Blog Posts

Treaty of Pope Agathon and the Croats – AD679

Published on: by KOFPB

As Pope at the head of the Church, he occupied the chair of Peter from 678 to 681, in truth a brief period of time, but for us Croats it was of the utmost importance.

Although we know relatively little about Pope Agathon’s life, his name and memorial day should evoke a joyous memory in the heart of every Croatian believer. He stands as a bright figure at the dawn of our history that begins with the baptism of our people (who were the first of the Slavic people to become Christian). As Pope at the head of the Church, he occupied the chair of Peter from 678 to 681, in truth a brief period of time, but for us Croats it was of the utmost importance.

Pope Agathon was born in Palermo, Sicily. After 20 years of marriage, he became a widower and entered the community of Benedictines. After being appointed cardinal, he was elected Pope in 678. He occupied St. Peter’s chair for less than three years, but he conquered everything with his gentle and cheerful disposition. He convened a church council in Rome around Easter 680AD, from which he sent an epistle to Emperor Constantine IV in Constantinople. Along with the Pope, the epistle was signed by all 125 bishops present, including the bishop from Istria, while there were no signatories from the rest of the Croatian territory. The Pope’s letter reads, among other things: “Among the barbarian peoples, both the Lombards and the Slavs, also in the midst of the Franks and Gauls, are many of my servants (ie bishops), who, in view of the apostolic faith, do not cease to labour zealously . . .”

Our historians Marković, Sakač and especially Mandić, confirm the fact that from this Pope’s letter it can be seen that in the year 680, bishops worked in the midst of some Slavic peoples and that this people had already accepted Christianity prior to that year. This people can only be Croatian, because other Slavic peoples were baptized only at the end of the 8th and the beginning of the 9th century, and according to Agathon’s epistle, as early as 680 there were several bishops already ministering among Croats, and Croats were Christians at that time.

In addition to that historical data, for us is even more important what the Byzantine emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus, as a contemporary of the first Croatian King Tomislav (who reigned from 912 to 959) writes in his work “De administrando imperio”. He writes: “After their baptism, the Croats set up a treaty with their own hands and swore with a firm and unwavering faith to St. Peter that they would never invade other people’s lands or go to war there, but that they would rather live in peace with anyone who wanted to. And in return, they received from the Pope a prayer (a promise) that he would fight for them and that the God of the Croats would be at their aid whenever other nations invade the Croatian land and disturb them with war, and St. Peter, a disciple of Christ, will endow them with victory.”
In 1931, Jesuit Father Stjepan Krizin Sakač (1890-1973) wrote a notable and important treatise titled “Ugovor pape Agatona i Hrvata proti navalnom ratu (oko g. 679.)” (The non-aggression contract between Pope Agathon and the Croats circa 679AD), our first international peace treaty, which was once translated into Spanish and convincingly proves that this treaty would correspond to the truth, and the Pope, whom the Emperor does not name, would be none other than Pope Agathon.
This text, we would dare to say, enters into the sacred pages of our history and it would be worthwhile for us as Croats and as believers, to delve deeper into it more often. It speaks, as a matter of first priority, of a very significant event which stands at the beginning of all Christian nations, and that is our baptism. With this event, we entered the circle of “cultured” European nations with all the ensuing consequences, because as a nation we began to experience the Christian mystery, which dedicated its wealth to so many of our sons and daughters, and then built so many churches that became the most enduring and eloquent witnesses of our spiritual culture.

This text also speaks of our national connection with God and with Peter, a disciple of Christ. The Croats swore to St. Peter that they would not wage invading wars and would rather live in peace. History testifies to the extent they fulfilled that oath. As history is often biased, it is difficult to make an accurate judgement on the basis of all the written documents. They certainly closed the door to conquests with this oath, set it as an ideal, and we believe that they largely achieved it. Think of the beatitude that Jesus included in His sermon on the Mount: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God!” (Mt 5:9). That is why the Croats received the special protection of God, and through their truly difficult history, battered and suppressed from all sides in this windstorm, they still managed to survive as a nation until today.

The connection to St. Peter, the first pope, already at the beginning of our history, and the treaty with Pope Agathon, are probably the reasons that the Croats throughout their history remained faithful to the papacy and Rome, always resolutely rejecting temptation, whether schism, or heresy. And that, surely, was a great grace to our people and should be a sacred obligation for the future as well.

Pope Agathon also used his business skills when the English bishops turned to Rome for advice. It was when St. Wilfrid of York and St. Theodore of Canterbury addressed Rome to demarcate the dioceses. He returned the deposed Bishop Wilfrid to English York, and sent the Benedictine abbot, Archbishop John, to the British Isles, to teach the English Gregorian chant and thus expand the Roman liturgy.

The most important event of Agathon’s pontificate is the Sixth Ecumenical Council (also known as the Third Council of Constantinople), called the Council of Trullo. The Council was held from 680 to 681, but unfortunately the Pope did not see it through to the end. At that Council, a monotheistic heresy was condemned that claimed that there were two natures in Jesus, but only one will. Two of Agathon’s letters addressed to the Council were instrumental in the delivery of the outcome.

Pope Agathon died on January 10, 681, and his body rests in the church of St. Peter in Rome. Above his grave is a Latin inscription of a poem of 12 verses.

The name “Agathon” is of Greek origin and means “good”.

The original article in Croatian can be found here: Sveti Agaton, papa

KNIGHTS OF THE PRECIOUS BLOOD – SOLDIER OF CHRIST AWARD – 2020

Published on: by KOFPB

Today marked the last men’s breakfast for 2020 as we begin to prepare ourselves for Christmas. A big part of today was to honour all the men that attend the monthly Men’s Breakfast, but in particular to recognise someone that has stood out to as a true soldier of Christ, someone who constantly displays the values of the Knights – Bog, Obitelj i Domovina (God, Family and Nation).

At our last meeting in October, all the men had the opportunity to nominate someone that stood out to them as a true soldier of Christ, someone who displays the values of the Knights in all that he does.

We truly believe that every single one of us is a soldier of Christ. It shows in the interactions we all have with each other, be it at the men’s breakfasts, men’s masses or various other gatherings. We had the honour of reading all the nominations, and we were inspired by what we read.

You would think after reading all the comments that you are reading the biography of saints. Well, in fact they all are. We are all called to be saints and the work that everyone puts in, does not go unnoticed, by us and more importantly by God. We all inspire each other and sadly a lot of times we don’t tell each other. So let us all make a conscious effort to let people know when they inspire us.

It’s not about bragging rights, but as saints in the making we all need some encouragement to know we are on the right path. We all struggle from time to time and kind words can never go astray. Which brings us to the Soldier of Christ for 2020, and hopefully for all eternity, Alec (Svetko) Petesic who was nominated by his peers as the Knights first “Soldier of Christ Award” recipient. Some of the comments about Svetko that we received included:

– being fully committed to God, family and country
– God works through him with all the people he meets/encounters
– A man of Faith, Hope and Charity
– Great example and inspiration

It was a tremendous moment being able to honour a true Soldier of Christ, by presenting him with one of the greatest weapons a soldier of Christ has at his disposal, a Spiritual Warfare Bible. Come and join us at the next men’s gathering where you will be truly inspired.

Bog i Hrvati.

HOW THE OLDEST CROATIAN IMAGE OF THE MOTHER OF GOD BECAME AN INSPIRATION

Published on: by KOFPB

Our Lady of the Croatian Baptismal Covenant is especially revered by Croatian veterans, and she is the patroness of the Military Diocese

Our Lady’s Pralik – The Banner of Christian and National Unity  (see Note 1.)

August 14, 2018

That the Croats are a Marian-oriented people is confirmed by many facts from a long history, and one of them is the veneration of the oldest image of the Mother of God in Croatian art, which dates from the 11th century. The oldest image of Mary was elevated as “Croatian Our Lady of Pilgrimage” and the holy image was transformed into a monument and became the symbol of Our Lady of the Great Croatian Baptismal Covenant 41 years ago. As part of the great jubilee of the celebration of thirteen centuries of Christianity among the Croats the monument travelled around our homeland and in a visible way connected all the Marian shrines, all the jubilees, the whole church life of the people at that time. This monument symbolises the entire Marian spirit of Croatian history, from which in a way all later Marian depictions derive.

The gable of the altar partition

“When the guardian of our ancient heritage and the founder of Croatian national archaeology, the Franciscan Lujo Marun found the stone Romanesque gable of the altar partition from the cathedral of St. Marija in diocese near Knin, at the Crkvina site on May 14, 1892, he had no idea that his discovery would become the main symbol of the Marian renewal and national consciousness of the Croatian people. This original Romanesque period stone gable of the altar partition from the cathedral in Knin is the beginning and an archetype of the croatian sacral art, which testifies that we were and remain an integral part of the Christian family”, said academic painter and Franciscan Ante Branko Periša. He also pointed out that there are many stone fragments from the Pre-romanesque and Romanesque periods found within the archaeological remains in Croatia which are important for the study of the national history and sacred art.

Ante Jurčević, senior curator at the Museum of Croatian Archaeological Monuments in Split, agrees with him, whose collection includes the original gable, which has been reconstructed from three fragments. Under the catalogue number 1101 in the collection, there is a gable 65 cm high, 102 cm wide and 11 cm thick which has been preserved. “The basilica from which the gable originates was dedicated to St. Stephen and St. Mary and it is one of the oldest Marian shrines in Croatia, since an inscription was found with the title of the church from the 9th century, and the basilica was the cathedral church of the Croatian bishop from 1042. The gable, together with other parts of the altar partition in our museum, was erected around 1070-1080. Another, older depiction of the Mother of God carved on the window grille and the oldest crucifix originates from this locality.

In honour of this shrine, Ivan Meštrović built the votive church of Our Lady in the immediate vicinity in 1938, popularly known as the Church of the Croatian Baptismal Covenant, and during the consecration of the church in September 1938, Blessed Cardinal Alojzije Stepinac gave a significant prophetic speech which was published in the ‘Novo Doba’ newspaper “, senior curator Jurčević told Glas Koncila.

Our Lady of Intercession

Our Lady of the Great Croatian Baptismal Covenant is depicted in a prayer position, as Mary of Intercession, Father Periša explains as he gives a detailed interpretation of the figure “as Our Lady Intercessor – Maria Orans (latin orans, praying), arms raised on her chest, palms facing the faithful. Made according to the Byzantine Marian tradition, this bodily posture signifies surrender into the hands of God. Thus Our Lady is depicted in the gable image as the Mother of God – Theotokos, Mater Dei, because in a meditative way she establishes a sensitive relationship with the faithful. There are similar examples in Eastern iconography in the technique of tempera on wood, but our image is carved in stone relief. “

An unknown Croatian author made a flat relief using shallow incisions. Our Lady’s cloak shifted over her left shoulder so that the folds of her dress, which ran over her head and around her neck, descended obliquely down her body. He marked the figure of Our Lady with two crosses, one on the forehead and the other in a triangular end above the head, and a circle of light or a halo around her head. Avoiding the empty space (horror vacui), the horror of a void, the figure of Our Lady was bordered by a wide double decorative frame, and a Greek cross with four identical arms, the crux immissa (Latin cross), was inserted into the void in the upper triangle.

»By copying the sacred image into a sculptural relief, the author did not forget to add, according to the iconographic rules of the time, a small cross on the dress that wraps around Our Lady’s forehead. Thus, he completed the archetype with two crosses, one on the forehead, out of need, and the other in a triangle, out of necessity. Our Lady’s figure is framed by two different plaited ornaments, which appear so often on Croatian soil that we can call them Croatian pleter or Croatian interlace. The outer part of the border, on the left and the right side of the triangular gable, was decorated by the author with stylized hooks, or nines, which he placed in an opposite way than was usual in the Romanesque period style, which obviously made the frame more vivid. He decorated the inner part of the border with stylized palm tree ornaments or, as it is commonly said, palmettes, “said Father Periša.

