Friday, June 23, 2006

In festo Sacratissimi Cordis Iesu



The hymn at Lauds of the Sacred Heart:

O Heart of Jesus, ark divine
That doth love's Latter Law enshrine
The grim Old Law of servitude
Thou didst annul upon the Rood.

O Lord, thus Thou Law's temple art;
Its Holy Place Thy Sacred Heart;
Whose rended veil doth well unfold
A worth beyond Law's shrine of old.

Thus willed Thy love to open wide
A wound upon Thy sacred side,
Through which to shew how sins impart
Wounds else unseen, hid in Thy Heart.

Its blood and water (two-fold sign)
Shew priestly sacrifice divine,
First offered on the bloody Tree,
Now on our altars bloodlessly.

Though sinners, Thou didst die for us!
Who can but love One loving thus?
Thou, in Thy Heart, hast made a place
Of refuge for our lawless race.

We give Thee praise, who dost impart
Such grace, O Jesu, from Thy Heart;
Whom with the Father we adore,
And Holy Ghost , for evermore. Amen.

The old Act of Consecration of the Human Race to the Sacred Heart of Jesus was part of the First Friday devotions at St Basil's in Los Angeles 30 some years ago when Cardinal McIntyre was in residence:

Most sweet Jesus, Redeemer of the human race, look down upon us humbly prostrate before Thine altar. We are Thine, and Thine we wish to be; but to be more surely united with Thee, behold each one of us freely consecrates himself today to Thy Most Sacred Heart. Many indeed have never known Thee; many too, despising Thy precepts, have rejected Thee. Have mercy on them all, most merciful Jesus,and draw them to Thy Sacred Heart. Be Thou King, O Lord, not only of the faithful who have never forsaken Thee, but also of the prodigal children who have abandoned Thee; grant that they may quickly return to their Father's house lest they die of wretchedness and hunger. Be Thou King of those who are deceived by erroneous opinions, or whom discord holds aloof, and call them back to the harbor of truth and unity of faith, so that soon there may be but one flock and one Shepherd. Be Thou King of all those who are still involved in the darkness of idolatry or of Islamism; and refuse not to draw them all into the light and kingdom of God. Turn Thine eyes of mercy toward the children of that race, once Thy chosen people. Of old they called down upon themselves the Blood of the Savior; may It now descend upon them a laver of redemption and of life. Grant, O Lord, to Thy Church assurance of freedom and immunity from harm; give peace and order to all nations, and make the earth resound from pole to pole with one cry: "Praise to the Divine Heart that wrought our salvation; to It be glory and honor forever." Amen.

(Then followed the Litany of the Sacred Heart and Benediction. That seems to be all in the past. No such devotions listed for St Basil's now.)

More on the Sacred Heart of Jesus than you can absorb in one day can be found here.

Some prayers and devotions to the Sacred Heart in Latin. (Scroll down to about the middle of the page.)

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