THE MONTH OF JUNE: DEVOTION TO THE SACRED HEART

Devotion does not end at a shrine or image. It is only authentic when it reaches all the way into ourselves and into our lifestyle with an utterly transforming power. The heart of Christianity is the Heart of Jesus, a passionate devotedness to God’s will and the well-being of humanity. The only promise of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is that we have not yet lost nor will we ever lose our capacity to love.

We often forget that Christ loved to be silent. He set out for the desert, not to go into exile, but to encounter God the Father. Without silence, God disappears in the noise. In his book, “The Power of Silence”, Cardinal Robert Sarah points out that silence is difficult, but it makes human beings able to allow themselves to be led by God.

Silence is more important than any other human work, for it expresses God. What virtue can be expected from this silence, Cardinal Sarah asks? The answer if simple, yet profound:

HUMILITY!

THE LITANY OF HUMILITY

O Jesus! meek and humble of heart, hear me.
From the desire of being esteemed, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being loved, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being extolled, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being honored, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being praised, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being preferred to others, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being consulted, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being approved, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being humiliated, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being despised, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of suffering rebukes, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being calumniated, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being forgotten, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being ridiculed, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being wronged, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being suspected, deliver me, O Jesus.
That others may be loved more than I, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be esteemed more than I, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That, in the opinion of the world, others may increase and I may decrease,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be chosen and I set aside, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be praised and I unnoticed, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be preferred to me in everything, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I should,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.