June is dedicated to the heart of Jesus, Solemnity is celebrated on June 7

Traditionally, the Catholic Church dedicates the month of June to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. The Solemnity Of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus is celebrated on the Friday after the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ or Corpus Christi.  For the 2023-2024 Liturgical Calendar, this Solemnity is celebrated on Friday, June 7.

The heart is the symbol of human love. This Catholic devotion honors the Sacred Heart of Jesus, through which was manifested to us God’s eternal love for everyone. “God is Love” (1 John 4:8). Through the devotion, we honor the Divine Source of love. The Sacred Heart of Jesus image is of Our Lord with His heart exposed, surrounded by thorns, with flames, and a cross emerging from the top.

Many parishes will observe with processions, adoration, and feasts such the Cathedral Bascilica of the Sacred Heart. Others will do a 40-hour devotion in which the consecrated Eucharist is exposed on the altar in a monstrance for adoration for 40 hours and prayers are conducted for the same amount of time.

St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, a 17th-century Visitation nun, is credited as starting the devotion to the Sacred Heart. However the Devotion to the Sacred Heart dates back to the Devotion of the Five Holy Wounds — from the nails of crucifixion in each hand and foot, and the wound in the side inflicted by St. Longinus’s lance — recognized in a vision of Pope Boniface II in 532.

Saint Margaret Mary created the 12 Promises of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus devotion after Jesus appeared to her and made 12 promises to those who would respond to the pleading of His Heart and make an effort to return His love.

Pope Benedict XVI, said of the devotion, “Practicing devotion to the Sacred Heart of Christ therefore means adoring that Heart which, after having loved us to the end, was pierced by a spear and from high on the Cross poured out blood and water, an inexhaustible source of new life.”

The Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart will hold a Novena to the Sacred Heart of Jesus in preparation for our Parish’s Feast Day, June 7. On the Triduum of the Feast special guests will share reflections on the following themes:

• Tuesday, June 4 ~ How Does God Reveal Himself to Us?
• Wednesday, June 5 ~ Love one another as I have loved you.
• Thursday, June 6 ~ I have called you by name: You are Mine.
• Friday, June 7 ~ Feast Day Mass
• Saturday, June 8, Feast Day Fair, 12 to 4 p.m. with food, games, music, face painting, and more.