Reparation to the Sacred Heart: a prayer for troubled times

Published: Tuesday, October 28, 2014, 8:00 am |   Author: Terry McDermott | Tagged with: atonement  Eucharistic Adoration  Holy Eucharist  Reparation  Sacred Heart of Jesus

Reparation to the Sacred Heart: a prayer for troubled times

It is understandable to feel concern, uncertainty, confusion, and anxiety in these troubled times. Jesus, it seems, is asleep as our little boat continues to be tossed amidst the storms that rage within the Catholic Church and throughout the world. But we know in faith that He remains with us, always attentive to our prayers, and so it is important to stay close to Him. Receive Him frequently in the Holy Eucharist and visit Him often in Eucharistic Adoration.
As members of the Body of Christ, we need to do our part to repair or make up for the offences committed against God. Now is the time to make an act of reparation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus for our sins and the sins of the whole world. The following prayer is found in the prayer booklet Learn From Me For I am Gentle and Humble of Heart: Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Act of Reparation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

O Sacred Heart of Jesus, animated with a desire to repair the outrages unceasingly offered to Thee, we prostrate before Thy throne of mercy, and in the name of all mankind, pledge our love and fidelity to Thee!
The more Thy mysteries are blasphemed, the more firmly we shall believe them, O Sacred Heart of Jesus! The more impiety endeavours to extinguish our hopes of immortality, the more we shall trust in Thy Heart, sole hope of mankind! The more hearts resist Thy Divine attractions, the more we shall love Thee, O infinitely amiable Heart of Jesus! The more unbelief attacks Thy Divinity, the more humbly and profoundly we shall adore It, O Divine Heart of Jesus! The more Thy Sacraments are despised and abandoned, the more frequently we shall receive them with love and reverence, O most generous Heart of Jesus! The more the imitation of Thy virtues is neglected and forgotten, the more we shall endeavour to practice them, O Heart, model of every virtue! The more the devil labours to destroy souls, the more we shall be inflamed with desire to save them, O Heart of Jesus, zealous Lover of souls! The more sin and impurity destroy the image of God in man, the more we shall try by purity of life to be a living temple of the Holy spirit, O Heart of Jesus! The more Thy Holy Church is despised, the more we shall endeavour to be her faithful children, O Sweet Heart of Jesus! The more Thy Vicar on earth is persecuted, the more we will honour him as the infallible head of Thy Holy Church, show our fidelity and pray for him, O kingly Heart of Jesus.
O Sacred Heart, through Thy powerful grace, may we become Thy apostles in the midst of a corrupted world, and be Thy crown in the kingdom of heaven. Amen.

Painting: Sacred Heart of Jesus by Pompeo Batoni, 1767. In the public domain