Sunday Within the Octave of the Sacred Heart

In May of 1928, Pope Pius XI issued an encyclical entitled Miserentissimus Redemptor on the great mercy of our Redeemer, particularly as it is symbolized by the Sacred Heart of Jesus.[1] The same Pope is the one who instituted the feast of Christ the King back in 1925, and asked that every year on that day, the Catholic faithful renew the Consecration of the human race to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.[2] The 1928 encyclical deals with the idea of making reparation to God for failure to return God’s love—both our own, and those of others. It asks us to make an Act of Reparation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus on the occasion of His feast day.

Pope Pius wrote that our reparation ought to be more than just a formula of words, but ought to consist of our love, of restraint placed on the things we desire, and even physical penance. He wrote:

We might say that the best way of making reparation to God is being “Christ-like.”

The Pope reminded us that we are making reparation “for ourselves and for others.” We might ask, just who are the “others” for whom we make reparation. We might be tempted to think of the “Communion of Saints which we profess in the Catholic creed, [in which] both individual men and peoples are joined together not only with one another but also with [Jesus Christ].”[4] Certainly, we do pray for, and make reparation for those who are of the house of the Catholic Faith—from the Pope on down to our fellow Catholics in the pews. We recognize that we are all sinners—even those who are dedicated to living a holy and religious life. It makes a great deal of sense that we pray for one another “For there is a wondrous and close union of all the faithful with Christ, such as that which prevails between the Head and the other members.”[5] There seems to be a sort of equity in the idea of “If I pray for you, you will pray for me.”

But when we read the Act of Reparation we will see that Pope Pius included an additional dimension to our prayers and privations. “not only for our own personal offenses, but also for the sins of those, who, straying far from the path of salvation, refuse in their obstinate infidelity to follow Thee, their Shepherd and Leader, or renouncing the vows of their baptism, have cast off the sweet yoke of Thy law.” That would include all non-Catholics those who refuse to join the Church—either out of contempt or ignorance—and would include those Catholics who refuse to follow the moral law, and, of course, those who have abandoned the Faith.

Pope Pius went on to include those who dress or act immodestly, those who attempt to lead the innocent to a life of sin, those who fail to observe the Lord’s day, and those who blaspheme God and His saints. The first movie with sound had been released only a year earlier, but today, we can imply a reference to Hollywood in these categories. Perhaps the best reparation we can make in this category is to be very discreet in selecting the movies (and the television) we watch, and of course to keep Sunday holy, doing our shopping on another day so that people in retail are not forced to work.

We are asked to make reparation for those who profane the Pope and his priests, and those who profane the Most Blessed Sacrament Itself. In today’s world we must make reparation for those members of the clergy at every level, who themselves profane what is holy—either through immoral or sacrilegious behavior, or through the denial of teachings of the Catholic Faith. We must make reparation for those who urge the faithful to support condemned political-economic systems like socialism and communism.

In Pius XI’s time we were asked to make reparation for “the public crimes of nations who resist the rights and the teaching authority of the Church which Thou hast founded.” This is more necessary than ever, particularly with the governmental assault on human life and the Christian conception of family life—including both the procreation and the education of children. In today’s world we have nations waging military war on innocent civilian populations, and waging economic war on both their own citizens and those of foreign lands. We claim to live in a “democracy”—a “republic” really—which means that we bear some responsibility for our government’s actions. In this regard, perhaps the most practical form of reparation we can make would be to remain aware of what our government does, and to resist its evil inclinations through the political process.

“We promise to the best of our power to prevent others from offending Thee and to bring as many as possible to follow Thee.” There is no more Inquisition, and only a few are called to preach the Faith, so the best way we have of bringing others to the Faith, and of preventing offences against God is through our own good example—the living of a life that “would not make sense if God did not exist.”[6]

We invoke the “intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, our model in reparation” for no other human being ever live a more Christ-like life, filled with self-denial, humility, and outright suffering on behalf of all mankind.

I believe the most significant statement in the Act of Reparation is the one that comes two short paragraphs from the end: “Henceforth we will live a life of unwavering faith, of purity of conduct, of perfect observance of the precepts of the Gospel and especially that of Charity.” In this one brief sentence, Pope Pius XI defined what it means for a man or a woman to be Christ-like, and I will repeat it again: “Henceforth we will live a life of unwavering faith, of purity of conduct, of perfect observance of the precepts of the Gospel and especially that of Charity.”

As I quoted the Pope earlier, “the more perfectly that our oblation and sacrifice corresponds to the sacrifice of Our Lord ... the more abundant fruits of that propitiation and expiation shall we receive for ourselves and for others.” The best form of reparation is to be Christ-like.

NOTES:

[1] http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/pius_xi/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-xi_enc_08051928_miserentissimus-redemptor_en.html

[2] http://www.rosarychurch.net/rituale/cons_shj.html

[3] Miserentissimus Redemptor, No. 10.

[4] ibid.

[5] ibid.

[6] Emmanuel Cardinal Suhard, Priests Among Men.

Feast of the Sacred Heart—7 June A.D. 2013 Sunday within the Octave of the Sacred Hear t—9 June A.D. 2013

Feast of the Sacred Heart—7 June A.D. 2013
Sunday within the Octave of the Sacred Hear t—9 June A.D. 2013