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St. Edward Church in Little Rock held a Sacred Heart Home Enthronement Mission over three weekends in January.
Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus has been practiced in the Catholic Church for centuries. Its modern form became widespread after Jesus appeared to Margaret Mary Alacoque, a French nun at the Visitation convent in Paray-le-Monial, France, in the early 1670s.
In one vision, Our Lord showed St. Margaret Mary his physical heart, the now famous image, to signify the burning love he has for mankind. He requested that she make known this devotion, which includes acts of reparation for the offenses committed against him. Specifically, he spoke of the special graces one gains for receiving holy Communion on the first Friday of nine consecutive months.
Jesus made known more graces, as enumerated in the 12 Promises, to those who enthrone the image of his Sacred Heart in their home. He stated, “I will bless the home in which the image of my Sacred Heart is exposed and honored.”
Pastor Father Greg Luyet said, “The home is the domestic church. The Sacred Heart Enthronement provides a unique way for Jesus to be honored in our homes and hearts and the universal Church will be better for it.”
Enthronement of the Sacred Heart is more than just hanging a picture on a wall. One is encouraged to prepare both internally (i.e., confession and Communion) and externally (selecting a prominent locationto display a blessed image of the Sacred Heart and consecrating oneself to Jesus).
Although it is commonly called a devotion, the spirit ofthe enthronement is more like an apostolate. It is such because individuals or families: acknowledge the kingship of Christ within their homes; seek to always do his will; entrust themselves entirely to him and carry their reliance on Christ into their everyday undertakings and thus into the world. This is what Our Lord meant when he said to St. Margaret Mary, “I will reign by my Sacred Heart.”
The mission included a short talk after weekend Masses; a homily and personal witness by Deacon Danny Hartnedy on the second weekend; and the blessing of parishioner’s Sacred Heart images, along with distribution of the enthronement packets, on the final weekend.
Of the enthronement, Hartnedy said, “In the 16 years that our family has been enthroned to the Sacred Heart, we have experienced Jesus faithfully keeping his promises of providing every grace needed, and blessing our home and family with joy and peace.”
Father Luyet was pleased as the mission concluded with 110 families signing up to receive a Sacred Heart Home Enthronement packet.
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