The originality of the Our Lady’s Pralik (the oldest figure of Our Lady or archetype)

In the lower part of the triangular gable, which ends in the shape of an arch or an empty lunette, the author has carved an adapted abbreviated Latin inscription: SALV (e) (re)G(ina) S(alve) V(i)RGO – Hail Queen, Hail Virgin, which was partially damaged over time. It could be concluded from the inscription, says the interlocutor of Father Periša that the archetype depicts the Annunciation to The Blessed Virgin Mary in which Our Lady surrenders herself into God’s hands.

Our Lady’s archetype has a special value and uniqueness, as the painter Father Periša testifies: “The archetype is unique and special because it is the only one from that period that depicts the figure of the Mother of God in Croatian sacral art. And that is why we called it the image before all other images, a “Pralik” – archetype, that is, the first and original image of Marian iconography on Croatian soil. According to Romanesque decorations, it dates from the second half of the 11th century. Its author is an unknown Croatian sculptor, who used local stone, which is proof that it was not made in a Byzantine stonemason’s workshop”. At that time, Byzantine sacred art, as experts say, had a strong influence on Mediterranean and Croatian culture. However, the originality of the archetype in comparison with other Christian nations is especially emphasised by the fact that the Croatian sculptor, using the law of the frame of a triangular gable on the surface of the shallow relief, carved a real icon, a sacred image.

How demanding was it to make such a work of art, we ask the interlocutor, who replies that at that time it was difficult to carve a triangular stone block with girders, between which is a semicircular empty lunette, and place it on two pillars together with architraves and plutei as an altar partition between the apse and the nave.
“As a stonemason’s art, all parts of the sculptural iconostasis, so to speak, had to be incorporated into a harmonious whole, and the relief ornaments and the figure of Our Lady as a sacred image on the altar gable had to visibly dominate the space below the triumphal arch, separating the apse from the nave.”, says Father Periša.

Faithful Croatian Advocate

Apart from being the oldest figure of Our Lady in Croatian art, the figure of Our Lady has become the symbol of the manifestation “Thirteen Centuries of Christianity in Croats” and of the awakening of national consciousness. It all started at the solemn end of Jelena’s year, September 12, 1976, when more than a hundred thousand Croatian pilgrims gathered on Our Lady’s Island in Solin, when Cardinal Franjo Šeper blessed Our Lady’s Pralik at a celebration commemorating the 1000th anniversary of the great Croatian queen Jelena.

Pope John Paul II Blessing our Lady’s Pralik, 1979

The editors of Glas Koncila newspaper, who in their writings attached great importance to the image of Our Lady of the Great Covenant, made a special effort to make a work of art a “fuel” for the awakening of the faithful. »Since from the beginning She was the ‘Mother of our Church and our people in the centuries when we were born as a people and as a Church’ Our Lady of the Croatian Baptismal Covenant, as we called the oldest Marian image in Croatian sacral art, the Mother of God became a faithful Croatian Advocate because from the 8th century to the present day She has preserved our national Christian roots through thirteen centuries. In order for the dream to become state-building, Our Lady helped again her faithful people. It was with Our Lady of Biskupija that the spiritual renewal called ‘Thirteen Centuries of Christianity among Croats’ began. The celebration first began in Solin, on Our Lady’s Island on September 12, 1976, continued on September 17, 1978 on the historical soil in Biskupija near Knin and on September 2, 1979 in Nin near Zadar, and ended in Marija Bistrica on September 9. 1984. Thus, the Church in Croatia in a great way showed religious and national unity through the Pilgrimage of Our Lady’s Pralik which visited all parts of our beautiful homeland. In Our Lady’s Pralik, from the 11th century until today, therefore, lives the pious spirit of the Croatian faithful, which was a renewing force in the fateful years of the national being and spirit. We have similar examples in other Christian nations, which chose Our Lady as the leader, as evidenced by the national Marian shrines, but only Croats chose pralik, ie the oldest figure of Our Lady in fine arts, to be the banner of Christian and national unity “, said Father Periša.

Pralik also in the bishop’s coat of arms

As Glas Koncila newspaper in the 1970s wrote, in addition to the original, replicas were made with donations from believers from all over the nation, castings in silver and gold as a visible sign of the entire Croatian Catholic history. The Marian promoter, Father Kruno Vukušić, cast six figures of Our Lady of the Great Croatian Baptismal Covenant and presented them to the faithful for worship: the home for Croatian pilgrims in Rome, the monastery of St. Francis in Imotski, the shrine of Our Lady in Biskupija near Knin, the seat church of St. Stošija in Zadar, the Croatian Catholic Mission in Stuttgart and the Military Ordinariate of the Republic of Croatia when the Military Ordinariate was established in Zagreb in 1997. Our Lady of the Croatian Baptismal Covenant became the patron saint of Croatian veterans and the Military Diocese. For the faithful, on the other hand, small, metal copies of Our Lady’s Pralik were made and can still be found on the walls of houses.

Our Lady’s Pralik on Pilgramage

In the 1970s and 1980s, Our Lady’s Pralik travelled in magnificent processions of bishops, priests and believers throughout Croatia, and this pralik was mentioned in the bishop’s message in which they encouraged the people to continue and expand the jubilee “Thirteen Centuries of Christianity in Croats”. In a document issued at the end of 1976, they wrote: “Bishops believe that the significant transfer of this figure from diocese to diocese, from parish to parish, could usefully mark and encourage the connection of the entire Church in the Croatian people with the great messages of Solin.”
It is also interesting that the Bishop of Šibenik, Dr. Antun Tamarut, when he was appointed bishop in 1986, put the oldest sign of our Marian devotion in his episcopal coat of arms, in the year of the tenth anniversary of the veneration of this figure. Our Lady’s Pralik also received an anthem written by Živko Kustić, which mentions all the old and newer Croatian Marian shrines:

 

»Spomen slave pokraj Knina,
velik zavjet sred Solina,
znak pobjede iznad Nina,
za Hrvate moli Sina.

Zvonimir ti pralik diže,
Jelena Ti crkvu gradi,
ta baština do nas stiže,
preuzeše zavjet mladi.

Od Trsata do Aljmaša,
Ti si Majko snago naša.
Od Poreča do Škrpjela,
svetišta su Tvoja bijela.

Olovo, Sinj i Tekije,
svud nas Tvoja ljubav grije,
Brijeg Široki i Kondžilo,
štitilo je tvoje krilo.

Bistrica kraj Zagreb grada,
naše sloge nova nada,
Ti si sunce usred tmina,
za Hrvate moli Sina.«

»Memorial of glory near Knin,
great vow in the middle of Solin,
a sign of victory over Nin,
for the Croats She prays to the Son.

Zvonimir is raising Your pralik,
Jelena you build a church,
that heritage reaches us,
took the vow youth.

From Trsat to Aljmaš,
You are the Mother of our strength.
From Poreč to Škrpjelo,
Your shrines are white.

Olovo, Sinj and Tekija,
Your love warms us everywhere,
Brijeg Široki and Kondžilo,
protected by Your wing.

Bistrica near Zagreb city,
our harmony is a new hope,
You are the sun in the midst of darkness,
pray the Son for the Croats. ”

Notes:

  1. Article Published originally in Croatian by  Ivan Tašev -14. kolovoza 2018. (Glas Koncila)

 

25th Anniversary OLUJA – Men’s Mass – Homily

Published on: by KOFPB

MONS. VALENTIN POZAIĆ, ASSISTANT BISHOP OF ZAGREB

Homily on the feast of Our Lady of the Snows (see Note 1)
Our Lady of the Snows – Homeland Thanksgiving Day – Veterans Day
5 August, 1995-2012
Marija Bistrica – 18th Sunday of the year (B)

Today’s liturgical readings from the Scriptures, which we have just heard, point us to a deeper foundation and understanding of the events in our human life and work. In different times, due to different life conditions, we are ready, and often mercilessly compelled, to undertake various and great acts of renunciation, which are not exactly harmless to regular personal, family, religious and social life.
And when we are without, we strive, at the very least, to provide for ourselves and others that most basic of necessities without which we cannot survive: food and drink. Food is a necessity for our physical survival, but its significance is much greater: it has both a social and a spiritual dimension. Man is not a machine which takes in fuel, rather he is a physical-spiritual, personal being who feeds and is nourished.

Whatever we celebrate, or whenever we socialise, in joy or in sorrow, we gather together alongside food and drink. In that way, regular meals at the family table or on a family outing, especially on feast days, uphold our fellowship, keep people together, shape and strengthen community.
In the Bible, it is often impossible to separate these two aspects of food and eating: the physical aspect, and the spiritual, mental, emotional aspect.
And so it was with Jesus. Seeing His audience was exhausted from hunger and from the journey because, ignoring their material needs, they followed Him instead, thirsting for the Bread and water of eternal life, Jesus responded by feeding them with food for this life, and directing them to loftier values.
He left this way of feeding as a legacy to his Apostles, His disciples, when at the Last Supper He said to them, ‘Do this in memory of me’ (1 Cor 11:24). And throughout history they remained faithful to that bequest. We are faithful to this will of Jesus today too in this holy celebration and partaking at the altar of the Lord.
Today’s date is also a feast day, one of those that are permanently inscribed in Croatian national history. We remember the day when, after several years of the relentless aggressions of evil and hatred, our beautiful homeland was magnificently defended.
It was, and remains, a day of victory, pride and glory. For that long awaited and deeply desired day many laid down their lives, their health, their loved ones at the altar of our Homeland, and our whole Homeland suffered innumerable cultural, intellectual, spiritual and material losses.
That day of victory, pride and glory occurred on the feast of the Mother of God – Our Lady of Snows. It was a blessing from heaven in response to the persistent and persevering prayers of both the defenders and the people. So many eyes were fixed on the sacred sign of the Cross of Christ, elevated in many places; and the Rosary on the neck of the defenders, the Croatian knights, and in the hands of the faithful people, became a beloved and inalienable possession, a sacred sign of the recognition of faith and hope and love, and the future of the Croatian people.
We admire all who managed to survive the war, and equally so, the post-war woes: we congratulate and thank them – and the deceased we treasure with deep reverence in our hearts and our prayers. And still the fate of many remains unknown, and this is an indelible pain.
The chosen people, as we could hear today, exiting slavery and entering the promised freedom of their land, quickly forgot all the terrible evils of slavery, and succumbed to the infection of an imposed submissive mentality, servitude; led astray by evil-doers amongst them, they grumbled against their God-given leaders and deliverers, against the wonderful land; they even wanted to go back – despite numerous sacrifices and glorious experiences.
They became ungrateful for all the gifts they received and belittled and insulted their liberators. Satan tempts man to despise the treasure he has, or to see only what is not good, or what seems so.
Many have stumbled on the path of elation and joy of a liberated Croatia. We hear serious grievances: ‘Croatia has been liberated, but it is not free’; ‘she will be punished because she was not supposed to be freed’, or ‘in Croatia, it is good – for those who did not want Croatia’.
The malicious evil of communist terror and intimidation has not dissipated; indeed, it continues to be renewed through the glorification of crimes and the erection of monuments. And though every day new atrocities and evils and new mass graves come to light, this society is not de-communised.
On the contrary, positions and powers and privileges are enjoyed by those who have committed crimes, those who protect and defend and glorify them, and still erect monuments to them. It is not known how many receive large profits even today.
Persecutors of people receive rewards – for promoting human rights. In today’s Croatia, the dark communist past is not punished, but rewarded. Moreover, mass murderers and terrorists are compared to Croatian defenders – which is a sign of extreme moral depravity. And although that ideology is one of the greatest evils in the history of mankind, they are not ashamed.
A well-known prayer of the Church is the ‘Litany of All Saints’. Through this prayer, which calls on the intercession of all the saints and martyrs, we cry out to the Divine Majesty to hear us, to grant our requests, in our numerous needs and tribulations. It is a long prayer of many invocations.
To these numerous invocations, we in Croatia should add a new one, an altogether special invocation for a very special need, which some other nations, delivered from the same communist terror and slavery, resolved in their own way quite long ago.
If there were among those many invocations that of ‘Holy purification: visit us, set us free! ‘, we should pray the ‘Litany of All Saints’ every day.
Let the purification go from Pantovčak, across St. Mark’s Square on both sides, let it go down to Zrinjevac, then across Prisavlje – let it visit our entire Homeland! And let it not forget the snake that sits in the Croatian bosom, and the one that breeds new anti-Croatian snakes.
Yes, today we celebrate Victory Day and Thanksgiving Day, Veterans’ Day. What today we celebrate symbolically, we should live out every day. Thanksgiving Day is a reminder that we have done a lot, but that we have been given a lot – from above. We nurture our life, but before that we received it as a gift. He who is grateful knows where he is and who is the foundation of his life.
Did we quickly forget the all-encompassing message of Cardinal Franjo Kuharić: love of God, love of neighbour, love of country?
Are we grateful when we take a stand against life, against family, against truths about Croatia’s past and present – and when in that way, consciously or unconsciously, we give up the future?
Are we grateful when we observe indifferently, and so in that way participate in, the shameful enactment of the law that betrays life, marriage, and family as it was conceived by the Creator and Lover of life (Wisdom 11:26)?
Are we living as a people of life for life or have we betrayed life? Holy Scripture loudly proclaims, ‘I call heaven and earth today to witness against you: I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. Choose life, then, that you and your descendants may live, by loving the Lord, your God, heeding his voice, and holding fast to him. For He is your life, your long life, that you may dwell peacefully on earth’ (Deut 30: 19-20).
When he was at the Croatian National Theatre last year, in front of the elected ones of Croatian society, the Holy Father Benedict XVI spoke about the importance of conscience. They applauded him with a great deal of clapping. Where was the conscience a year later, on Friday 13th July this year, 2012? Are we aware of the hand of the death Industry working within Parliament? This hand is for Satan, who is a liar and a murderer from the beginning, from Cain through to today (Jn 8:44).
Is there any believer, who performs his duty responsibly, able to claim that he has not learnt of and known God’s truth about marriage and the family, about the beginning and dignity of human life at all its stages – thanks to the civic initiatives of ‘Vigilare’, as well as the campaign ‘I too was an embryo’?

