Because of the increase of evildoing, the love of many will grow cold. (Mt. 24:12)
St. Margaret Mary Alacoque was born in seventeenth century France, at a time when religion in her native country had grown cold. What is interesting about the “coldness” of the hearts of the faithful in France during this time is that it had nothing to do with the French Revolution—the event which would later cause the near-eradication of the Christian religion from a nation that once housed the chair of Peter.
The French Revolution would not take place for nearly one hundred years after St. Margaret Mary’s death; therefore, the spiritual error of her time was not a consequence of this political uprising. In fact, the growing indifference towards religion was not the result of ignorance of Church teaching or disinterest in the things of God at all. It was the result of the opposite: religious practice had become severe and stern. In executing the “rules” of their religion to such an exacting degree, the faithful had lost sight of that to which those rules were meant to point: to the understanding and acceptance of Christ’s life-saving mercy and love.
It was in this setting of cold, harsh severity that Margaret Mary Alacoque was born. God sent this saint to “pour hot coals” (Rom. 12:20) upon the heads of those whose hearts had become frozen in grim callousness, that she might warm them up. But where to begin? After all, France was a big place, and to preach warmth to a Church whose members were building their foundation on icy hearts would be neither welcomed nor appreciated. In fact, Margaret Mary herself would be greatly persecuted by those around her.
So how did she ultimately convert these cold-hearted churchgoers? Did she argue with them? Warn? Rebuke? Preach repentance?
While all these strategies have indeed been used effectively by many of the prophets throughout salvation history, none of these was the strategy used by Margaret Mary. Margaret Mary simply focused her efforts on the mission with which Jesus entrusted her, which was to establish devotion to His Sacred Heart. She chose to place her attention away from the personal suffering inflicted upon her as a result of this mission and keep her singular focus on the mission alone. It was her steadfast and persevering virtue in the face of suffering that eventually won over the hearts of the faithful in France.
The formal liturgical celebration of His Sacred Heart began to spread in earnest when Jesus began appearing to St. Margaret Mary in 1875, despite the fact that its first liturgical feast had been established long before, in 1670, thanks to the efforts of St. John Eudes. So what was it about the visions of Jesus to St. Margaret Mary that finally ignited the path of worldwide devotion to the Sacred Heart?
To answer this question, we must first understand that Jesus did not ask Margaret Mary to promote devotion to His Sacred Heart simply for the purpose of celebrating His love for us and to remind us to actively love Him back—at least this was not His only reason. The primary reason Jesus asked for this liturgical celebration was “in reparation for the ingratitude of mankind toward the sacrifice of his love on the Cross.” In other words, by celebrating the feast of His Sacred Heart, the faithful would “make-up” for the times that they had been ambivalent about Jesus’ sacrifice for mankind. The times that we ourselves could have spent meditating upon His Passion but chose instead to look away.
Of course, Jesus does not expect our human minds to fully absorb the depths of His sacrifice; the divine mysteries are understandably going to be too much for us to comprehend, unless Jesus Himself is the one to reveal them to us. But while Jesus does not ask us to fully understand the depths of His love, He does ask us to celebrate this love by participating in His liturgical feast. Our participation in this celebration is enough to make up for our lack of understanding, and thus, to make up for our insufficient gratitude. What’s more, our faithful participation is enough to make reparation for the ingratitude of all mankind!
There is a wonderful secret that Jesus shares with St. Margaret Mary about the “reparation” we make when we celebrate the feast of His Sacred Heart. The kind of repairing and restoring we do is not the same, for example, as the kind that children are obliged to make when they have been naughty. Jesus does not make us pay for items we break with our “allowance” money. He does not make us work off what we owe Him for the damage we have done. Our act of reparation is not painful. In fact, it’s the opposite: each time we celebrate our devotion to Jesus’ Sacred Heart, He Himself increases the love in our hearts!
What happens when the love of God increases in our hearts? The peace and joy of Christ increase right along with it! Of course, there is only so much our heart vessels can hold. With all that increasing, doesn’t something else have to decrease? It sure does. So what is the something that decreases as Jesus fills our hearts with His love? Ourselves. Our pride, our anger, our anxiety, our envy, our resentment, our bitterness, our self-centeredness, our contempt. Anything that causes us misery. Why? Because misery cannot coexist in a heart that is filled with pure, unadulterated love and joy in the Lord.
The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want. (Ps. 23:1)
So let us meditate upon the sacrifice that Jesus offered us by giving up His very life on the Cross. Let us strive to understand this mystery as much as our minds are able. But mostly, let us celebrate the great love that Jesus has for us, and bask in the love that we have for Him, too. In this way, we will have done what we can to make reparation for the indifference and self-centeredness, not just in ourselves, but in all mankind, because it is Jesus Himself who will make up for the gratitude and humility we lack. It is then that we will finally begin to do exactly what is needed to warm the hearts of this cold, dark world.
St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, pray for us.
Editor’s Note: Make an Act of Reparation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus today, on this holy feast day, and receive a partial or plenary indulgence.
Author’s Note: This article was adapted from a chapter in 26 Steps with the Saints: Examining the Lives of the Holy Ones.
Image from Wikimedia Commons
