A Beautiful Prayer to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

America Needs Fatima is a great organization. If you are not familiar with them, you should take a look and consider signing up on their email and mailing list.

On several occasions, they have sent free classic books, such as True Devotion to Mary, or The Secret of the Rosary.  Recently, in both PDF and print, they sent me what appears to be a most wonderful book called "Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus," by Fr. John Croiset, S.J.  It has the Imprimatur from 1863, so this is truly a classic.  Go here to download a free copy.  Perhaps you can still order or request a printed copy, but I am not sure.

From the little I have read so far, it is very good.  From just flipping through, I was struck by a beautiful prayer that I have begun saying regularly.  It captures well the indifference that we often give toward Our Lord, and at the same time His patient Love toward us.

The following is from page 168 of this great book.  It begins with a reflection by Fr. Croiset, and then the prayer that he wrote.  Enjoy!

"Can we say that we love Him? Should we be satisfied, if He loved us no more than we love Him? Should we not desire to be better loved by men than we ourselves love Jesus Christ? Would it be sufficient if our friends showed us no more affection than we evince towards this loving Savior? Should we desire that persons, whom we think we have obliged, should feel for us the same gratitude we show Him? And should we allow our children and our servants to be as little respectful in our presence as we are in the presence of Jesus Christ in His churches, at the foot of His altars? My God, the Angels surround these altars in crowds, to adore and love this Adorable Jesus, though He is not in the Blessed Sacrament for them. Men, for whom alone He has wrought this miracle, do not condescend to visit Him."

"Lord! Who, to satisfy Thy excessive desire of being with me, hast invented this miracle, what sentiments hast Thou of the forgetfulness I have hitherto shown towards Thee? Is this my correspondence with Thy love? There is no man whom, if he had the least goodwill towards Me, I should not have visited more willingly and more frequently. There is no creature that I should not have loved more. I have forgotten Thee, oh Lord, and hitherto I have not loved Thee; what can I expect, ungrateful and unfaithful as I am? That Thou shouldst think of me? And when hast Thou ever ceased to do it? Have I not reason to expect that my wanderings, my insensibility, my forgetfulness, and my ingratitude, might oblige Thee to think of me no more. Ah, my beloved Savior, remember this. I have given Thee so many reasons for forgetting me, for despising me, and for only remembering me, in order to cast me into hell. Thou hast not done it. God of goodness, I thank Thee, and in future I desire to serve Thee better. I humbly ask pardon of Thee for my ingratitude towards Thee. I hope that, by Thy grace, I shall repair in future, by my diligence in visiting Thee, in this adorable mystery, the loss I have sustained by my indifference; and that if Thy Temple is not my usual habitation, I shall at least have a secure refuge in Thy Adorable Heart, which I choose at this moment for my habitation, and which I desire no more to quit: This is my rest for ever and ever: here will I dwell, for I have chosen it (Psalm 131:14).

 

Pray!

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