Is this the only way Croatian bishops have repeatedly spoken on this issue and reminded people that such a bill is “deeply immoral and inhumane in its content and nature” (Statement of the Permanent Council of the CBC on the final Bill on medically assisted insemination’, July 9, 2012 )?

Let us be grateful and not abandon our beautiful homeland: let us not despise her beauty and riches; let us not allow all that was created worthily to perish; let not the weeds overgrow our fertile fields and meadows, and vineyards and olive groves; let us love our blue sea not only for tourism, but far more as a rich fount of health and food and development; let us love our beautiful homeland not only in words but above all in deed and truth, with a wholehearted commitment to honesty and justice, so that our homeland is not overwhelmed by sorrow and pain from dismemberment and sale, but to rejoice in the flourishing progress, pride, and dignity of her sons and daughters.
Let us be grateful to all those generous individuals, families, mothers and fathers, daughters and sons, sisters and brothers, brave and joyful defenders, who lived, worked and prayed for this holy ground, in whom the spirit lives and the heart beats: As long as there is a heart, there will be Croatia!

Let us be appreciative by living and working so that this sacred little part of the universe always remains our happy and blessed beautiful homeland!
And you, Soul of the Croatian soul, Mother of Jesus, the most faithful advocate of the land of Croatia, stand on the defense of the faith, keep our holy faith and the Croatian home! Amen.

Note 1: The above English text is a direct translation from Croatian original homily which can be found here in PDF.

Bog i Hrvati

Pod Barjakom Presvetog Srca Isusova – Part 2 (Consecration of Croatian Youth to the Sacred Heart of Jesus)

Published on: by KOFPB

In the year 2000, it was the one-hundred-year anniversary of the monumental event when over 160,000 young Croatian’s in 1900, consecrated themselves to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The memory of this consecration has remained in the Croatian people to this day: one of the most popular 20th century Croatian religious hymns “Do nebesa nek se ori”, was specially written and sung just for the occasion. We will outline how this consecration was organised and performed with this review. (see note: 1)

Preparatory Committee for Youth Consecration

Pope Leo XIII, together with all the Bishop’s of the world in 1899, consecrated the whole human race to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. This event was inspirational and in Croatia, the following year, 1900, an initiative was launched for Croatian youth to consecrate themselves, personally to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

The main person behind this initiative was O. Antun Puntigam, D.I. a Jesuit priest stationed at the seminary in Travnik. In the early part of 1900, he inspired several priests in Zagreb who were involved with youth pastoral ministry with this idea and they established a special committee to organise the consecration. From their first meeting on February 24, 1900, they sent a public invitation to the Croatian youth for the consecration, which was also published in the press. The initiators of this consecration, in addition, to the response to Pope Leo XIII, wanted the end of one century, and the entry into the next, to be marked for the Croatian youth by their confirmation of faith and devotion to Jesus Christ. The Board members were: Dr Andrija Jagatić as president, K Matica vice president, Stj. Ćukac secretary, and board: Dr J. Lang, N. Kamenar, Dr K Bosnjak, Stj. Niemčić, Dr L Jambrekovic, M. Rukavina.

The Croatian Bishops and the provincial government approved of the idea

The committee immediately informed the Croatian bishops of this initiative. The entire Croatian episcopate readily approved, blessed and took it under its wing, and promised the necessary help. Some Bishops also confirmed their approval in writing. The Archbishop of Zagreb, Dr Juraj Posilović, appointed Dr Andrija Jagatić as the head of the committee, and sent the following words to the entire committee in writing: “I recommend and gladly bless the wonderful idea that our Croatian youth, this year consecrate themselves as solemnly as possible to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and in a special way pay homage to Pope Leo XIII”. Sarajevo Archbishop Josip Stadler, a great promoter of devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, in Bosna warmly recommended to everyone in his diocese to “work as reverently as possible on this celebration.” Bishop of Đakovo J.J. Strossmayer especially advocated the realisation of the idea and issued a circular for the whole diocese approving the whole initiative, and giving very specific instructions on how this initiative should be implemented among young people in the diocese of Đakovo. The other Croatian Bishops did not lag behind in their recommendation and commitment to the consecration.

The High Provincial government to which the Board applied for patronage, gave its consent, and approved all the actions which were organised for the consecration by schools.

Accompanying actions with the consecration would be: an album with signatures and a golden heart for the Pope, a contribution to Peter’s Pence, and a pilgrimage to Rome.

After the “Call”, which was made public in the form of a leaflet, the committee published a special thirty-page brochure entitled “Celebration of Croatian Youth at the Dawn of the New Century”, in which it explained in more detail the meaning of the consecration and the way it should be performed. In this brochure, for the first time, the hymn of the consecration “Do nebesa” was published, written by the 19-year-old high school student, Petar Perica. In three months, 50,000 copies of this booklet were distributed throughout Croatia and Herzeg-Bosna.

The brochure explained all actions initiated in connection with the consecration, and aimed to give the whole venture a character of seriousness, visibility, and confirmation of its sincere adherence to Christ. All those actions consisted of a connection with the Pope – the Vicar of Christ, in Rome and consisted in this: preparing and creating the album with all the signatures of those who participated in the consecration, and gathering of a “spiritual bouquet”, ie: the prayers and acts of piety, for the Holy Father, collecting Peter’s Pence and the pilgrimage to Rome, to hand all the gifts over to the Pope.

 

 

Album containing Signatures

More than 160,000 Croatian young men and women responded to the call, all their signatures were collected, over several months, in a large album dedicated to the Holy Father. The “heart of gold” was created, this figure of gold was the size of the human heart, which represented the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Within this “heart of gold”, was placed a list containing the “spiritual bouquet”, i.e.: all the acts of piety that young Croatian Catholics undertook for the Holy Father over several months.

These acts of piety consisted of the following:
800 fasts, 1,200 Way of the Cross, 1,500 three-day Masses, 2,000 novenas, 5,000 Church pilgrimages, 8,000 golden rosaries, 40,000 sacramental Holy Communions, 60,000 Spiritual Communions, 90,000 Holy Masses, 126,000 Rosaries of Our Lady, 130,000 acts of self-denial, 150,000 Litanies, 575,000 other prayers. Total: 1,189,500 prayers and good deeds.

The book “Croatian Youth under the Flag of Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Remembrance -Awakening the People of Christ” tells of confirming the consecration of the youth and its devotion to Christ’s Vicar. This remembrance book was published in Zagreb in 1901 and it was presented with a wide-ranging display of numerous documents and photographs of how the celebration was prepared and took place in all Croatian dioceses. The book was written by O. Antun Puntigam, D.I. who was also the conceptual director of the entire celebration. On page 38 we read: “The Croatian youth would not give the Holy Father the heart of gold as he pleased, but the figure of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. They consecrated their innocent hearts to the Sacred Heart of Jesus; the Heart of Jesus and the heart of Croatian youth became one heart with this consecration. As an external sign of this inner consecration, young Croatian’s showed its heart in the Heart of Jesus to the visible Vicar of Christ. “

Together with the above actions, the action of collecting “Peter’s Pence” flowed. These are monetary contributions collected by Catholics around the world for the Pope and for the purpose of maintaining the central institutions of the Church. In this action, young Croatians collected 500 ducats that were handed over to the Holy Father during the Roman pilgrimage.

A solemn celebration for the consecration to the Heart of Jesus in Croatian dioceses

The celebration of the consecration of Croatian youth to the Sacred Heart of Jesus was performed in most Croatian dioceses on the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Friday 22 June 1900, and some on, Sunday 24 June 1900, where there were outdoor celebrations of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The celebration of the Solemnity brought extensive descriptions from all Croatian dioceses. It was particularly solemn in Zagreb. According to Archbishop Posilović, the consecration of the youth, was performed in the Zagreb Cathedral, which was completely filled with young people. It’s calculated there were about 5,000 youth.

In the book of remembrance, pg 40-173, which is the largest part of the book, are listed reports and descriptions of how the consecration was performed in Zagreb and in many other places in all the other Croatian dioceses.

Liberal resistance to the Consecration

To be objective for this presentation of the actions of the youth, it needs to be mentioned, the fact that there was resistance to the consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which according to the organisers themselves only contributed to greater success of the consecration. The book of remembrance has a special chapter entitled “How the devil promoted the celebration”. (pg 35-37) speaks about the twelve Croatian students who studied in Prague, who issued their protest, in Croatia, stating: “We protest against this, among other things, that the fanatical worship of the Pope and the fanatical enthusiasm for the idea of clericalism, which has nothing in common with our people’s lives, kills ever more progressive and free voices. We want young people to be raised real and free, able to successfully solve life’s tasks.” (pg 36). Of course, they did not achieve what they wanted through their protest, and some public voices sent them harsh criticism. Thus “Vrhbosna” writes: “Can our people hope for any good and success from these people, with their absurd and laughable protests boasting in front of the educated world? From souls without a heart, and without any ideals, from souls which today shout and grumble longer, and tomorrow for a slightly thicker salary everyone’s superficial puppets, without even a little serious and thorough knowledge.” (Vrhbosna, no. 8, 1900). An even harsher critique was addressed to these liberal students from Zadar. After rejecting their protest against the Croatian clergy, they continued “Let us ask the twelve apostles of someone else’s thoughts, did your parents send you to study science and pay your costs to put yourself into conflict with their convictions with exotic doctrines, and to introduce to the people confusion with crazy innovations, for which even the corrupt west wouldn’t give a pipe of rotten tobacco? If you have learned nothing better than to plough in the garbage of foreigners, you better come home and accept the hoes or paddles!” (Croatia, Zadar, no. 27, 1900).

The consecration gained even more popularity, after this protest by the liberal students and the public criticism they received for their actions. The remembrance book cites the fact that the father of one of those “twelve” gave 20 kruna “for his misguided son” as a contribution to making a heart of gold. (p37)

Pilgrimage to Rome and meeting with Pope Leo XIII

At the beginning of July 1900, the great Croatian pilgrimage to Rome, took place during the Jubilee Year, which included more than 700 pilgrims, of which there were 50 young men and women and youth representatives, who consecrated themselves to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The pilgrimage was led by Croatian Bishops. On July 3, they were received by Pope Leo XIII in the Sistine Chapel. Two young men, high school student Petar Perica, author of the consecration song “Do nebesa”, and Franjo Scholz from Zagreb, presented the Holy Father with a large artistic album of Croatian Youth with over 160,000 signatures of young people. Three girls, in folk costumes, then handed over to the Pope a large heart of gold, containing within it the “spiritual bouquet” of prayers, sacrifices and good deeds that the young had undertaken for him, over the past few months. The Pope was visibly surprised and moved by this great gift of the Croatian youth. After that they handed over to the Holy Father, Peter’s Pence, ie: 500 ducats, which was also a gift from the Croatian youth. This heart of gold with the “spiritual bouquet” so overwhelmed Pope Leo XIII that he kept it in his private room, as he later confirmed verbally and in writing.

