speak, than His life in the Heart and bosom of His Father. The Word I lives but does not rule in the Heart and bosom of the Heavenly Father; whereas He lives and rules in the Heart of the God-Man, ruling over all human passions which are centered in the heart so absolutely that they do not stir except by His order.

0 Jesus, King of my heart, live and rule over my passions, uniting them with Thine, never allowing them to be used except under Thy guidance and for Thy glory alone!

The Holy Ghost Lives and Reigns in the Sacred

Heart of Jesus

Consider that the Holy Ghost lives and reigns ineffably in the Heart Of Jesus, where He conceals the infinite treasures of the knowledge and the wisdom of God. He fills the Sacred Heart with all His gifts to a pre-eminent degree, according to His divine words: Et r equiescet super eum Spiritus Domini, Spiritus sapientiae et intellectus, Spiritus consilii et fortitudinis, Spiritus scientiae et pietatis, et replebit eum Spiritus timoris Domini. ( 1 )

Consider, finally, that these Three Divine Persons live and reign in the Heart of the Saviour, as if they were seated on the most high (I). Isa. 11, 2-3

throne of their love, in the primal heaven of their glory, in the paradise of their dearest delights. They there shed abroad, with inexplicable abundance and profusion, wonderful lights, and the burning fires and flames of their eternal love.

0 Most Holy Trinity, infinite praise be to Thee forever for all the wonders of love that Thou dost work in the Heart of my Jesus! I offer Thee my heart, with the hearts of all my brethren, begging Thee most humbly to take entire possession of them, to destroy in them everything displeasing to Thee, and to establish there the sovereign rule of Thy divine love.

Ejaculatory Prayer: 0 Most Holy Trinity, eternal life of Hearts, reign in all hearts forever. 0 sacrosancta Trinitas, aeterna vita cordium, in corde regnes omnium!

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Second Meditation

The Sacred Heart of Jesus Is the Sanctuary and the Image of

the Divine Perfections

The Divine Perfections Subsist and Reign in the

Sacred Heart of Jesus

LET US ADORE and contemplate all the perfections of the divine nature, subsisting and reigning in the Sacred Heart of Jesus: that is to say, the eternity of God, the infinity of God, His love, charity, justice, mercy, power, immortality, wisdom, goodness, glory, felicity, patience, holiness and all other perfections.

Let us adore these divine perfections in all the wonderful effects they produce in the divine Heart of the Son of God. Let us give wholehearted thanks for these manifestations, and offer them all th~ worship, glory and love which have been and shall be rendered to them eternally by that same Heart.

The Divine Perfections Stamp Their Eternal

Impress on the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Let us consider that those adorable perfections imprint their image and likeness on the divine Heart of Our Lord, in a manner infinitely more excellent than all human and angelic minds can conceive or express. The adorable Heart of Jesus bears within itself the image

of eternity by its perfect detachment forever from things fleeting and temporal and by its exceeding great affection for things divine and eternal. It bears the image of immortality by Its infinite love for the Heavenly Father and for us, a love whose immensity reaches everywhere, in heaven, on earth and under the earth. If we consider the nature of that incomparable Heart, we shall see without difficulty that it bears within itself a living likeness of all the other perfections of the Godhead.

0 wonderful Heart of Jesus, we offer Thee our hearts; impress upon them, we beseech Thee, some reflection of that divine likeness, so that in us may be accomplished the commandment of our divine Master: Estote perfecti, sicut Pater vester caelestis perfectus est. ( 1 )

The Divine Mercy Should be the Object of Our

Very Special Devotion

Of all the divine perfections mirrored in the Sacred Heart of our Saviour we should have a very special devotion to divine mercy and we should endeavor to engrave its image on our heart. To this end three things must be done. The first is to pardon with all our heart and promptly forget the offenses done us by our neighbor. The second is to have compassion on his bodily sufferings, and to relieve and succor him. The third is to compassionate the spiritual misfortunes of our brethren, which are much more deserving of commiseration than the corporal ills. For this reason we ought to have great pity on the numbers of wretched souls who have no pity on themselves, using our prayers, our example and our teaching to safeguard them from the eternal torments of hell.

