Devotion to the Sacred Heart first gained prominence through the efforts of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647–1690), a French mystic canonized in 1920 by Pope Benedict XV.
As a young child, St. Margaret Mary underwent many trials. Rather than becoming bitter, she allowed her hardships to sanctify her and deepen her faith life. St. Margaret Mary felt called to become a religious sister and left her home for the convent on June 20, 1671. She entered the Visitation Convent at Paray-le-Monial, France, and was professed the next year.
St. Margaret Mary experienced multiple extraordinary visions that affirmed Christ’s love for humanity through his most Sacred Heart. In her visions, Christ expressed his desire for St. Margaret Mary to promote a devotion to the Sacred Heart, teach others about the importance of going to Mass on each First Friday of the month for nine months, start a Holy Hour of Reparation, and establish a feast day to honor Christ’s Most Sacred Heart.
Jesus told St. Margaret Mary that he would bless each home where an image of his Sacred Heart is exposed and honored.
The portrait of the Sacred Heart is a means by which we can deepen our love of God and enlighten our souls with divine truths. This devotion is focused around crowning Jesus Christ the king of our lives and allowing him to enter into the very fabric of our lives so that we, too, can cling to Christ much like St. John the Apostle did at the Last Supper (see John 13:23).
By drawing close to Jesus’ Heart we seek not only a place of refuge and consolation but we also seek to be strengthened by him so as to bring him to those whom we meet day in and day out. (SacredHeartCongressColumbus.org)
We learn in the Gospels that Christ sought out the sick and sinners and invited them to have a personal relationship with him. This devotion is intended to bring us back to the heart of Christ and recognize his deep and passionate love for us. Christ wants to be our “king, brother, and friend.”
The enthronement process includes the recitation of seven days of prayer leading up to the final ceremony, which includes many beautiful prayers and the placement of an image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Often the image is accompanied by one of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, for it was she who said at the Wedding Feast of Cana, “Do whatever he tells you” (John 2:5). Mary is the perfect model of faithfully following Our Lord. We look to her to learn how to love Christ more profoundly.