Devotion to The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus -Image Courtesy: Jesus Loves TLM
(Franciscan Media) Devotion to the heart pierced on Calvary is nearly as old as Christianity but it has undergone many changes over the centuries. Patristic writers saw in the blood and water issuing from the Crucified Lord’s side (John 19:34) the fulfillment of His promise to give living water (John 4:13-14; 7:37) the fountain from which the Spirit flows upon the Church. Medieval piety placed less emphasis on Jesus’ heart as the source of grace and moved toward more personal and sentimental devotion.
The public observance celebrated today began in the 17th century when St. John Eudes (Feast Day: 19 August) pressed for a liturgy of the Sacred Heart. Toward the end of that century St. Mary Margaret Alacoque (Feast Day: 16 October) received visions of the Lord exposing His heart and urging public devotion – Her apparitions gave impetus to the devotion and shape to its purpose: To promote greater use of the sacrament of penance to offset indifference to the Blessed Sacrament.
Pope Pius VI saw the devotion as a means of refuting Jansenism which rejected the doctrine that Jesus Christ died for all people. Pope Clement XIII first granted the petition for a liturgical observance to the Polish Bishops and the Roman Archconfraternity of the Sacred Heart in 1765 – Pope Pius IX extended the observance to the Universal Church in 1856 and late in the 19th century, Pope Leo XIII raised its rank to a Feast.
More here from American Catholic and here from EWTN
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