Jesus Appearing to Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque

Jesus Appearing to Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque, Carlo Muccioli, 1919-1920. Altar of the Sacred Heart, Saint Peter's Basilica, Vatican City.

Questions

-What do you notice about the architecture in this painting? How does it add to the understanding of what is happening?

-What do you think this interaction is like between Jesus and Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque?

-What is your relationship like with the Sacred Heart of Jesus?

Reflection

Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque is special to me because it is on her feast day that I celebrate the anniversary of my husband and I starting to date. We have always been very intentional with the dates that we chose for important events, and my husband did that from the very beginning of our relationship. Taking part in these feast days is a wonderful way to live liturgically and dive deeper into our Catholic faith. Seeing the importance of partaking in the life in the Church and connecting it to our everyday life is just one way that the Lord desires us to connect with Him. The saints in heaven are our friends and want to be a part of our lives, which is why celebrating them and choosing to bring their memory and legacy into current practice is so integral to our faith. I think the obvious question is - why did your husband choose Saint Margaret Mary? The answer is this: that what the Lord did for Saint Margaret Mary he wants for our relationship.

Many do not know this, but Saint Margaret Mary is the reason why the Catholic Church has a large devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Saint Margaret Mary was a nun of the Visitation order from the age of 24, being fully dedicated to the Lord as His spouse. She lived a simple, plain and humble life until the Lord decided that she must take up a special task. From December 1973-1975 she had several revelations and visions of Jesus Christ with a very special message: the importance of His Sacred Heart. The saint described the vision of the Sacred Heart as: “The Divine Heart was presented to me in a throne of flames, more resplendent than a sun, transparent as crystal, with this adorable wound." By her own love Margaret Mary was to make up for the coldness and ingratitude of the world—by frequent and loving Holy Communion, especially on the first Friday of each month, and by an hour’s vigil of prayer every Thursday night in memory of his agony and isolation in Gethsemane.

How often do I have the coldness and ingratitude that Saint Margaret Mary was asked to make up for? I think the answer is too often and I feel called out by whenever I gaze upon an image of the sacred heart. Jesus' heart is freely and openly given to us at all times, it is always available. He keeps absolutely none of Himself for Himself, it is all gift. The awareness of this gift and acting out of response to it are extremely important in our faith. It is all too soon that I forget the gift, become immersed in the world, and slide into coldness and ingratitude. I see how hard life can be and experience suffering that draws me out of the warmth and closeness to Jesus Christ. When we leave His side He suffers, He is again in the Garden of Gethsemane suffering. Facing the challenges of life, we can either choose to enter into that Garden with Him and allow ourselves to be accompanied by Him, or walk further into the darkness and loneliness. We have a great deal of free will in this life and Our Lord is just offering Himself and wanting to be our choice. Saint Margaret Mary reminds us of this choice and that we MUST choose Him. He will always choose us and meet us, but it is our free will of choice of Him that shows our love.

Jesus said: "Behold the heart which has so loved men that it has spared nothing, even to exhausting and consuming itself, in order to testify its love; and in return, I receive from the greater part only ingratitude, by their irreverence and sacrilege, and by the coldness and contempt they have for me in this sacrament of love."

Wow. What great love Jesus Christ has for each and every one of us. How many blessings and graces are we missing from not pursuing Him as He pursues us? But what a gift that He calls it out plainly for us, He tells us what He is going through. God speaks in clarity and transparency, there is nothing that can hide in His light. His Sacred Heart is flaming with the love of truth, goodness, and beauty which cannot help but be straightforward. These messages and words that have come through Saint Margaret Mary gives us the opportunity to give God gratitude, to respond with reverence and worship, by being warm and admiring Him. We have the privilege to approaching Him in prayer, but even more so in the Eucharist, with love and awareness of who we are coming to. He is present in the Eucharist body, blood, soul and divinity. This includes His most Sacred Heart. He wants His heart to beat within our own. He desires for His heart to fuel and impel all our actions, decisions, movements, and experiences. He wants to worship His Father along with us, inside of us and through us.

Saint Margaret Mary said that in her apparitions Jesus promised specific blessings to those who practice devotion to his Sacred Heart. A traditional devotion to the Sacred Heart includes practicing First Friday devotion - going to mass, receiving communion, and going to confession for 9 consecutive first Fridays. These practices must be accompanied with the intention of going in order to make reparation for sins and receiving God's grace more fully. The "Great Promise" is a promise of final penance granted to those who practice the First Fridays Devotion. Here is what the Lord spoke to Saint Margaret Mary and promised:

1. I will give them all the graces necessary for their state of life.

2. I will give peace in their families.

3. I will console them in all their troubles.

4. I will be their refuge in life and especially in death.

5. I will abundantly bless all their undertakings.

6. Sinners shall find in my Heart the source and infinite ocean of mercy.

7. Tepid souls shall become fervent.

8. Fervent souls shall rise speedily to great perfection.

9. I will bless those places wherein the image of My Sacred Heart shall be exposed and venerated.

10. I will give to priests the power to touch the most hardened hearts.

11. Persons who propagate this devotion shall have their names eternally written in my Heart.

12. In the excess of the mercy of my Heart, I promise you that my all powerful love will grant to all those who will receive Communion on the first Friday, for nine consecutive months, the grace of final repentance: they will not die in my displeasure, nor without receiving the sacraments; and my Heart will be their secure refuge in that last hour.

