“Wearing your heart on your sleeve” is oft interpreted negatively as being too transparent with our feelings.
Yet, Jesus Christ himself revealed, in the late 1600s to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, a vision of his heart alone. This revealed heart is now depicted in art as Jesus with His heart outside His chest. Jesus was not modeling weakness but was instead showing the extent of His passionate love for each of us. Jesus in this Sacred Heart is entirely transparent with His love!
How are we to respond?
St. Margaret Mary wrote, “The divine heart was represented to me upon a throne of fire and flames. It shed rays on every side brighter than the sun and transparent as crystal. The wound which he received on the cross appeared there visibly. A crown of thorns encircled the divine heart, and it was surmounted by a cross.”
The Church teaches that the fire of the heart shows the passionate, redeeming love of God. This fire is fueled not by an earthly source, but by God, and is infinite and everlasting.
Christ’s Sacred Heart bears the wound of the piercing sword as He hung on the Cross, showing that His love is self-sacrificial, given freely for the good of all humanity. The Heart is encircled with a crown of thorns, showing that God loves fiercely, even when we fail to return that love.
Finally, the cross a top the Sacred Heart is the key to how we should respond to God’s divine love. We are to deny ourselves, take up our cross daily, and follow God (Luke 9:23).
On June 11, the U.S. bishops consecrated the United States to the Sacred Heart. In doing so, they committed our nation to the Kingship of Jesus. May we follow His will, obey His commandments, and serve Him. This consecration echoed that of Pope Leo XIII, who in 1899 consecrated the world to the Sacred Heart.
We, the faithful, can consecrate our own selves and our families to the Sacred Heart. We can place an image of the Sacred Heart prominently in our homes, thus enthroning the Sacred Heart. The Knights of Columbus provides prayers to prepare hearts and homes for enthronement (tinyurl.com/ym9de57a).
Living a commitment to the Sacred Heart is done through consecration and also through reparation for those who are indifferent to God’s love. The faithful should frequently receive holy Communion; celebrate Mass and confession on first Fridays of nine consecutive months; pray Holy Hours — Thursdays are mentioned in particular; and celebrate the liturgical feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, this year on June 12.
Family pilgrimages can help make the Sacred Heart accessible to young children. The Diocese of Rockford is home to the Sacred Heart Grotto in Geneva. This outdoor shrine, built in the 1930s, now stands near the Kane County Government Center on Forest Preserve land. The Missionaries of the Sacred Heart built the shrine when the property was the Sacred Heart Minor Seminary from the late 1920s to 1971. The Grotto has been restored and is accessible from the parking lot at the Government Center.
The Rockford Diocese has three parishes named for the Sacred Heart that can also be pilgrimage destinations: Sacred Heart in Aurora, in Marengo, and in Sterling.
A retreat guide written by Father John Bartunek, LC, STHD, reads: “the Holy Spirit raised up devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus as a way to refresh the world’s understanding of God’s love towards us — a personal, passionate love filled with determination, yearning, and even sorrow at our reluctance to accept it.”
How will you respond?
Additional resources are available at popesprayerusa.net/preparing-our-hearts-2026/.
