Feast of the Sacred Heart

This Friday is the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Our Lord. 

The external Solemnity will be celebrated at the 5pm Sunday Mass, in Kilkenny, with Exposition & Benediction after.

The Feast of the Sacred Heart 
(Object of the Feast of the Sacred Heart)

There is one feast which by its object brings to mind, in a general manner, the love that the Incarnate Word has shown towards us: it is the Feast of the Sacred Heart. It is with this feast that the Church, according to the revelation of Our Lord to St. Margaret Mary, closes, so to speak, the annual cycle of the solemnities of the Saviour; it is as if, arrived at the term of contemplation of her Bridegroom's mysteries, there is nothing left for her to do but to celebrate the very love that inspired them all. 

Devotion to the Sacred Heart is, in a general manner, devotion to the Person of Jesus Himself, manifesting His love for us and showing us His Heart as a symbol of this love. We honour Christ Jesus Himself in person. The immediate, special, proper object of this devotion is the Heart of flesh of Jesus, the heart which beats for us in the bosom of the God-Man; but we do not honour it apart from the human nature of Jesus, nor from the Person of the Eternal Word to Whom this human nature was united in the Incarnation. We honour this Heart as the symbol of the love of Jesus towards us (Dom. Marmion. Words of Life on the margin of the missal. 1960). 

Litany of the Sacred Heart 

Lord, have mercy
Christ, have mercy
Lord, have mercy

Christ, hear us
Christ, graciously hear us.

God the Father of Heaven, *Have mercy on us (response to all *)
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, *
God, the Holy Spirit,*
Holy Trinity, One God, *
Heart of Jesus, Son of the Eternal Father, *
Heart of Jesus, formed by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mother,*
Heart of Jesus, substantially united to the Word of God, *
Heart of Jesus, of Infinite Majesty, *
Heart of Jesus, Sacred Temple of God, *
Heart of Jesus, Tabernacle of the Most High,*
Heart of Jesus, House of God and Gate of Heaven, *
Heart of Jesus, burning furnace of charity, *
Heart of Jesus, abode of justice and love, *
Heart of Jesus, full of goodness and love, *
Heart of Jesus, abyss of all virtues, *
Heart of Jesus, most worthy of all praise, *
Heart of Jesus, king and center of all hearts,*
Heart of Jesus, in whom are all treasures of wisdom and knowledge, *
Heart of Jesus, in whom dwells the fullness of divinity, *
Heart of Jesus, in whom the Father was well pleased, *
Heart of Jesus, of whose fullness we have all received,*
Heart of Jesus, desire of the everlasting hills,*
Heart of Jesus, patient and most merciful, *
Heart of Jesus, enriching all who invoke Thee,*
Heart of Jesus, fountain of life and holiness, *
Heart of Jesus, propitiation for our sins, *
Heart of Jesus, loaded down with opprobrium,*
Heart of Jesus, bruised for our offenses, *
Heart of Jesus, obedient to death, *
Heart of Jesus, pierced with a lance, *
Heart of Jesus, source of all consolation, *
Heart of Jesus, our life and resurrection, *
Heart of Jesus, our peace and our reconciliation,*
Heart of Jesus, victim for our sins,*
Heart of Jesus, salvation of those who trust in Thee, *
Heart of Jesus, hope of those who die in Thee,*
Heart of Jesus, delight of all the Saints, *

Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world, spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world, graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world, have mercy on us, O Lord.

V. Jesus, meek and humble of heart.

R. Make our hearts like to Thine.

Let us pray

Almighty and eternal God, look upon the Heart of Thy most beloved Son and upon the praises and satisfaction which He offers Thee in the name of sinners; and to those who implore Thy mercy, in Thy great goodness, grant forgiveness in the name of the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who livest and reignest with Thee forever and ever. Amen.

In 1899 Pope Leo XIII approved this Litany of the Sacred Heart of Jesus for public use. This litany is actually a synthesis of several other litanies dating back to the 17th century. Father Croiset composed a litany in 1691 from which 17 invocations were used by Venerable Anne Madeleine Remuzat when she composed her litany in 1718 at Marseille. She joined an additional 10 invocations to those of Father Croiset, for a total of 27 invocations. Six more invocations written by Sister Madeleine Joly of Dijon in 1686 were added by the Sacred Congregation for Rites when it was approved for public use in 1899. This makes a total of 33 invocations, one for each year of life of our Lord Jesus Christ. A partial indulgence is attached to this litany.