The devotion to the Sacred Heart also is rooted in intuitions of the early Church and even in the Old Testament. Fundamentally, it is a recollection of the sacrificial love of Christ as witnessed in His Incarnation, passion, and death. It includes also, the fullness of Divine love for mankind which is evidenced throughout the history of our race and is fulfilled in Christ’s act for the salvation of man.
The Biblical focus of all of this is the piercing of Jesus’ side with a lance at the Crucifixion. Many Church Fathers see this as the symbolic origin of the Church as the New Eve from the side of the New Adam. Symbolic interpretation is also given in that as Christ suffered spiritually in His passion, this is symbolized by the physical wounding of his heart. Therefore, the act of piercing Christ’s side represents all that he endured for his love of man, both physical and spiritual. ”Truly, the wounds of the flesh showed forth the wounds of the spirit.” This is from the Office for the feast of the Sacred Heart.
During the middle ages, the emphasis was moved from the wound in His side to His Heart specifically. In the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, the Franciscans particularly, used Christ’s heart as a symbol for exploring the mystery of Our Lord’s Divine Love. It became particularly popular among monastic orders, including the Cistercians and Dominicans as well as the Franciscans.
During the seventeenth century, the devotion was popularized among the laity, and the Society of Jesus adopted it as valuable in missionary and teaching efforts. They promoted the cause of the establishment of an official liturgical expression of the devotion in a feast.
John Eudes (1601-80) worked particularly hard for the establishment of a special Mass and Office for the Sacred Heart. He is ranked as one of the founders of the modern devotion along with Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647-90).
Margaret Mary was a contemplative nun of the order of the Visitation. She had had a very sickly youth and had grown, as a result, very contemplative. When she was 24 years old, she entered the convent where she spent the remainder of her life. It was there that she received three visions of Our Lord over a period of two years, 1673-5. The first instructed her to spread the devotion to the Sacred Heart, the second encouraged a Holy Hour of meditation on the Sacred Heart connected with the Blessed Sacrament This was to be celebrated on Thursday nights and was to be followed by communion on Friday. The third revelation commanded her to work towards the establishment of the feast of the Sacred Heart.
Devotion to the Sacred Heart is peculiar in that most popular piety is centered around Margaret Mary’s apparitions rather than the liturgical texts of the Mass and the Office. As a result, it has become one of the most sentimental and emotional and least theological of all dissident western devotions.
As laid out in the liturgical texts, the Sacred Heart is a focusing on the sacrificial love of God in Christ. The Introit of the feast sets this tone right at the start:
The thoughts of His Heart are from generation to generation: that he may deliver their souls from death, and feed them in famine. Ps. 32: 11, 19 5
The Epistle is Eph. 3:8-12, 14-19 ending with:
… That you and all the saints may understand and know the breadth and length and height and depth of the love of Christ, which surpasses human understanding; and that you may be filled with the fullness of God’s being.
The Gradual verse following is Matt. 11: 29:
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble of heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
The Gospel is St. John’s account of the piercing of Christ’s side and the Offertory is Ps. 68: 21:
My heart is broken with insults and sadness, and I looked for one who would share my grief, and there was no one: for one who would comfort me, and I found no one.
From these texts we can see that the theme and interpretation is clearly set out. Christ has done and suffered all things out of His love for mankind. The Offertory hints at another theme which is also woven throughout the texts, that of our ingratitude to Christ for all that He has done out of His great love.
Both of these themes are found in the Office as well. The hymn of first vespers deals with our sins, which were responsible for Christ’s suffering, a recurring theme in Western spirituality:
Look how the proud cruel multitude of our sins has wounded the sinless Heart of God, undeserving of such treatment.
It was this that put direction and vigor into the soldier’s hesitation; it was man’s sin that sharpened the spear’s point.
The Church, bride of Christ, is born of His pierced Heart; this is the gate in the side of the ark, put there for man’s salvation.
Seven streams of never-failing grace flow from this Heart we may wash our soiled robes in the blood of the Lamb.
How shameful it would be to return to sins which would this sacred Heart; how much better to try to reproduce in the burning love of our hearts the flames that are signs of the love of His Heart.
Glory be to You, Jesus; from Your Heart You pour out grace; and glory be to the Father and the loving Spirit, for ever and ever. Amen.
The Hymn of Matins centers on Christ’s love as His motivation for all that He did for our salvation:
Blessed Creator of the world and Redeemer of all mankind, light from the Father’s light and true God from God.
Love compelled You, Christ, to take a human body that as the second Adam. You could restore what the first had taken from us.
