Consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

By Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque

I give myself and consecrate to the Sacred Heart of our Lord Jesus Christ, my person and my life, my actions, pains and sufferings, so that I may be unwilling to make use of any part of my being other than to honor, love and glorify the Sacred Heart. This is my unchanging purpose, namely, to be all His, and to do all things for the love of Him, at the same time renouncing with all my heart whatever is displeasing to Him. I therefore take You, O Sacred Heart, to be the only object of my love, the guardian of my life, my assurance of salvation, the remedy of my weakness and inconstancy, the atonement for all the faults of my life and my sure refuge at the hour of death.

Be then, O Heart of Goodness, my justification before God the Father, and turn away from me the strokes of His righteous anger. O Heart of Love, I put all my confidence in You, for I fear everything from my own wickedness and frailty, but I hope for all things from Your goodness and bounty.

Remove from me all that can displease You or resist Your holy will; let Your pure love imprint Your image so deeply upon my heart, that I shall never be able to forget You or to be separated from You.

May I obtain from all Your loving kindness the grace of having my name written in Your Heart, for in You I desire to place all my happiness and glory, living and dying in bondage to You.

Amen.

Guide Inside

Jesus said: "If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him." -John 14:15-21 NIV

Jesus was once asked by a teacher of the law: "...Of all the commandments, which is the most important?"

"The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these." -Mark 12:28-31 NIV

Let His Spirit always be your Guide. Love, obey and follow Him.

I love you.

-Daddy

Reverence

"Then some children were brought to Him so that He might lay His hands on them and pray; and the disciples rebuked them. But Jesus said, 'Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.'" -Matthew 19:13-14 NASB

You and Mommy and I were sitting in the den last evening just relaxing. I was on the computer, browsing the internet and thinking about things. I have been distracted lately and have been constantly contemplating the Lord in my mind...seeking His presence, asking His Holy Spirit for answers and how I need to change to be closer to Him.

As I was thinking about these things, you suddenly said the word "Reverence." Here is the conversation that followed to the very best of my recollection...

I said, "What?"
You said, "Reverence."
Mommy and I looked at each other , then back at you.
I said, "Where did you hear that word?"
You said, "Nowhere."
I said, "Why did you say that?"
Then smiling, you said, "I don't know."

I believe the Holy Spirit was telling me through you that I need to reverence God our Father more fully in my life. I think my communication with Him might have become too flippant and irreverent. Maybe it is because I have been dividing my attention too much (e.g. looking at the internet while also thinking about Him), so I have not been really hearing what He is trying to tell me. I think I might be talking too much, as well, and not giving Him an opportunity to get a word in edgewise. Am I afraid of what He might say?

I also had two dreams in the past week or so which were about: 1) being late for one of my high school baseball games and 2) missing the bus for one of my high school football games, because I was more worried about doing other things. I remember waking up after that second dream and specifically thinking that God is telling me that I do not have proper respect for authority, and that I have not excelled in many things because of a general lack of appeciation for the gifts and talents He has given me, as well as, a lack of respect for timeliness and detail.

Thank you for your part in helping to wake me up.

I love you.

-Daddy

*ADDENDUM* - 02/09/09

I "randomly" opened to the following passage in my Jerusalem Bible as you and Mommy and I were preparing to read last night:

"The cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, these too He condemned and reduced to ashes; He destroyed them completely, as a warning to anybody lacking reverence in the future; He rescued Lot, however, a holy man who had been sickened by the shameless way in which these vile people behaved - for that holy man, living among them, was outraged in his good soul by the crimes that he saw and heard of every day. These are all examples of how the Lord can rescue the good from the ordeal, and hold the wicked for their punishment until the day of Judgement, especially those who are governed by their corrupt bodily desires and have no respect for authority." -2 Peter 2:6-10

Shocking Love

from the January 7, 2009 reflection in One Bread, One Body (Volume 25, Number 1)

"They were taken aback by these happenings." —Mark 6:51

"Throughout Epiphany week, God's word proclaims Jesus' mastery over creation. He can heal the sick (Monday), multiply food (Tuesday), and walk on the water (today) (Mk 6:48). These miracles show us Jesus' almighty power and how much He emptied Himself (Phil 2:7) when He became a helpless Infant. The all-powerful Creator of the world could not walk, talk, or roll over. The second Person of the blessed Trinity talked baby-talk, wet His diapers, and spit out His food. Almighty God weighed just a few pounds, shivered, cried, and nursed at His mother's breast.

The message of Christmas and God's incarnation is shocking. He Who created the billions of galaxies with billions of stars, Who created the countless creatures on this little planet, became completely dependent on His parents, just like us. It seems almost blasphemous to suggest that God became a weak human being. Yet He did, out of love for us, and amazingly, "we must have the same love for one another" (1 Jn 4:11). "If we love one another God dwells in us" (1 Jn 4:12). "God is Love, and he who abides in Love abides in God, and God in him" (1 Jn 4:16). The meaning of Christmas is shocking, but ultimately, it is love."