Thanks, from Pope Leo XIII for gifts from the Croatian youth

After the pilgrimage to Rome and the visit to the Holy Father, Pope Leo XIII, he sent a handwritten letter to Archbishop Juraj Posilović thanking him especially for the gifts that the Croatian youth gave him as a sign of their consecration to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. Archbishop Posilovic read the Pope’s letter publicly at the opening of the first Croatian Catholic meeting in Zagreb on 3 October 1900.

Here’s this Pope’s letter in English translation:

“Honourable brother, I salute you with the apostolic blessing! Among the many joyful events, which, by the goodness of God, pleased our soul in this holy year, to comfort and strengthen an excellent place was taken by Croatian youth as the proof of love and loyalty they contributed to us. This witness is very dear to us not only for the sake of the large number of those who have participated and contributed, but most of all the reason that they solemnly committed, that under the flag of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, “pro aris et focis”, namely to fight consistently and courageously for their faith and homeland. As a sign of this vow, we are shown a heart of gold, which has pleased us so much, that to this day I have reserved it to myself. Therefore, to you, the honourable brother, according to your vocation, to express our gratitude to this youth again and to encourage them on our behalf, let them hold fast to their decisions, because from there they will draw abundance of consolation and sure hope of future bliss, if the Heart of Jesus is revered and zealously followed. In this name and for the pledge of our fatherliness, we gladly grant our Apostolic Blessing to you and all who have signed the album.”

Given in Rome at St. Peter’s, dated 15 August, 1900, and in the twenty-third year of pontificate “Leo PP. XIII.

Memorial to the Consecration: Book of Remembrance and the hymn “Do nebesa”

O. Petar Perica

In 1901, to preserve the history of this great event, the consecration by Croatian youth, a book was published – “Croatian Youth under the Flag of Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Remembrance – Awakening” – Zagreb, by Antun Scholz, 1901, 236 pp. Within it are detailed all the actions that prepared and accompanied the consecration, and the extensive description of the consecration in various places in all Croatian dioceses. It is a precious document of this unique event that took place on the threshold of the 20th century. In addition, to this book there is another memorial to the consecration throughout the 20th century throughout all Croatian regions: the hymn “Do nebesa” by Petar Perica, written for the very occasion, and sung all these hundred years, and is still sung as an expression of fidelity and loyalty to Christ of the entire Croatian people.

DO NEBESA NEK SE ORI
Pjesma posvetnica

Do nebesa nek se ori naših grudi gromki glas,
neka jeknu rajski dvori, nek nas čuje Isus spas.

Isukrste, Srcu tvom s nama naš se kune dom:
dušom, tijelom vijek sam tvoj za krst časni bijuć boj.

Čujte, puci širom svijeta, oci naši, čujte sad;
čujte, sluge pakla kleta, kako Hrvat kliče mlad:

Stijeg Hrvata, Srce Krista, tu nam rudi sreća, spas;
tu sloboda zlatna blista, tu se ori slavski glas.

Pređi naši kano lavi za krst časni biše boj.
Tko je sinak ovoj slavi, Kristu vjeran uvijek poj:

Neka grmi pako hudi, neka bjesni cijeli svijet
neka borba lomi grudi, čvrsto stoji zavjet svet:

Kralju slave silni, blagi, blagoslovi zavjet taj!
Blagoslovi rod nam dragi u svom srcu stan mu daj.

Spjevao Petar Perica 1900.g. za posvetu  hrvatske mladeži Srcu Isusovu.

Pod Barjakom Presvetog Srca Isusova Series

– Part 1 (120th Anniversary)

– Part 2 (Consecration of Croatian Youth to the Sacred Heart of Jesus AD1900)

– Part 3 (1910 – Year of renewal of the Consecration)

– Part 4 (The 100th anniversary of the consecration)

Note:

  1. English text translated from original article in Croatian at  http://ivanmerz.hr/staro/glasilo/1999/1999-posveta.htm

 

Pod Barjakom Presvetog Srca Isusova – Part 3 (1910 – Year of renewal of the Consecration)

Published on: by KOFPB

1910 – Year of renewal of the Consecration

For the 10th anniversary of 1910, a renewal of the consecration was organised. A booklet – “Celebration of Croatian Youth 1910”, about Petar Perica on pg64, printed 40,000 copies – spiritually prepared the renewal of consecration and was led by the central committee under the auspices of the Archbishop of Zagreb Juraj Posilović. The chairman of the committee, was assistant Bishop and vicar general, Dr Ivan Krapac. On 15 February, the committee sent a solemn proclamation to all dioceses’ calling on the youth for the renewal. The religious magazine, Glasnik Srca Isusova no 3-9, had extensive presentations of preparations and descriptions of the celebration of the renewal of the consecration that took place on the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, June 1910. Thousands upon thousands of young Croats in all Croatian dioceses’, reaffirmed and witnessed to their faith and devotion to Jesus Christ.

 

In Zagreb, the renewal of the consecration was celebrated as solemnly as it was ten years prior. The ceremony of the renewal of the consecration began in the Cathedral, which was again filled with young people until the very last place. Then, in a large procession of all participants, a special memorial flag of this celebration was carried through the most beautiful parts of the city to the Shrine of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Palmotićeva Street, which was built in 1902. At the Shrine of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the celebration of the renewal of the consecration was completed by storing this memorial flag for permanent preservation.

 

This renewal of consecration, confirmed ties to the representative of Christ in Rome. The central committee sent St. Pope Pius X a special letter informing him of the renewal of the consecration on behalf of the Croatian youth reaffirming their faithfulness to Jesus Christ and his Sacred Heart, and requested the Holy Father’s Apostolic Blessing. On the day of the consecration, a telegram was received from the Pope with an Apostolic Blessing, sent by the Secretary of State Cardinal Merry de Val, to those Croatian youth that participated in the renewal, the greetings, thanks and blessings of the Pope.

Fierce reactions from liberals and anti-clericals against the renewal of consecration

After the celebration and consecration in the July issue, Glasnik Srca Isusova, brought an extensive account of the attempts of liberals and other anti-clerical associations who in any which way wanted to prevent or at least impede the holding of the renewal of the consecration. A shorter view of how it unfolded is described. In our present day it is difficult to comprehend this real battle between the organisers of the consecration and the Catholic youth on the one hand, and the liberal and anti-clerical elements on the other. (Glasnik Srca Isusova no7, 1910 p.128)

In late February, after the established committee for the renewal of the consecration launched various preparatory actions for the ceremony, the High Croatian Land Government issued order no. 4851. which granted on the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, 3 June 1910, all Catholic youth a holiday, and that under the guidance of their catechists and teachers they could participate in Holy Mass and so to understand the meaning of the holiday and their own consecration. Secondly, the government approved the collection of donations among young people in school to cover the cost of holding a celebration for the anniversary of the consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

This government’s order was reacted to by the Liberals in the newspaper “Pokret”. The article states, among other things “Dr. Amruša’s order is nothing other than a direct provocation of all free-thinking elements in Croatia, and these elements will know and suppress it. Let the head of the department for worship with silk flags, Dr. Amruš, have no doubt about that.”(Pokret no. 56, 10.3.1910) Other atheistic newspapers had written similarly.

A few days before the ceremony, on 30 May, so-called “Progressive” students of two high schools began handing out leaflets issued by their senior fellow students in Zagreb. The leaflet was full of callous insults and slanders at the expense of the Pope, Archbishop and clergy, and against the collection of contributions for the consecration. Glasnik Srca Isusova unmasked those who stood behind it and called them enemies of God, “socialists, revolutionaries, freemasons.”

The next day, 31 May, a second leaflet was published, this time by the Catholic side, printed 10,000 copies, within it the “revolutionaries” are unmasked along with their intentions and mode of operation.

The day before the consecration, “the revolutionaries” with the aid of the social democrats issued a leaflet entitled: “Against clericalism” which read, among other things: “The celebration of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in 1900, in Croatia, made visible the origins of a clerical organisation. After that celebration it was followed by a Catholic congress, and then Jesuits arrived in Zagreb, and clerical institutes started to line up. No, as early as 1900, in the first place, the clerics set their gaze on the youth as yeast, from which a clerical guard would be born who would have to create clerical intelligence… What does it mean to hand over the school at the mercy and non-mercy of clerics? It means to plunge a knife in your living body, it means to cut your veins.”

The opponents of the consecration didn’t just settle for that flyer. A few days before the dedication in the “art pavilion”, there was an organised exhibition of images of erotic content rated by the secular media as immoral. Glasnik comments that it was “the greatest shamelessness of the kind not even pagans exhibited.” In the week before the celebration, they lowered the price of tickets for the youth, thinking that curious youth would flock to the exhibition. On the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, they announced that for school youth it was free of entry to the exhibition. Not even through this incentive could they attract the Catholic youth who were about to renew the consecration on that very day.

As an immediate preparation for the celebration of the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the anniversary of the consecration, in Zagreb’s Sokol Hall, a lecture with slides on the -Sacred Heart of Jesus was organised. “Enemies of God and of the Croatian people”, as the Glasnik named them, decided to disrupt this lecture and organised the same day, an hour earlier a protest assembly against the renewal of the consecration. The city was dogged by large billboards inviting citizens to their rally. A group of citizens outraged at their provocations disrupted their rally, which had to be disbanded. In their anger the “the revolutionaries” rushed to the Sokol Hall to prevent the presentation on the Sacred Heart of Jesus proceeding. There, they were prevented by members of the Catholic Society of “Domagoja” who stood guard at all the doors. However, the police had to intervene by using physical force to make orders so that the conference could take place. After the lecture, when visitors began to disperse to their houses, among them many priests and distinguished persons, they were greeted by “revolutionaries” who spewed various demeaning shouts and offensive expressions. Glasnik further describes:

“Only Satan could have put into their mouths their shameless expressions. The more they swore at the clergy and all that the Catholic’s hold near and dear to their heart, the more enthusiastic the faithful cheered: Long live the clerics! Long live victory! Long live the Priests!”

“The revolutionaries” continued to follow the clergy with their offensive shouts until they were dispersed by police in front of Kapitol. On the same evening, another group of “revolutionaries” gathered in front of the monastery of the Sisters of Mercy, which were especially associated with the consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and they stopped to shout: “Down with the Church! Down with the monastery!” The neighbours reacted sharply and they were forced to disperse. The peak of the opposition was on the day of the consecration. After a failed attempt by some libertarian principals to thwart the great procession that was planned for the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the civil authorities reacted immediately and again explicitly ordered all schools to participate in the procession together with their professors and educators.

When they failed to thwart the procession, a group of opponents decided to rush into the procession and hijack and burn the main symbol of the renewal of the consecration – the large flag of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. If it didn’t go to plan, after that, they would at least tear it apart with iron bars. However, on learning time of this true devil’s intent, the execution of this act was disabled. Both the consecration and the procession were solemnly held as programmed.

