The Immaculate Heart of Mary
The Sacred Heart of Our Lady, often referred to as the Immaculate Heart of Mary, celebrates the interior life of the Blessed Virgin. We have spoken in recent homilies about the purity of the interior life of Our Lady, her particular love for God and for, of course, Jesus. It also encompasses her compassion for us, for humanity, interceding for all who seek her help and guidance. Our Lady's Immaculate Heart highlights her role as a model of discipleship and guide on our path to holiness. She is a model for how Christians should love God, strive for purity, and offer compassion to others.
Symbols of the Heart
The heart is sometimes depicted pierced with swords, symbolising her seven sorrows; or encircled by a crown of thorns, thereby linking her to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. It links the two devotions, underscoring the importance of unconditional love, reparation for sins (our own and those of humanity) and their role as exemplars of selfless worship of God.
The Message of the Apparitions
Through many of her apparitions, such as at Lourdes in France and Fatima in Portugal, Our Lady carries the message of the importance of our consecration of our lives to her Immaculate Heart. It supports and encourages us on our hopeful path to salvation and our pilgrim acts of reparation for sins against God; emphasised by her request that Russia be consecrated to her Immaculate Heart. The request was deemed so important that Pope Pius XII consecrated the world to her Immaculate Heart in 1942. This was done twice more by Pope St John Paul II in 1982 and 1983.
A Gift and an Invitation
Why did they do this? They recognised the devotion is given to us as a gift. It is also an invitation to love and accept the mysteries of our faith and the love of Jesus and Our Lady for the world. The question is: how do we respond?
Prayer to the Immaculate Heart
"O Mary, Virgin most powerful and Mother of mercy, Queen of Heaven and Refuge of sinners, we consecrate ourselves to thine Immaculate Heart. We consecrate to thee our very being and our whole life; all that we have, all that we love, all that we are."
