Our parish and 6 other parishes in the Sacramento Diocese have the Sacred Heart designated as the name of its church. The standards for naming a sacred building are found in a liturgical book called the "Rite of Dedication of a Church and an Altar". The chosen name of a church must be:
-the name of the Trinity, or
-a name for Christ, invoked in the liturgy, or a mystery of His life, or
-the name of the Holy Spirit, or
-a name for Mary, invoked under a title for her used in the liturgy, or
-the name of a holy angel, or
-the name of a canonized saint as it appears ini the Roman martyrology, or
-the name of a blessed provided the Apostolic See has given its permission.
Sacred Heart Catholic Church's name falls under the category of a mystery of Christ's life.
The devotion to the Sacred Heart (also known as the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Sacratissimum Cor Iesu in Latin) is one of the most widely practiced and well-known Catholic devotions, wherein the heart of Jesus is viewed as a symbol of "God's boundless and passionate love for mankind".[1]
This devotion is predominantly used in the Latin Church, followed by high-church Anglicans, Lutherans and Eastern Catholics, and some Western Rite Orthodox Christians. In the Latin Church, the liturgical Solemnities of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus is celebrated the first Friday after the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, or 19 days after Pentecost Sunday.[2]
The devotion is especially concerned with what the Church deems to be the long-suffering love and compassion of the heart of Christ towards humanity. The popularization of this devotion in its modern form is derived from a Catholic nun from France, Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque, who said she learned the devotion from Jesus during a series of apparitions to her between 1673 and 1675. Today, the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart is celebrated throughout the world on the Friday following the Feast of Corpus Christi. (Wikipedia)
Prayer to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
O, most holy heart of Jesus, fountain of every blessing, I adore you, I love You, and with lively sorrow for my sins I offer You this poor heart of mine. Make me humble, patient, pure and wholly obedient to your will. Grant, Good Jesus, that I may live in You and for You. Protect me in the midst of danger. Comfort me in my afflictions. Give me health of body, assistance in my temporal needs, your blessing on all that I do, and the grace of a holy death. Amen.
This article originally appeared June 23, 2017, in the National Catholic Register.