 

Pod Barjakom Presvetog Srca Isusova Series

– Part 1 (120th Anniversary)

– Part 2 (Consecration of Croatian Youth to the Sacred Heart of Jesus AD1900)

– Part 3 (1910 – Year of renewal of the Consecration)

– Part 4 (The 100th anniversary of the consecration)

Note:

  1. English text translated from original article in Croatian at  http://ivanmerz.hr/staro/glasilo/1999/1999-posveta.htm

Pod Barjakom Presvetog Srca Isusova – Part 4 (The 100th anniversary of the consecration)

Published on: by KOFPB

The 100th anniversary of the consecration – a challenge in 2000

The first article announcing the renewal of the 1900 consecration, on the tenth anniversary was in Glasnik Srca Isusova written with these words: ” If this first tenth anniversary is celebrated solemnly, then every further one, especially the fifth, which some young people will still experience, and the tenth, i.e. the hundredth anniversary of the first consecration, will surely be celebrated, in the year 2000, which, God willing, we will watch from heaven. In this way, the tree, which was planted by Croatian youth in 1900, will re-flourish and bear the fruit of life. And under by his centuries-old canopy, the Croatian youth will still sing to the Heart of Jesus: Dušom tijelom vijek sam tvoj, za krst časni bijuć boj (Glasnik Srca Isusova no 3 1910, p57)

The 100th anniversary of the consecration in 2000, which the organisers of the tenth anniversary have foreseen and announced, 2000 is coming to a close. Given the many positive fruits that the consecration has left in the hearts of young people, the question arises: whether to commemorate this event with articles in the press, or it could be a pastoral challenge to the Church to organise something similar for today’s generation of Croatian youth not only from one century to another, but from one millennium to another. One might notice, after 100 years the mentality of the modern man, especially the young, and his expression of faith has changed. That’s partly true. But the Sacred Heart of Jesus has not changed! Let us remember the motto of the Great Jubilee 2000 “Christ yesterday, today, and always!”

In addition, when analysing the content of the consecration from 100 years ago, it is clearly observed that the consecration was, in fact, a wonderful profession of the Christian faith of an entire generation of Croatian Catholic youth that they left us at the dawn of this century. It was their sincere testimony of their belonging to Jesus Christ, the Church and the Christ’s Vicar, from which remained a memorial until these days through the hymn of consecration – “Do nebesa”.

Previous initiatives to mark the 100th anniversary of the consecration

The Youth of the Eucharistic Movement (MEP) from Osijek, as in previous years, welcomed the New Year in 2000, in prayer and gathering before the Most Blessed Sacrament in the Shrine of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The reception of this last year of the second millennium was specially marked by the memory of the Croatian youth’s consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus from 100 years ago. Immediately, in the first minutes of the two thousandth year after Christ, present in the Eucharist, the youth jointly recited a special prayer composed in the spirit of consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. At the end of this prayer at the New Year’s vigil in a sign of communion with young Croats from 100 years ago who had performed their consecration, and in a sign of love and fidelity to Christ, they all sang the hymn – “Do nebesa” – whose 100th anniversary was that year. With this they wished to mark the beginning of 2000 jubilee year within the first minutes with this 100th anniversary.

Since the consecration of the youth in its external expression was closely tied to Rome and the Pope, as described above, the commemoration of this consecration in February 2000 was held in the eternal city of Rome. Two Croatian sculptor artists, Ernestinovačke sculptors, Mate Tijardović and Ivan Forjan, created in Slavonian oak a great relief of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and gifted it to the house of Croatian Pilgrims in Rome. The relief was solemnly placed and blessed on April 25, 2000 in memory of the 100th anniversary of the consecration of Croatian youth to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. (Glas Slavonije, 4.III.2000, p11)

The youth of the Eucharistic Movement (MEP), which in its spirituality cherishes in a special way the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, on the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, 30 June 2000 performed a similar consecration by following the example of those young Croats who did the same 100 years ago. This best marks the 100th anniversary of this wonderful testimony of Croatian youth from the beginning of this century till the end. The young MEP hoped that other young people from Croatia would join them, especially Catholic associations.

Although it is too late for this year to organise something on a broader scale in terms of renewing the consecration, one might still think that something similar is being organised next, in 2001 ie: in the first year of the new millennium. It would be nice if the current generation of Croatian youth, who entered the third millennium would leave some similar witness of their faith, to future generations that they received from their fathers and passed across the borders of two millennia of Christianity.

Pope John Paul II encourages

It is well known that Popes of this century, especially Pope John Paul II, often spoke of the value of the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and recommended this devotion. In particular, Pope John Paul II, on numerous occasions, especially placed emphasis on the heart, that this piety be preserved in the Church. His message to the world on 11 September 11 2001, for the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the anniversary of the consecration of the human race to the Sacred Heart of Jesus by Pope Leo XIII, is just the latest in a series of documents in which he speaks again and confirms how much he cares to preserve, promote and perfect devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and to find new ways and methods that will present this piety to today’s man. In that message, Pope John Paul II among other things says:

“I want to express my approval and my encouragement to all in the Church who continue to nurture, deepen, and promote the veneration of the Sacred Heart of Christ, with language and forms that are appropriate to our time, in a way that may be passed on to future generations in the spirit it has always been led. Even today, it is working to encourage believers to focus on the mystery of Christ, the God-man, in order to become husbands and wives of inner life, persons who feel and live the call to a new life, to holiness, to offering, which means apostolic participation in the salvation of the world. People preparing for a new evangelization, recognising the Heart of Christ as the heart of the Church, should be aware of the urgency and the modern world understands that Christianity is the religion of love.” (Glas Koncila, No. 29, 18.VII.1990 p.10).

Pod Barjakom Presvetog Srca Isusova Series

– Part 1 (120th Anniversary)

– Part 2 (Consecration of Croatian Youth to the Sacred Heart of Jesus AD1900)

– Part 3 (1910 – Year of renewal of the Consecration)

– Part 4 (The 100th anniversary of the consecration)

Note:

  1. English text translated from original Croatian article at http://mep.putksuncu.hr/07-srce_isusovo/srce5.htm

Crusade of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Published on: by KOFPB

The Knights of the Precious Blood are honoured to take up the Crusade for the Sacred Heart of Jesus started by our forefathers at the dawn of the 20th century. We aim to foster and develop in our current generation a deeper understanding and appreciation of the true meaning of, and treasure within, the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

To that end, a new initiative was launched to empower Croatian men to lead the charge in renewing this devotion within Croatian families. It was launched at our recent Croatian Catholic Men’s group breakfast meeting on June 7th, 2020, in conjunction with the publication of a number of articles dedicated to the Sacred Heart, see links below.

The most recent article centred on a glorious event in our history, paved by our forefathers who led the charge, and which culminated in the consecration of 160,000 young Croatians to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. This consecration was planned in advance, and most importantly, included spiritual preparation prior to the consecration, which was carried out on the Feast Day of the Sacred Heart on June 22nd, 1900.

With this in mind, let us not forget that we are a “knightly Christian nation” and our homeland, Croatia, is “the shield and door of Christianity”. As sons of our honourable ancestors, we need to honour and live out their pledge “da će se pod barjakom presvetog Srca Isusova hrabro i neustrašivo boriti za vjeru i za dom.”

WELCOME JESUS INTO YOUR HOME AS KING OF THE FAMILY
The need for the enthronement and family consecration is more pressing today than ever before. The traditional family as we know it (as our Creator instituted it) is being attacked from all sides, from the incessant busy-ness of modern life and rampant divorce, to the global legislation of the redefinition of marriage and the erosion of the meaning of family itself.

We all love our families and seek the best for them, striving to provide for their needs and to ensure their unity, their safety and their happiness. That is why we now invite you to do one of the most important things you could ever do for your family – to join the crusade which our forefathers started 120 years ago and to welcome Jesus Christ into your home as King of your home and family.

Through the Enthronement of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in our homes, we re-commit the whole family to Jesus Christ and the social reign of Jesus Christ as King of our hearts and our homes. We consecrate ourselves to Jesus, making a covenant of love with Him. Jesus wants to be welcomed in all of our homes, and He wants to pour out immense graces upon not only our family but upon the world. Through the Enthronement process, families are strengthened, blessed and protected by Christ the King, a King of love who only ever seeks the good of those who belong to Him. “The Enthronement is the realisation of all the requests made by our Saviour to St. Margaret Mary, calling forth the fulfilment of the splendid promises with which the King of Love has enriched them” (Jesus the King of Love, p.3).

To support you in the Enthronement process, we have created a unique Croatian Enthronement pack which includes:

Sacred Heart of Jesus image & Immaculate Heart of Mary image

These are full colour prints (unframed) and in A2 size. There are two different prints to choose from:
Option 1. Limited edition Charles Billich prints (individually signed by Charles Billich) – SOLD OUT
Option 2. Traditional images by Zabateri.

Certificate of Enthronement

These are A4 size and feature a Croatian heritage design. They come in your choice of language, either Croatian or English.

Enthronement booklet

This booklet contains the historical background of Enthronement, and details on how to enthrone the Sacred Heart in your home and family, as well as the ceremony rubrics and prayers as developed by Father Mateo himself.

To obtain an Enthronement pack, or for more information on the Enthronement process, please email us at mail@kofpb.org May Christ bring every blessing and grace to your families as he has to ours.

Bog i Hrvati

Sacred Heart of Jesus Series
– Part 1 (History of the devotion)
– Part 2 (The Promises)
– Part 3 (A Prodigal Son’s Journey)
– Part 4 (History of The Enthronement)
– Enthronement – Father Mateo Crawley-Bœvey
Croatian History – Sacred Heart of Jesus
– Pod Barjakom Presvetog Srca Isusova – 120th Anniversary

Consecration of Croatian Youth to the Sacred Heart of Jesus AD1900

 

Pod Barjakom Presvetog Srca Isusova – Part 1 (120th Anniversary)

Published on: by KOFPB

I am convinced that God has a special plan for us Croatians. A few days ago, Divine Providence led me to learn that 120 years ago, in the Jubilee year that marked the turn of the 20th century, a truly astonishing, phenomenal event occurred in the history of our people. In that year, on the feast of the Sacred Heart, 22nd June 1900, a staggering 160 000 young Croatian men and women consecrated themselves to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Considering the population at that time, that is an astounding number, praise the Lord. This particular line from their consecration prayer really struck me:

“ Mladež roda hrvatskoga, tog predziđa kršćanstva, u svetoj ovoj godini, na svršetku staroga i na osvitu novoga vijeka, …….. svečano obećaje, da će se pod barjakom presvetog Srca Isusova hrabro i neustrašivo boriti za vjeru i za dom.”

Amen! Amen!!! I have included the full text of the consecration prayer below, both in the original Croatian and the English translation. It is well worth reading and reflecting on!

“Mladež roda hrvatskoga, tog predziđa kršćanstva, u svetoj ovoj godini, na svršetku staroga i na osvitu novoga vijeka, Svetosti Tvojoj, Kristovu na zemlji Namjesniku nepogrešivomu, prostrta ponizno pred Tvojim nogama, svečano obećaje, da će se pod barjakom presvetog Srca Isusova hrabro i neustrašivo boriti za vjeru i za dom. U znak ove žrtve srca našega, evo Ti, Sveti Oče, zlatno srce predragoga Spasitelja našega, puno svakovrsnih duhovnih djela, koje na Tvoju nakanu i prema velikome srcu Svetosti Tvoje žrtvovasmo Presvetom Srcu Isusovu. I potpisi ruku naših neka podaju vječnoj spomeni sve što obećasmo i učinismo. A da to izvesti uzmognemo, smjerno molimo očinski Tvoj blagoslov, zalog milosti nebeske za sebe, za svoje roditelje i odgojitelje, te za sav narod hrvatski. U Zagrebu, glavnom gradu Hrvata, na blagdan Presvetoga Srca Isusova 1900.”

English Translation

“The youth of the Croatian people, that bastion of Christianity, in this holy year, at the end of the old and at the dawn of the new age, prostrate themselves humbly at Your feet, Your Holiness, Christ’s infallible representative on Earth, and solemnly promise to bravely and fearlessly fight for faith and for homeland under the banner of the most Sacred Heart of Jesus.

As a token of this sacrifice of our heart, we offer you, Holy Father, the golden heart of our most precious Saviour, filled with an array of spiritual deeds, which we have, for Your intention and towards the great heart of Your Holiness, sacrificed to the most Holy heart of Jesus.

And let the signatures of our hands serve as eternal remembrance of what we have promised and done. But to be able to fulfill our intentions, we humbly beseech you for your fatherly blessing, the pledge of heavenly grace for ourselves, for our parents and educators, and for all the Croatian people. In Zagreb, the capital city of Croatia, on the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in 1900. “

To mark this occasion of the dedication of the Croatian youth to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, a special song was written, “Do nebesa nek se ori” (“To the heavens let it resound”), and its accompanying music was also composed. The lyrics were written by Petar Perica, a 19-year-old high school student from the Travnik Seminary, whereas the music was composed by a young Jesuit, Milan Smolka, who was then serving as a master at the Travnik Seminary.

