23 June 2013 Twelve Promises of the Sacred Heart of Jesus to St Margaret Mary Alacoque 1) I will give them all graces necessary for their state of life. 2) I will give peace in their families. 3) I will console them in all their troubles. 4) They shall find in My Heart an assured refuge during life and especially at the hour of death. 5) I will pour abundant blessings on all their undertakings. 6) Sinners shall find in My Heart the source of an infinite ocean of mercy. 7) Tepid souls shall become fervent. 8) Fervent souls shall speedily rise to perfection. 9) I will bless the home in which the image of My Sacred Heart shall be exposed and honored. 10) I will give to priests power to touch the most hardened hearts. 11) Those who propagate this devotion shall have their names written in My Heart; they shall never be effaced. 12) I promise you in the excessive mercy of My Heart the all-powerful love of My Heart will grant to all who shall receive Communion on the First Friday of nine consecutive months, the grace of final repentance. They shall not die under My displeasure, nor without receiving the Sacraments. My Heart shall be their assured refuge at the last hour. Ref: A F Makalinao, “Apostle of the Sacred Heart: St Margaret Mary Alacoque”, pp39-40 Solitude and Silence Nourish Spiritual Life Jesus, before beginning his public life, prayed for forty days in the desert. You, too try to bring a little silence into your lives, so as to be able to think, to reflect, to pray with greater fervor and make more decisive resolutions. It is difficult to create “zones of desert and silence” these days. You are continually being overcome by complications of work, the uproar of events, attraction of the communications media. It is difficult, but possible and important to know how to succeed in it. Jesus also inculcated the necessity for ‘commitment to overcome evil’. He willed to suffer temptation in order to lay emphasis on its reality and to teach the strategy for fighting it and winning. Being Christian means accepting the reality of life and undertaking the necessary struggle against evil. Ref: Cf “Prayers and Devotions from Pope John Paul II”, 1984, pp260-61 Humiliations “God exalts in the very things in which he humbles. If the soul lets itself be led, if it obeys, if it totally accepts purification, if it lives by faith, it will see an unsuspected light, so wonderful that it will think it had previously been blind from birth.” (St Josemaria Escrivá, 24 March 1931) If patience is the way that leads to peace; and study, the way to knowledge, humiliation is the only way to reach humility. To have a real, genuine spiritual life, we must take humility seriously. This concern for humility will bring us to ask ourselves how we should react, to get the best advantage for our spiritual life, to the humiliations which the Lord makes us feel in the depth of our soul and which he causes us to meet in the course of our work. There are delicate moments in the spiritual life in which the soul feels deeply humiliated. Very clear illuminations from God uncover and emphasize how humiliating can be our wretchedness and deficiencies; our imperfections and defects. The eyes of our soul are opened. We see we are something we don’t want to be; we notice we feel something we don’t want to feel; we find something attracts us despite the fact we detest it. Many defects, which perhaps we were ignorant of till then, appear, very well defined. What, then, should our spiritual disposition and supernatural reaction be towards these interior humiliations and external failures that threaten the peace and tranquility of our interior life? Our first reaction must be one of humility. Accept the humiliation or failure with true humility, with what is called humility of the heart, because there it has its roots; and it is from the heart that it gets all its strength. And not just accepting the humiliation, but loving our own wretchedness and thanking our Lord for letting us really know ourselves. As a consequence, we will avoid anything which is a kind of interior rebellion against these humiliations or failures. What a lack of humility of heart if we rebelled against this position of humiliation. The goodness and Providence of God put us there so that we mature and become more united to him. We must also very carefully avoid any kind of self-justification to other people. If you are not truly humble, you will find lots of ways to justify yourself, to feed your pride; your high idea of yourself will produce them with no difficulty. That is the sure way of nipping in the bud all the humility and effectiveness God was reserving for your soul. Conversation with the Virgin Mary, who is all humility, arises so spontaneously that I prefer not to write it down: I would rather your soul and mine spoke to her in private. Ref: Cf Salvatore Canals, “Jesus as friend”, 1981, pp44-7 The imagination in our prayer Mortification of the imagination brings countless benefits for the soul. First, it purifies the soul and disposes it towards living presence of God better; causes us to make good use of time dedicated to prayer by avoiding distractions. The imagination often inhibits dialogue with Our Lord when we should be more attentive -- eg, in Holy Mass and Communion. Mortification of the imagination permits us to make better use of our time at work, to do it conscientiously and sanctify it. In the area of charity it facilitates our attention to others instead of being engrossed in ourselves. “My advice is that, in your prayer, you actually take part in the different scenes of the Gospel, as one more among the people present. ... imagine the scene or mystery you have chosen to help you meditate. “Next apply your mind, concentrating on the particular aspect of the Master’s life you are considering: his merciful Heart, humility, purity; the way he fulfills his Father’s Will. Tell him what happens to you in these matters, how things are, what is going on in your soul. “Be attentive, he may want to point something out to you, and you will experience suggestions deep in your soul, realizing certain things and feeling his gentle reprimands.” (St Josemaria Escrivá, “Friends of God”, 252-3) It is of great help particularly when contemplating the Passion of Our Lord and the mysteries of the Rosary. We shall imitate Our Lady, who kept all the events of Our Lord and “pondered them in her heart”. (Lk 2:19) Ref: Cf F Fernandez, “In Conversation with God”, 2:347-8 • The Justinian Madonna at Carthage. This church was built by the Emperor Justinian in honor of the Blessed Virgin, to whom he attributed the victories which he gained over the Vandals. — Baronius, year 534. (“Catholic Gems or Treasures of the Church” Historical Calendar; www.bethlehemobserver.com) • Our Lady Justiniani (Carthage). (maryfest.htm / www.starharbor.com/santiago/m_feasts.html); (http://mariedenazareth.com) • Our Lady Justinienne at Carthage (6th Century). (www/divinewill.org/feastsofourlady.htm); (www.iskandar.com/ourlady/ourladyfeasts.html); (www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/calendar/index.html)