.
Vast numbers of copies of this work by Fr. Alcaniz S. J. have been printed in many languages
including Spanish, English, French, German, Polish, Hungarian, Arabic,, Basque and Lithuanian.
" Turn the eyes of your hearts to the mystery of the Heart of Jesus."
"The Heart of the Redeemer makes the whole Church come alive and draws men who have opened their hearts to
the unfathomable riches of this one Heart."
PERSONAL CONSECRATION TO THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS.
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By F. Alcaniz. S.J.
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Leave all your cares and worries for a few minutes and listen to the words Jesus
speaks to you from His Heart. He is the source of all love and mercy and His only concern is your good.
Tell me, my child, are you really happy? Are you calm and at peace? Perhaps you are one of those
sad because of sin. Perhaps you are discouraged because you feel you are making no advancement after years of effort. I am
filled with compassion for all of these, and there are so many of them.
But listen to what I have said to my good friends and faithful servants. I want them to be, as
it were, power lines bringing the grace and light of my loving heart to the world. These are the words I spoke to St Margaret
Mary.
"The treasures of grace and blessings which this Sacred Heart contains are infinite. I do not
know of any devotion in the spiritual life better suited to raise a soul in a short time to the highest perfection and to
make it taste the real sweetness to be found in the service of Jesus Christ."
"I do not know, if you understand the meaning of devotion to the Sacred Heart of Our Lord Jesus
Christ, of which I speak to you. It produces fruit and a great change in all those who consecrate themselves to the Sacred
Heat of Jesus and practise it with fervour."
By means of this devotion, people in ordinary life will find all the helps necessary
to their state in life, peace in their families, relief in their labours,, blessings on all their undertakings, and consolation
in their troubles; and it is precicely in this Sacred Heart that they will find a haven of refuge during their whole life
and particularly at the hour of death. How sweet it is to die after having had a tender and constant devotion to the Sacred
Heart of Jesus!"
Above all, the religious should use this devotion, for they will derive from it such help that
no other means will be necessary to re-establish their original fervour.
"One Friday, during Holy Communion, He spoke these words to His unworthy servant, if she is not
mistaken 'I promise you in the excessive Mercy of My Heart that its all-powerful Love will grant to all those who go to Communion
on the First Fridays of nine consecutive months the grace of final repentance; they shall not die in its disfavour nor without
receiving the sacraments, My Divine Heart being their assured refuge at the last moment.' "
" Our glorious protector, St Michael, accompanied by a countless host of angelic spirits, assured
me again that the cause of the Sacred Heart was entrusted to him as one of the most important enterprises for the glory of
God and the help of the Church that have ever taken place in the world during the whole course of the centuries. This mystery
hidden for centuries, - (read Ephesians Ch. 1; 7-10) this sacrament shown again to the world, this design from all eternity
in favour of men, now revealed to the Church, is so to speak, one of those on which God, ever careful for our good and the
glory of the Saviour, concentrates His attention."
" I seem to see interiorly that light, the Sacred Heart of Jesus, that adoreable sun, which sends
down its rays on earth, sparingly at first, then in greater abundance, and finally lighting up the whole earth. and He said
to me: 'By the splendour of this light peoples and nations will be given light, and by its heat they will be made warm'."
Tell me now, my child, if after having read these words you are not convinced that devotion to
the Sacred Heart is something really extraordinary in the world? Yes, it is indeed, and if you still have any lingering doubts,
then make a careful study of the question for yourself and you will soon be certain. It is this personal conviction I desire
in all my faithful, most of all my priests and religious: not that they should believe just because they have heard of it,
but rather that they should discover it from personal experience. By this means alone will they become convinced, and only
those who are convinced will do great things. Oh! if only you were one of these, convinced through and through of the power
and greatness of my heart!.
DIG DEEP
My most precious gifts lie hidden deep; there are many who have not yet noticed them. This divine
devotion is like a vein of gold running through the field of the Church. Those strata which are usually exploited lie on the
surface and can be easily discovered and turned to advantage. For example, who is unaware of the value of Holy Communion on
the First Fridays of the month, or the value of the consecration of the family to the Sacred Heart of Jesus? Or who has not
from time to time assisted at some feast in My honour? All these are like travellers who pass over a vein of gold, stir up
the earth a little, gather a few grains of the precious metal, and then continue on their way. It is only the few who set
themselves to dig deep into the mine; only the few become real miners.
CONSECRATION
Consecration is the basic practice of devotion to my Sacred heart. How often, though, it becomes
a mere matter of routine! Many make their consecration every day, reciting it from their Prayer Books, and yet, when all is
said and done, they are not really consecrated; they do not make the consecration, but merely recite it; they are reciters
of consecrations. Listen then and I shall tell you in what the full consecration consists.
The consecration can be reduced to an agreement as I proposed it to St Margaret Mary: "Take care
of my honour and my interests and my Heart will take care of you and your interests.' I should like to make this pact with
you, too. Will you not then conclude this pact with me? You will not be the loser by it. It is not a pact which will bind
you under sin of any sort, for I do not like obligations which stifle; I want love, peace and generosity, not fear or anguish
of conscience.
The agreement contains two clauses, one binding me, the other binding you. My part is to care
for you and your interests, and your part is to care for me and mine, to be completely committed to me. Is that not a beautiful
pact?