After high school, Petar Perica joined the Jesuit order and became a great apostle of the youth in Dalmatia, but his life ended in martyrdom: partisans shot him in 1944 on the island of Daksa, near Dubrovnik, without a trial and without charges, along with 53 other prominent citizens of Dubrovnik, among which were six priests. In June 2010, after more than sixty-five years of being buried in a mass grave, a funeral was held and his remains were buried in the Jesuit section in the cemetery of Boninovo.

I will conclude this first (and certainly not the last) article on this monumental event of our nation’s past with some inspiring – and in my opinion, prophetic – words which were written in 1910 on the 10th anniversary of this event. Considering this year, 2020, marks the 120th anniversary of this phenomenal event, praise the Lord, it is right to close our reflection with these words:

“Proslavi li se svečano ova prva desetogodišnjica, onda će se proslaviti jamačno i svaka daljnja, osobito peta, koju će neki mladi još doživjeti, i deseta tj. stota godišnjica prve posvete, godine 2000., koju ćemo, ako Bog da, gledati s neba. Na taj će se način drvce, što ga je hrvatska mladež posadila 1900., sve iz nova prolistati i cvasti i uroditi plodom života. A pod njegovom će stoljetnom krošnjom hrvatska mladež još uvijek pjevati Srcu Isusovu: Dušom tijelom vijek sam tvoj, za krst časni bijuć boj.” (Glasnik Srca Isusova, br. 3, 1910., str. 57)

English Translation

“If this first ten-year anniversary is solemnly celebrated, then it follows that every subsequent one will be celebrated, especially the fifth, which some young people will still experience, and the tenth, that is, the one-hundred year anniversary of the first consecration, in the year 2000, which we will, God willing, watch from heaven. In this way, the sapling, which was planted by Croatian youth in 1900, will sprout and bloom anew and bear fruit. And under its century-old canopy, the Croatian youth will still continue to sing to the Heart of Jesus: With my soul and body forevermore I am yours, fighting an honourable battle for the Cross.” (Glasnik Srca Isusova, No. 3, 1910, p. 57)

Bog i Hrvati

Pod Barjakom Presvetog Srca Isusova Series

– Part 1 (120th Anniversary)

– Part 2 (Consecration of Croatian Youth to the Sacred Heart of Jesus AD1900)

– Part 3 (1910 – Year of renewal of the Consecration)

– Part 4 (The 100th anniversary of the consecration)

For more information on this event in Croatian see links below.

Consecration of Croatian Youth to the Sacred Heart of Jesus AD1900

Posveta hrvatske mladeži Srcu Isusovu 1900. god.

120 Godina Pjesme “Don Nebesa “

Enthronement of the Sacred Heart according to Father Mateo Crawley-Bœvey

Published on: by KOFPB

Enthronement of the Sacred Heart

according to Father Mateo Crawley-Bœvey (see Note:1)

Imprimi Potest: William J. CONDON, SS.CC, Provincial

Nihil Obstat: Vincent DAVIS, SS.CC, Censor Deputatus

Imprimatur: + Patrick A. O’BOYLE, Archbishop of Washington November 30, 1955

Promises of Our Lord to families who honour His Sacred Heart

1. I will give them all the graces necessary for their state of life.

2. I will establish peace in their families.

3. I will bless every house in which the picture of My Heart shall be exposed and honoured.

4. I will console them in all their difficulties.

5. I will be their refuge during life and especially at the hour of death.

6. I will shed abundant blessings upon all their undertakings.

7. Sinners shall find in My Heart a fountain and boundless ocean of mercy.

8. Tepid souls shall become fervent.

9. Fervent souls shall rise speedily to great perfection.

10. I will give to priests the power of touching the hardest hearts.

11. Those who propagate this devotion shall have their names written in My Heart never to be blotted out.

12. I promise you, in the excessive mercy of My Heart, that My all-powerful love will grant to all who communicate on the First Friday of the month for nine consecutive months, the grace of final penitence; they shall not die in My displeasure nor without their Sacraments: My Divine Heart shall he their safe refuge in this last moment.

I WILL REIGN THROUGH MY HEART, DESPITE SATAN AND HIS AGENTS!

A letter of Pope Pius XII

To our Beloved Son Mateo Crawley-Boevey,

Priest of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary.

Beloved Son, Health and Apostolic Benediction.

Now that fifty years soon will have elapsed since that day on which, endowed with the sacerdotal dignity, you offered the Holy Sacrifice for the first time, We do not wish you to be deprived of the felicitations and good wishes of Our Paternal Heart. All the more so, since We have learned that you are presently confined to a hospital, not so much by reason of declining years, but rather because of serious infirmities, and thus are unable to labour with that zealous ardor which was your wont, for the Consecration of Catholic families to the Most Tender Heart of Jesus.

Nevertheless, what you are unable to do by apostolic labours, by apostolic journeys and preachings, you can accomplish undoubtedly by ardent prayers addressed to God, and by sufferings and afflictions cheerfully accepted in a spirit of reparation. That you are doing this with a humble and willing heart We do not doubt, and while We desire to console you in your present illness, yet We also express the wish in your behalf that your strength be restored as soon as possible and that once more you may be permitted to strive earnestly to obtain for this salutary enterprise an ever increasing success.

This undertaking corresponds to Our most cherished desires, as it did to those of Our Predecessors. We long for the return to the private life of men and the public life of peoples of the love of Jesus Christ, which springs from this Divine Heart. In this way alone will it be possible to console the many who are afflicted and in misery, to strengthen the many who are weak and wavering, to arouse effectively the many who are negligent and lukewarm, and finally to induce everyone to the fervent practice of that Christian virtue which gave to the primitive Church its greatest glory, that of sanctity and martyrdom.

Let the Divine Redeemer reign once more in civil society and in family life, by His Law and His Love, and then without any doubt will be rooted out entirely those vices which are the source of human unhappiness and human misery, then without any doubt discord will disappear; then justice – but true justice – will solidify the foundations of human society, and that true liberty “wherewith Christ has made us free” (Gal. IV,31), will enhance the dignity of citizens and will make them brothers.

However, there is one thing We desire in a special way – and which is moreover the principal goal in the Work which you have propagated so long and so diligently – namely, that Christian families consecrate themselves to the Sacred Heart “in such a way that His image being installed in the place of honour in the home, as on a throne, Christ the Lord is seen to reign truly within the Catholic family.” (Bened.XVEpis. Libenter tuas d.d. XXVII Apr. MCMXV; A.A.S.vol.II, p. 203).This consecration is not a useless and empty ceremony, but requires of everyone that their lives be in harmony with Christian precepts, that they burn with an ardent love for the Holy Eucharist, and that they share in the Heavenly Banquet as often as possible; and that they strive by humble prayers addressed to God, and by works of holy penance to provide by all means in their power not only for their own salvation but also for the salvation of others.

These, dear Son, are Our wishes and desires which it please Us to express to you on the occasion of the Fiftieth Anniversary of your priesthood which you are soon to celebrate, and the fulfilment of which We entrust to the Divine Goodness and Mercy. But in the meantime, as a proof of Our paternal good will and as a pledge of heavenly graces, We impart to you affectionately in the Lord, the Apostolic Blessing.

Given at Rome, at St. Peter’s, the second day of the month of July, in the year nineteen hundred and forty eight, the tenth of Our Pontificate.

PIUS XII, Pope

Enthronement of the Sacred Heart in the home

There is one place where the special graces and blessings of the Sacred Heart are needed more than anywhere else. That place is the home.

No one knows this better than the priests who are trying to make the families in their parishes more thoroughly Catholic, or parents struggling to prevent the complete breakdown of Christian family life in their homes, or children worrying about parents who do not practice their religion.

First of all, let us consider the sacred character of the home and its importance in the eyes of our blessed Saviour.

When the Son of God became Man and began His work of saving the world and redeeming it from its sins, He did not at first establish His Church but, instead, founded a home. Before He appointed Peter the fisherman to be the head of His Church, He appointed Joseph the carpenter to be the head of His home.

What a lesson on the importance and grandeur of the home! Think of it – the Saviour of the world spent only 33 years on this earth, yet 30 of them were passed in the humble home at Nazareth. Jesus, infinitely wise, was giving an example for ages to come of the tremendous value of the family in the eyes of God.

Even after our Lord had said farewell to His happy home at Nazareth, He continued to stress by word and example the sacred character of marriage and to show His great love for the home and family life.

He raised matrimony to the dignity of a sacrament. He taught the indissolubility of the married state . He showed sympathy and affection for the members of the family by accepting invitations to visit them and dine with them.

His first public miracle took place in a home at Cana in Galilee on the occasion of the wedding feast of a young couple. He often stayed with Peter in his home and on one occasion restored his mother-in-law to perfect health. He Himself asked that He might stay with Zaccheus in his home. Frequently He visited the home of Lazarus, Martha, and Mary at Bethany. Often He accepted invitations to dine in the homes of the Pharisees despite their jealousy and hatred for Him. On one of these occasions, in the home of Simon, He forgave Mary Magdalene and gave us one of the greatest proofs of His merciful love.

The Sacred Heart and the home

If the divine Redeemer showed such great love for the home during His mortal life, we should expect Him to manifest the same solicitude and affection for the family when He asked St. Margaret Mary for devotion to His Sacred Heart. This, He said, was like a “new redemption,” meaning, of course, that the effects of the Redemption would be renewed through devotion to His Heart.

On several occasions the loving Saviour referred to the home and, in fact, made a specific request and several promises concerning the family. If He did not speak about the family more often at Paray-le-Monial, probably the reason is He presupposed people would know that when He talked about being honoured, loved, consoled, trusted, etc., this was to be done especially in the place where they spent most of their time, in the family circle.

For instance, when He made the promise that “since He is the source of all blessings, He will shower them in abundance in every place where a picture of His divine Heart shall be set up and honoured,” He certainly had the home in mind, for there follows immediately another promise concerned with the home, which specifies the kind of blessings He had in mind: “I will reunite families and will protect and help those who are in necessity and those who approach Me with confidence.”

On another occasion He promised, according to St.Margaret Mary, “that He takes such pleasure in being known, loved, and honoured by His creatures that He promises peace in their families, solace in their labours. He promised that He would reunite families that are divided. . . !”

Again He assured the saint that the most zealous promoters of this devotion “would be recompensed not only in their own persons but also in the persons of their parents and friends.”

It is true that countless families had obeyed our Lord’s request to venerate an image of the Sacred Heart . But this veneration was an incomplete fulfilment of His request that the image be “set up and honoured in public,” for, with some exceptions, the Sacred Heart was honoured in a private way, mostly in the bedroom and not in a public place in the home. Keeping the image of the Sacred Heart out of sight from visitors to the home seemed to symbolize the spirit of the times: the exclusion of our Lord and His teachings from the public and social lives of men.

It was reserved for Father Mateo to organize a true crusade to have all our Lord’s requests carried out in the home. Likewise it was to be his special mission to focus attention on the social significance of devotion to the Sacred Heart and to strive to re-establish the public rule of Christ over nations through the Enthronement of the Sacred Heart in the home.

Just what is the enthronement?

“The Enthronement is the official and social recognition of the sovereignty of the Sacred Heart of Jesus over the Christian family, a recognition affirmed, outwardly expressed, and made permanent by the solemn installation of the image of that divine Heart in a conspicuous place in the home and by the Act of Consecration.”

From this definition it is at once evident that the Enthronement is not the mere blessing of a picture, nor a mere act of consecration, nor a mere outward and passing ceremony. The Enthronement is all that and a great deal more. By it the members of a family solemnly and officially proclaim and set up in their home the social kingship of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Some persons have wrongly supposed that the whole movement of the Enthronement is based on the particular promise of the Sacred Heart to bless the homes where His picture is exposed and honoured; they imagine the work to be out to propagate and diffuse the image of the Sacred Heart in all homes so as to draw down upon them the promised blessing. Consequently these persons consider the Enthronement to be one of those numerous devotions of supererogation, which, no doubt, are all good in themselves, but which, by reason of their multiplicity and often encumbering practices, not rarely produce the contrary effect to that which was intended; they hamper and kill devotion instead of helping and increasing it.