0 most gracious and merciful Heart of Jesus, imprint on our hearts a perfect image of Thy great perfections, so that we may ful (1). Matt. 5, 48.

fil the commandment Thou hast given us: Estote misericordes, sicut Pater vester caelestis misericors est ( . 2 )

Ejaculatory Prayer: 0 Holy God, 0 Strong God, 0 Immortal God, have mercy on us. Sanctus Deus, sanctus fortis, sanctus immortalis, miserere nobisl (2) Luke 6, 36.

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Third Meditation

The Sacred Heart of Jesus Is the Temple, the Altar and the

Censer of Divine Love

The Sacred Heart of Jesus is the Temple of

Divine Love

THE HOLY GHOST, love uncreated and eternal, built this magnificent temple and fashioned it of the virginal blood of the Mother of love. It is dedicated to eternal love. It is infinitely more sacred, more noble and more venerable than all the temples material and spiritual in heaven and on earth. In this temple God receives worship, praise, and glory worthy of His infinite greatness. In this temple the supreme Preacher continually teaches us most eloquently. It is an everlasting temple that shall have no end. It is the center of all holiness, incapable of any profanation. It is adorned with all the Christian virtues in the highest degree, and with all the perfections of the divine nature, as with so many living images of the Eternal Godhead.

Let us rejoice in the vision of all the splendors of this wonderful temple and all the glories there tendered to the divine majesty.

The Sacred Heart of Jesus an Altar of Divine Love

The Heart of Jesus is not only the temple, but it is also the altar of divine love. On that altar the sacred flame of omnipotent love burns night and day. On that altar the great High Priest Jesus continually

offers to the Most Holy Trinity manifold sacrifices and supreme oblation.

First, He offers Himself as a sacrifice and victim of love, the most holy and precious victim that ever was or can be. He sacrifices utterly and entirely His body, His blood, His soul, His whole life, all His thoughts, all His words, all His actions and all that He suffered on earth. Moreover, He makes that sacrifice perpetually, with a love that is boundless and infinite.

Secondly, He sacrifices everything the Heavenly Father has given Him, namely, all rational and irrational creatures, animate and inaminate beings, which he immolates as so many victims i n praise of His Father; but, above all, He sacrifices human beings, the good and the wicked, the blessed and the reprobate. The good He offers as victims of love to His divine goodness. The evil He immolates as victims of the wrath of God, to His awful justice: Omnis victima salietur.(1) Thus the great High Priest sacrifices all things to the glory of His Father on the altar of His Heart. Therefore, He alone may rightly say: Laetus obtuli universa. ( 2 )

Let us offer ourselves to Him and beg Him to rank us with the victims of His love, to consume us as holocausts in the divine flames burning incessantly on the altar of His Sacred Heart.

The Sacred Heart of Jesus is a Censer

Of Divine Love

The Sacred Heart Of Jesus is not only the temple and the altar, but also the censer of divine love. It is the golden thurible described in the eighth chapter of the Apocalypse, which St. Augustine interprets as the loving Heart of Jesus. In that precious censer all the worship, praise, prayers, desires and affections of all the saints are (I). Mark 9, 48. (2). 1 Para. 29, 17.

placed, like so many grains of incense to be offered to God in the Heart of His Well-beloved Son, ascending as a most pleasing odor to His divine majesty. There we also must place all our prayers, all our desires, all our devotions, and all the pious affections of our hearts, yes, our very hearts themselves, with all that we do and all that we are, beseeching the King of all hearts to purify and sanctify all these things and to offer them to His Father as a heavenly incense of sweet fragrance.

Thus the Sacred Heart of our Jesus is the temple, the altar, the censer, the priest, the victim of divine love, all for our sake, performing on our behalf the functions Of those divine offices. 0 love so abundant! 0 my Saviour, how wonderful are Thy loving kindnesses! Ah!, what reverence and praise I should give to Thy loving Heart in return! 0 most blessed Heart of my Jesus, let me be naught but heart and love towards Thee and let all hearts on heaven and earth be immolated to Thy praise and glory!