THE
P RTAL
September 2018
Page 21
Devotions to the
Sacred Heart of Jesus
A book review by Mgr Robert Mercer CR
A priest in
Sydney, Australia, has compiled a revised and enlarged edition of this classic, while
Gracewing of Leominster have made it available in the UK. That spiritual giant, Cardinal Robert Sarah,
author of ”God or Nothing” and Prefect of the Congregation for Worship, commends it to us.
The human heart serves as an
image of love, openness and sincere
personal relationship. We say things
like, “He lost his heart to her”, or, “My
tutor had a heart to heart with me
about my poor examination results”.
Our patron, Cardinal Newman,
stressed that being Christian is
neither academic pursuit nor slavish
adherence to rules.
Spiritual guides therefore advise
us, “Pray as you can, not as you can’t”,
and, “The only rule in personal prayer
is that there are no rules”. Newman’s
Latin motto puts it, ”Heart speaks
to heart”. His coat of arms displays
three hearts, suggestive of loving
exchange among the Three Persons
of the Trinity.
We don’t necessarily care for garish pictures or
statues of burning and bleeding hearts, but a Lenten
hymn makes the same point in words: “All ye who seek
a comfort sure / in trouble and distress / Jesus, who
gave Himself for you / Opens to you His sacred Heart”
(English Hymnal 71). The Old Testament commands
us in words,” Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with
all thine heart” (Deuteronomy 6,5). The bride says to
her groom, “Set me as a seal upon thine heart” (Song
of Songs 8,6). The Western church keeps a solemnity
of the Sacred Heart on a Friday early in Trinity tide (p
556 of the Ordinariate missal).
This volume is an anthology of short meditations and
of prayers. Provision is made for each day of the week,
for each day of the month and for special occasions or
needs. The meditations are on verses from the Bible
such as, “Son, give me your heart” (Proverbs 23,26)
and, “What are these wounds?” (Zechariah 13,6) There
are times when we need to say prayers from a book. At
other times words in a book may give flight to our own
thoughts and words. Some of us might well be grateful
for two prayers here,” For control
over one’s tongue”, or for, “When
bound by a vice or addiction”.
The volume concludes with a long
‘Exercise of Love to the Blessed
Trinity’. This was translated into
English by an Elizabethan martyr,
a married man, St Lord Philip
Howard (1577-1595). Members
of the Ordinariate have been on
pilgrimage to his tomb in Arundel
cathedral, Sussex.
Devotion to the Sacred Heart
is akin to devotion to the Five
Wounds. In the Sarum missal
of medieval England was a very
popular votive mass of the Wounds.
This votive has been restored to us in the Ordinariate
(p 976 of our missal).
“Ancient Devotions to the Sacred Heart
of Jesus” by Carthusian monks of
the 14 th - 17 th centuries. 310 pp. £12:99
Forms of words for Making a Bequest
in favour of the Personal Ordinariate
of Our Lady of Walsingham in your Will
I GIVE to the Ordinariate of Our Lady
of Walsingham, 24 Golden Square, London
W1F 9JR, the sum of ______ pounds (£
) and
I DIRECT that the r eceipt of the Treasurer or other
proper officer of the Personal Ordinariate of Our
Lady of Walsingham shall be good and sufficient
discharge to my Executor.
or
I GIVE the residue of my estate to the
Ordinariate
of
Our
Lady
of
Walsingham, 24 Golden Square, London W1F
9JR, and I DIRECT that the receipt of the Treasurer
or other proper officer of the Personal Ordinariate
of Our Lady of Walsingham shall be good and
sufficient discharge to my Executor.