The Enthronement cannot be ranked in the category of the devotions referred to; in fact, it cannot be called a devotion in the ordinary sense of the word. It preaches a life; it holds forth the fundamental principles of our religion and applies them to everyday life. It brings out the loving person of our Divine Lord and associates Him with every detail of home life. It insists not so much on devotion to the Sacred Heart as on the spirit of that devotion. Rather than burden our life with supplementary devotional practices, it transforms life itself, giving to everything we do the soul of divine love. If the Enthronement points to certain practices, for instance, Holy Communion on the First Friday, it takes care to accentuate the motive of love and reparation for which they were asked.

The Enthronement seeks to establish the effective reign of the Sacred Heart in the family and, through the family, in society. It has chosen for its watchword the words of our blessed Lord to St. Margaret Mary: “I will reign by My Sacred Heart.” Its program is the realization of this request which sums up all the desires and demands of the Sacred Heart.

Perhaps the Enthronement can be further explained by a few questions and answers, in the form of a “Catechism on the Enthronement.”

Q. What does the word “enthronement’ mean?

A. The word enthronement means to install on a throne, in recognition of a person’s authority.

Q. What do you mean by “the official and social recognition of the loving Kingship of the Heart of Jesus in a Christian family”?

A. In the ceremony of the Enthronement, the family is considered as the basic unit of society, the social cell, and also as the “nation in miniature”. As such it proclaims Jesus as its King and, as far as it can, as the King of the entire nation. That is why the father, the head of the family, installs the image in the place of honour. It is a public act inasmuch as it is done in a prominent place in the home and not in a private place, such as a bedroom.

Q. Why the installation of the image in the place of honour?
A.
(1) To make reparation for the dethronement of Christ from the first place in everyday family life and in the public life of the nation;

(2) because as King and Friend of the family, Jesus has the right and the desire to be given the best place in the home;

(3) so that the family and visitors will be constantly reminded that Jesus is the King and Head of the home.

Q. Why enthrone the Sacred Heart in the home?

A. Because our Lord asked that His image be singularly honoured in the home. Moreover, it is the home, which is being undermined systematically by its enemies, by the exclusion of Christ from family life. Therefore He must be systematically brought back. Finally the family needs the extraordinary graces promised by the Sacred Heart to those who give Him the place of honour in the home.

Q. Is the Enthronement merely the carrying out of the one request of our Lord, namely, to honour the image of His Sacred Heart?

A. No. According to Father Mateo, the Enthronement “is simply the realization, not of one or the other of the requests made by our Saviour to St. Margaret Mary, but the complete and integral realization of all of them, calling forth the fulfilment of the splendid promises with which the King of Love has enriched them.”

Q. What are the principal requests made by the Sacred Heart?

A. To be acknowledged as a King who rules through love: “The adorable Heart of Jesus wishes:

(1) to establish His reign of love in all hearts” (St. Margaret Mary);

(2) to have the image of His Heart exposed and honoured in a special way in the home;

(3) to have everyone consecrate himself to His Heart;

(4) to make reparation;

(5) to live a life of love and confidence;

(6) to make His Heart better known and loved;

(7) to show greater devotion to the Eucharist;

(8) to celebrate the Feast of the Sacred Heart and the First Fridays.

Q. Does the Enthronement program include all of these requests?

A. Yes. Numbers 1, 2, 3, and 4 are carried out in the ceremony itself, at least in intention and symbolically; numbers 5, 6, 7, and 8 are emphasized in the suggestions for the living of the spirit of the Enthronement.

From this it is easy to see why the Enthronement crusade is much more than an organized attempt to get a Sacred Heart picture or statue in every home. That is important, but Father Mateo insists there is much more to his work than this.

“Is the Enthronement nothing more than the image installed in the place of honour? No, there is more to it than that! Is it perhaps but a beautiful and simple consecration of the family to the Sacred Heart? The consecration is included indeed, but there is much more than that!

The Enthronement is the collective answer of the family to the request and at the same time a reply to those who cry out, “We will not have this Man reign over us!” When the family enthrones the Sacred Heart, they are saying in effect: “Lord, we want Thee to rule over our family, we adore Thee as our King of Love; we accept Thee as our loving Friend, always occupying the first place in our hearts and in our home. Thy kingdom come! Thou must reign, and Thou shalt reign in our home.”

This response of the family to the divine request gives the Sacred Heart an “excuse”, an occasion, as it were, to fulfil His marvelous promises. We might compare the Enthronement to a bi-lateral contract: the family promises and tries to carry out our Lord’s requests, and Jesus, in His turn, promises to keep His pledges; and the wonderful part of it is that He always does, even if He has to work a miracle of grace! And why not? Has He ever broken His word?

“To restore all things in the Sacred Heart, then, no better means could have been found than this providential work of the Enthronement. You do well, dear son, while taking up the cause of human society, to arouse and propagate above all things a Christian spirit in the home by setting up in each family the reign of love of Jesus Christ. And in doing this you are but obeying our divine Lord Himself, who promised to shower His blessings upon the homes wherein an image of His Heart should be exposed and honoured.” (Pope Benedict XV to Father Mateo.)

Nothing is lacking in this work, neither the solid foundation which makes it the best means to establish the reign of the Sacred Heart nor the indispensable external ritual, so important in making an impression on the senses of men, made up as they are of bodies and souls.

Rightly then, and without any exaggeration, St. Pius X could call this enterprise a “work of social salvation” (Acta Pontificia,May 25,1915, p.226 note);and Pope Benedict XV could write to Father Mateo, “Nothing is more suitable to the needs of the present day. . .”

How the King conquered

Before we go any further, it might be a good idea to give an example of a typical Enthronement ceremony and tell what it did in an American family that badly needed the help that the Divine Physician alone can give. I know the family in question and I was able to follow the conquest of its members by the King of Love and Mercy, step by step.

The middle-aged father and mother came to see me one night in Washington, a few years ago. As they began to speak, tears filled their eyes. Here is their story.

“Father, we’ve made a mess out of our family. We don’t know what to do or where to turn. But we were present at an Enthronement in a friend’s home not long ago, and we heard the priest speak about the blessings that come to homes where the Sacred Heart is enthroned. We thought, maybe, that’s what we need. But everything seems so hopeless …”

“Nothing is hopeless when it’s a question of the Sacred Heart,” I reassured them. “He can solve any problem; He is all-powerful. But you have to trust Him blindly. That’s the first condition He always demands before He works His miracles. Now tell me about your family.”

Then began a tale of woe. One of their four daughters had married a Catholic, but the second who had eloped with a non-Catholic had her two children baptized as Lutherans. Her husband was a drunkard and she was at the point of separating from him. The girl was embittered against the Church and was thinking of becoming a Lutheran herself. She openly opposed Catholicism.

The third daughter had married a non-Catholic and was lax in the performance of her duties. The fourth daughter had left home at the age of 16, encouraged by the second daughter. She refused to contact her parents.

“And, Father, worst of all, that second daughter just had a third baby, born on Mother’s Day. The child has a bad heart and is expected to live but a few days. Her mother refuses to have the baby baptized. She will have nothing to do with priests. Father, it’s terrible!”

As I listened, I prayed to the Holy Ghost for the right answer. I made an act of faith, trusting in the Sacred Heart’s promise to back up His priests when they encourage others to trust Him and honour the image of His Heart. I remembered His promise to “reunite families that are divided … to bring peace to families … to change tepidity into fervour… to give graces of sanctification and salvation to homes that singularly honour the image of His Heart.”

“Listen carefully to what I have to tell you,” I said to them. I’m going to give you the answer to this problem. And the answer is not my answer but that of our Lord, who can neither deceive nor be deceived. Whom does He love most? Those who have never offended Him or sinners? He Himself has given the answer: ‘It is not the healthy who need a physician, but they who are sick … for I have come to call sinners, not the just.’ Therefore, there can be no doubt about it, He loves your daughters very much. He wants to help them. But you have to help Him. You admit that you have kept Christ out of your family life by indifference and carelessness. Now make up for that by bringing Him back in with great solemnity . Enthrone Him in your home, and He will come in as the Divine Physician to heal your daughters who are sick.

Now here is what I’m going to ask you to do:

“First, the Enthronement of the Sacred Heart. Make it as beautiful as solemn as possible. Invite relatives and friends – especially your daughters and their husbands; if they don’t want to come, put their photographs around the Sacred Heart. Secondly, make reparation. The Enthronement ceremony is in itself an act of reparation, but there’s no sacrifice in having it. Make a personal sacrifice. I suggest daily Mass and Communion, and Night Adoration together in your home, at least once a month – every week if possible. And, finally, try to get other families to honour and love the Sacred Heart. And do all this with childlike confidence that the Sacred Heart somehow in His own way and in His own good time will reunite your family. At least take my word for it, if you find it hard to believe.”

The mother and father promised they would do all that had been suggested. On Trinity Sunday, May 23, 1948, they had the Enthronement. The daughters refused to come, but their pictures surrounded the Sacred Heart on His throne. The couple started making Night Adoration before the shrine of the Sacred Heart. They spoke to others about it.

Then things started to happen. The baby with the bad heart didn’t die as expected by the doctors. Several times she was rushed to the hospital. Finally death seemed a short time off. The night before, the grandmother pinned a Sacred Heart badge on the baby’s gown. Unexpectedly the baby’s mother, who had been so bitter, called a priest and had her child baptized. Within seconds the baby rallied, and she was brought home nine days later. This was on July 31. She died the following November 22.

The day after the baby’s baptism, there was note on the grandfather’s desk at work stating that the day before a Mass had been offered for those who had contributed to a certain cause in which he had been interested. A post-mortem operation was performed on the baby. The doctors insisted it was a miracle that the child had lived six months. Three days was the limit, generally. The grandfather concluded that the grace of this Mass moved the mother to have the baby baptized.

More things began to happen. On Christmas, 1948, the second daughter received Communion for the first time in eight years. Her Lutheran husband became a Catholic on July 15, 1950. In thanksgiving, they enthroned the Sacred Heart in their home with a large gathering present. The wife is now a daily communicant; her husband receives Communion frequently during the week. He is a member of a laymen’s retreat movement. The children are now in a parochial school, and the family Rosary and the renewal of the consecration to the Sacred Heart are a nightly occurrence. On the front lawn for all the neighbours to see is a beautiful marble statue of the Sacred Heart which was dedicated before a large crowd. Even the boys’ choir from the parish church added to the solemnity.

In the meantime, the other daughters had their marriages validated and have enthroned the Sacred Heart in their homes. All of them are spending much of their spare time calling on neighbours and friends telling them of the blessings that have come to their home through the Sacred Heart and urging them to enthrone Him in their own families.

I was invited to be present at the solemn renewal of the Enthronement in the home of the second daughter. As we drove up to the house, we saw the spotlighted Sacred Heart shrine on the lawn. The living room was jammed with friends and relatives. Happiness was in the air. I spotted the mother and father sitting on the sofa, taking in the happy scene. I couldn’t resist an impulse. Leaning over, I whispered, “I told you so!” Their only answer was to squeeze my hand as tears of joy welled in their eyes. Every one of their girls and husbands were there before them, at peace with God. Yes, Father was right, “The Sacred Heart has never broken His word!”

A typical enthronement ceremony

Have you ever witnessed the impressive ceremony of the Enthronement? If not, let me invite you to the home of Mr. and Mrs. Typical American, who are having the ceremony for the first time.

Mr. T.A. might have heard about it in any one of several ways – at a Holy Name meeting, by reading a magazine article, from a friend passing on the good news, through his student-son’s bringing the word from school, from the priest who preached about it in church, or through his wife. In any case, he is all for it, and tonight’s the big night.

Following the suggestions in the pamphlet, the T.A. family went to Mass and Holy Communion in the morning “for the reign of the Sacred Heart in their home” and as “an act of love and reparation to the Sacred Heart.” They also had a Mass offered for the same intention.