I am most struck by promises 1, 2, 5, and 6. The Lord wants to pour out so much upon us and He will if only we let Him. He wants us to have success in this life by becoming holy and more united with Him. He wants our state in life to be reflective of heaven and for there to be peace in our families. How much do you want peace in your household? With your spouse? With your children? Or if you are single - with your roommates? With your family of origin? God does not just want to change your life, He wants to affect all those around you. And by being devoted to Him and making sacrifices for His Most Sacred Heart, He will do it through you! You have the power of converting hearts and creating peace in your family, by allowing His graces to pour out upon you that will overflow to your loved ones. He wants to bless you abundantly. How much easier to things come from you when you begin with prayer? When you remember to ask God before and thank God afterwards, for the good and the bad? Every undertaking of your life can be the work of the Lord if you allow it to be and ask it to be. And when we inevitably fall and fail because of our sin, we will be caught in the ocean of mercy that flows from His Sacred Heart. The flames of purifying love will burn away all our sin, but soothe it with the balm of His tender mercy. The promises of Christ should not be underestimated. Lean in to them fully and allow His Most Sacred Heart to transform you fully.

Information

This beautiful painting is located within Saint Peter's Basilica, at the very heart of the Catholic Church. The location of this piece reflects how important and integral the Sacred Heart is to our faith. Jesus' heart is where we encounter conversion, love, power, and is a place where we can always retreat. The altar is near the pier of Saint Veronica, where the veil that St. Veronica wiped Jesus' face with while He carried the cross is shown once a year. This is powerful in symbolic meaning because of the intimate connection between His Crucifixion and His Most Sacred Heart. On the cross, Jesus was pierced in the side and it can be assumed that His own heart was pierced. It was from His side that flowed out water and blood. Veronica's veil has the bloody impression of Christ's face, full of love and full of suffering. The way of the cross is bloody and painful but He desired to do it for the sanctification and salvation of us all. He continues to pour out onto us through His Most Sacred Heart, that suffered and loved so much.

The devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus would not be officially recognized until 1765, when Pope Clement XIII declared that it was a proper and rightful devotion in the Church. This was nearly 75 years after Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque's death. This may seem like a great deal of time, but it shows how diligent the Church desires to be in understanding visionaries, mystical experiences, and devotions. The Church has a duty to deeply investigate these things so in order to better lead the faithful. Especially with apparitions of Jesus Christ, these messages could be especially concerning if false or fabricated. The approval of the Church to this devotion shows that the messages of Saint Margaret Mary can be trusted and that this devotion bears fruit in the lives of the faithful that partake in it. The Feast of the Sacred Heart would be occur for the first time in 1856, added to the Church calendar to show its importance to the very fabric of the lives of the faithful in their liturgical lives.

This piece was commissioned by the Vatican to be displayed at Saint Margaret Mary's canonization in 1920, over two centuries after she died in 1690. After her canonization, the painting by Carlo Muccioli was actually made into a mosaic which is the one displayed in Saint Peter's Basilica today. The original painting still exists today in a church in Perugia, Italy. Muccioli was made the Director of the Vatican Mosaic Studios during the creation of this mosaic, showing his expertise and skill in several artistic traditions. Mosaics are often preferred to paintings in the Vatican because of their durability and resistance to damaged. The Vatican Mosaic Studios have existed in some capacity since the 16th century to recreate paintings, maintain mosaics, and create pieces of art that would go on to adorn Saint Peter's Basilica but also churches across the world. The replication of these masterpieces is clear as many visitors to Saint Peter's do not notice or realize that they are looking at mosaics instead of paintings. This is due to the closeness and size of the mosaic pieces used, the skill of the artists, and the massive size of the art pieces.

More Questions

-What promise do you need to hear most from the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus right now?

-What practical steps do you need to take to partake in the First Fridays Devotion?

-Where are you cold and ungrateful to the Lord? Where have you forgotten His fire of love and ocean of mercy? How can you grow in awareness of His Most Sacred Heart?

Let us pray -

Thank you Lord for giving us visionaries and mystics that have experienced your love so intimately. May we trust in the words that Saint Margaret Mary has given to us, spoken by you, for the good of the souls of the whole world. I want the flames of your divine love and Sacred Heart to melt away all coldness and indifference to you in my own life. Set me ablaze with your love and your mercy, so that I may be a light to others of your power and glory. When I am suffering, let me suffer with you in the Garden of Gethsemane and on the way to your cross. When I am joyful, let me stay close to you and share with you every aspect of my life. Do not separate yourself from me and remind me constantly of my great need for your love, grace, and mercy.

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us! Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque, pray for us!

Amen.