That love of Yours which was the bountiful creator of earth, sea and the skies, took pity on our first parents’ fall and broke the chains that bound us.
May that abundant stream of glorious love never cease to flow from Your Heart; may the nations always draw from this well of love the grace of Pardon.
It was for this that Your Heart was struck with the lance and for this was it wounded, namely to wash us from our sins in the water and blood that flowed from it.
Glory be to You, Jesus; from your Heart You pour out grace; and glory be to the Father and the loving Spirit, forever and ever. Amen.
The Old Testament lessons trace some of God’s dealings with His people Israel. Here again, the theme of God’s love and man’s ingratitude are manifest. This is a familiar pattern in the Old Testament.
Also included are sections from the encyclical of Pius XI concerning the Sacred Heart. He explains the history of the devotion, which is especially interesting at one point:
… In more recent times, especially with the attempts by heretics to deter Christians from Holy Communion by the claims of false piety, devotion to the most Sacred Heart began to be practiced publicly.
The Jansenists had been working very hard to prevent the establishment of the feast. The whole theme of the feast tended to undermine their rather Calvinist theology of a severe and judging God. Thus, the establishment of the feast served as the Church’s proclamation of Christ’s love against Jansenist claims. Most interesting is the fact that devotion to the Sacred Heart was felt to encourage more frequent communion. Jansenist theology tended to scare communicants away from the altar because no one was considered worthy enough to receive. By emphasizing the love of God in Christ, the Church could again draw people to communion. The feast itself was arranged to fall immediately after the feast of Corpus Christi, which emphasized Christ’s love in establishing the Eucharist. The feast is intended to coordinate with that event. Bonaventure’s writings used in the office as lessons emphasize the love of Christ and our response:
Who will not cherish this Heart so wounded for us? Who will not love One so loving, embrace One so pure? As for us who are still dwelling in the flesh, let us use every opportunity to respond to Him who has loved us.
Thus, we see the liturgical devotion is intended to produce a response on our part to Christ’s love. As Christ himself said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” Jn. 14:15. “If a man loves me, he will keep my word and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.” Jn. 14: 23. This is basically the message of the feast of the Most Sacred Heart.
Popular devotion is, however, little based on this. Unlike the Blessed Sacrament devotions, which take their texts from the feast of Corpus Christi, Sacred Heart devotions seldom make use of its excellent hymnography. Rather they begin with Margaret Mary’s revelations and piously reflect on these. Emotionalism and sentimentality are given full reign and abominable mush is published to touch the hearts of the faithful.
During her visions, Margaret Mary received twelve “promises” from Our Lord regarding devotion to His Heart.
These are as follows:
1. I will give to my faithful all the graces necessary to their state of life.
2. I will establish peace in their homes.
3. I will comfort them in all their afflictions.
4. I will be their secure refuge in life, and above all in death.
5. I will bestow abundant blessings upon all their undertakings.
6. Sinners shall find in my heart the source and the infinite ocean of mercy.
7. Tepid souls shall become fervent.
8. Fervent souls shall quickly mount to high perfection.
9. I will bless every place in which an image of my Heart shall be exposed and honored.
10. I will give to priests the gift of touching the most hardened hearts.
11. Those who promote this devotion shall have their names written in my Heart never to be effaced.
12. To those who shall communicate on the First Friday for nine consecutive months, I will grant the grace of final penitence.
These “promises” especially the last few are filled with a certain commercial mentality. We practically barter with God: we perform a few devotions and He sells us a few graces. How different this is from the love of God. How in the face of that could we presume to attempt to make a deal with God? What have we really got to bargain with anyway? Everything we have is a gift from God. It is a horrible example of popular consumer/commodity oriented spirituality.
Also expanded in popular piety is the idea of “reparation.” In the liturgical texts of the feast, there appeared the idea of man’s ingratitude for Christ’s love. Popularly this becomes guilt, which must be expiated according to the Roman ideas of such things. People became concerned with performing devotions to repay God for the rejection, which He has suffered from others. This type of legal exchange is very damaging to true spirituality and certainly contrary to the true message of the devotion itself. Nevertheless, these two aspects are the most prominent characteristics of the popular devotion as it is practiced today.
It is an excellent example of how a teaching of the Church can be perverted by popular piety almost beyond recognition.
As conceived by the Roman Church, this devotion is commendable. It encourages fervor and love of God, true repentance, and the desire to serve. As popularly conceived, however, it only perpetuates false doctrine and spirituality and destroys true, free, love of God. As a devotion, it is in need of purification and renewal if it should be allowed to exist in an Orthodox environment.