Relatives and friends have been invited, and one of the parish priests has promised to preside.

In the living room, over the fireplace, a “throne” has been prepared, beautifully decorated with flowers and candles. On the throne have been placed photographs of absent loved ones, living and dead. In another part of the room, the image of the Sacred Heart has been placed on a small table with holy water and two lighted candles. The room has already taken on the air of a “little church”.

When all the guests are present and the priest has donned his cassock and surplice and stole, one of the children is allowed to light the candles while another distributes copies of the “ceremonial” to each one present.

With the parents and children standing near, the priest begins the liturgical blessing of the image of the Sacred Heart. Then he invites the head of the house, accompanied by his wife and children, to take the statue and “escort the Sacred Heart to the place of honour in the home.” (Sometimes, while the little procession is taking place, those present sing “To Jesus’ Heart All Burning.”) Arriving at the throne, the Sacred Heart is installed in the place of honour. Then the Apostles’ Creed is recited by all as an act of faith in our Lord’s teachings and in reparation for those families who refuse to accept them or put them into practice.

At this point everyone is seated, while the priest addresses them on the significance of the Enthronement. As you sit back and take in the scene, you cannot help but realize how the Enthronement brings out the sacred character of the home: the home altar with the image of the Sacred Heart surrounded by flowers and candles; the priest vested in surplice and stole; the assembled “congregation” – all make you understand more clearly the oft-repeated words of priests and writers that the home is indeed a “domestic church”.

When the priest has finished, he invites the group to kneel while he and the head of the house recite the official Act of Consecration of the Family to the Sacred Heart. (A plenary indulgence and indulgence of seven years are attached to the recitation of this formula, composed by Father Ladislas, SS.CC, and adopted by the Church for general use.)

Then an Our Father and a Hail Mary are recited for the absent members of the family, living and dead, that all may share in the graces of this occasion. After this, everyone recites the act of thanksgiving composed by Father Mateo.

The next step is a prayer in honour of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Wherever a king is enthroned, there the queen reigns, too. Consequently, in the Enthronement ceremony the Queen of Love is not forgotten, and in honour of her Immaculate Heart the “Hail, Holy Queen” is recited by all. If so desired, at this point an act of consecration of the family to the Immaculate Heart of Mary may be recited and her image installed near that of the Sacred Heart. (As we will explain later, we do not enthrone the Immaculate Heart of Mary – this is an act of adoration reserved for the divine King alone.)

After the ceremony which is concluded with the recitation of ejaculatory prayers, the blessing of the priest, and the signing of the certificate of the Enthronement by all the members of the family and the presiding priest, follows a little family party.

As a further example of what we mean by “living” the Enthronement, let us quote the words of Pope Pius XII. It has been the custom of Pope Pius XII to receive newly wedded couples in private audience and to give them priceless words of encouragement and advice. On many occasions, the Sovereign Pontiff has urged them to enthrone the Sacred Heart in their homes and to live the Enthronement. For example, on June 5, 1940, he said: “It is fitting then, dear Christian husbands and wives, brethren of Jesus, that the image of His Heart ‘which has so loved men’ be exposed and honoured in your homes, like that of the nearest and most loved relation who pours out the treasures of His blessings upon you, your children, and your undertakings. ‘Exposed and honoured,’ that is to say, this image should not only watch over your hours of rest in private chamber but it should be loyally honoured by being hung above the entrance, or in the dining room, or parlour, or in some other frequently used place. ‘Everyone therefore that shall confess Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven’ (Matt.10:32).

‘Honoured’ means that at least now and then an attentive hand will place before the precious little statue or modest image of the Sacred Heart a few flowers, or a lighted candle, or even keep a lamp burning there, and that the family will gather round it each evening for a united act of homage, a humble expression of contrition, and a request for a few blessings.

“In a word, the Sacred Heart is duly honoured in a home when He is acknowledged as the King of Love by each and every one … when the Sacred Heart reigns in a family, and surely He has the right to reign everywhere. It is necessary that an atmosphere of faith and piety envelop everyone and everything in that blessed household … In the consecrated family, parents and children feel themselves under the eye of God and are friendly with Him; they are therefore observant of His Commandments and the precepts of His Church. Before the image of the King of heaven, become their earthly Friend and constant Guest, they fearlessly and meritoriously meet all the labours of their daily duties.

“May it be so with you, my dear sons and daughters! Living united with Jesus even in this life, you shall only leave this earth to contemplate eternally the bright and beatific reality of that divine Heart in heaven.”

(Address entitled: The Reign of the Sacred Heart in the Christian Family” – The Holy Father Speaks to Newlyweds, Washington, D.C., p.27-28.)

Living with Jesus

Countless families have grasped one of the basic ideas of the Enthronement: living with Jesus, the loving King, Friend, and Guest of the family, and sharing all family joys and sorrows with Him. For instance, I know a family that never has a birthday party without first laying the presents at the feet of their King and renewing their act of consecration to His Divine Heart. Then they have their party with Jesus as their Guest.

Other families renew their act of consecration on wedding anniversaries, baptismal days, First Communion, and special days. Some have renewed their Enthronement on the occasion of the death of a member of the family. One of these cases occurred in Milwaukee. The father, a devout Catholic, had always insisted that as his children got married, the first thing they were to do in their new home was to enthrone the Sacred Heart. Usually he gave them a Sacred Heart picture as a wedding present. Frequently he told his wife that when he died, before his body left the home the family were to gather around the coffin and renew the Enthronement. So it happened. Despite the grief, the members of the bereaved family gathered around the mortal remains of their father and, as on the day of their Enthronement, before an image of the Sacred Heart surrounded with lighted candles they renewed their consecration to the King and Friend of their home. How significant the words of the consecration sounded at that moment: “Lastly, when the hour of separation will sound and death will plunge our home into mourning, then shall we all and every one of us be resigned to Thy eternal decrees and seek, consolation in the thought that we shall all one day be reunited in heaven, where we shall sing the praises of Thy Sacred Heart for all eternity.”

This family was one of many that have experienced the verification of the promise of the Sacred Heart: “I will be their secure refuge during life and especially at the hour of their death.”

The enthronement, work of merciful love

From the foregoing examples and those contained in the following chapter, it is evident the Enthronement is a powerful means of obtaining the mercy of the Sacred Heart. This is not to be wondered at. The promise of the Sacred Heart that “sinners will find in My Heart a boundless ocean of mercy” is an echo of the gospel message, “I have come for sinners.”

The Enthronement brings into the home the Good Shepherd seeking the lost sheep, the Divine Physician eager to heal the sick, the loving Father embracing and forgiving the prodigal son.

Thus the Enthronement is not a reward for being good, limited to devout and pious Catholic families. Rather it is an effective means of changing tepidity into fervour, indifference into love in families that have been strangers to these virtues.

In this respect, the Enthronement can be compared to the reception of Holy Communion. You do not have to be a saint to receive Communion, but you receive Communion to become a saint. A family enthrones the Sacred Heart in the home not because they are superior to others or outstanding in virtue, but in order to know and love and serve Him better than they have been doing in the past.

Naturally there are certain minimum conditions that must be fulfilled by families who want to have the Enthronement. They must avoid scandal and likewise prevent abuses. What then are the conditions for having the ceremony of the Enthronement?

Three conditions for the enthronement

1. That the marriage be a valid one.

A Catholic couple married outside the Church by a minister or a justice of the peace may not have the Enthronement until the marriage has been rectified by a priest.

2. That at least one of the parents be a practicing Catholic.

Thus if the father is a lapsed Catholic or a non-Catholic, the Enthronement may take place if the mother is a Catholic who practices her faith.

3. The family must have the general intention of doing God’s will.

This means they may be obliged to fulfil certain specific conditions such as giving up a sinful practice before they can have the Enthronement. Of course, to avoid scandal the priest will be the judge as to the proper procedure in these cases.

In the eventuality the Enthronement may not be had, nothing prevents the family from honouring an image of the Sacred Heart in their home or praying to the Sacred Heart. Often this will result in the reception of graces that will effect a change in the spiritual status of the family.

Fulfilling all Our Lord’s requests

It now remains to show how the Enthronement “is the complete realization of all the requests made by the Sacred Heart to St. Margaret Mary,” and therefore most apt to bring about the fulfilment of the marvellous promises of the Sacred Heart.

1. He wishes to enkindle die flame of love in a world grown cold by the burning love of His Heart. “What the work seeks to set up in every home is nothing but the pure, simple, and frank devotion to the Sacred Heart” (Cardinal Billot).

2. Through this devotion, Jesus wants to bring about the reign of His Sacred Heart. “I will reign through My Heart.” “The Enthronement is the solemn, social recognition of this reign” (Father Mateo).

“He wishes to enter the homes of princes and kings with pomp and magnificence” (St. Margaret Mary). The Enthronement has taken place in the palaces of kings and princes (Luxembourg, Spain, Austria); entire countries have enthroned the Sacred Heart (Spain, Colombia, and others) and this has resulted from the widespread practice of enthroning the Sacred Heart in the homes of these nations.

3. He asks that the image of His Heart be exposed and singularly honoured. This is one of the essential characteristics of the Enthronement.

4. He wishes the consecration of individuals, families, and nations to His Heart. This is why we add the consecration to the Enthronement.

5. He asks for the Feast of the Sacred Heart as a day of Eucharistic reparation. From the very beginning, Father Mateo has strongly urged the solemn celebration of this feast on Friday, not only in church but also in the family circle – and this on Friday, the day our Lord specified.

6. He asks for special Eucharistic practices. The Enthronement encourages and helps families to make the First Fridays, Communions of reparation, and Holy Hours.

7. He asks that His friends become apostles of the Sacred Heart, to extend His reign. As a result of the Enthronement crusade there is hardly a point on the globe where the Social Reign of the Sacred Heart is not being promoted and proclaimed.

Therefore, it is safe to conclude with Father Mateo that “the Enthronement is the realization of all the requests made by our Saviour to St. Margaret Mary, calling forth the fulfilment of the splendid promises with which the King of Love has enriched them” (Jesus the King of Love, p.3).

Ceremonials for the Enthronement of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in the home

Before the Ceremony

Prepare for the Enthronement:

1. Learn what it is and how important it is.

2. Set a date for the Enthronement in agreement with the pastor. It is desirable to have a priest preside at the ceremony, but it is not essential to gain the indulgences. For serious reasons, the father or someone else may preside and lead the prayers. In any case, please consult your parish priest.

3. If possible have the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass offered that morning for the reign of the Sacred Heart in your home and as an act of love and reparation to the Sacred Heart. The entire family should try to receive Communion in this Mass or another Mass.

4. Obtain as beautiful a picture or statue of the Sacred Heart as possible. If you already have a picture or statue, use that one.

5. Below the place of honour reserved for the statue or picture, prepare a “throne” or “altar”, that is, a table (or perhaps the mantelpiece), covered with a white cloth, beautifully decorated with flowers and candles. The picture or statue should be placed on a small table near this “throne” before the ceremony.

6. Invite your relatives and friends to be present; thus you will already begin to be an “apostle of the Sacred Heart”. Have a family party after the ceremony, with a special treat for children who – even the smallest – should, of course, be present at the ceremony.

7. Make this day one of the outstanding events of the family life – one long to be remembered. The greater the solemnity, the better.

Note: Even though your home has been consecrated to the Sacred Heart, you may still have the Enthronement, as the two are not the same.

The Ceremony

1. All gather around the image of the Sacred Heart; father, mother, and children nearest to the priest.

2. The priest, in surplice and white stole, blesses the image. (If the priest is not present, have the image blessed beforehand.)

The Blessing of the Picture or Statue

V. Adjutorium nostrum in nomine Domini.
R. Qui fecit coelum et terram.
V. Dominus vobiscum.
R. Et cum spiritu tuo.

V. Our help is in the name of the Lord.
R. Who hath made heaven and earth.
V. The Lord be with you.
R. And with thy spirit.

Oremus. Omnipotens sempiterne Deus, qui Sanctorum tuorum imagines pingi non reprobas, ut quoties illas ocuiis corporis intuemur, toties eorum actus et sanctitatem ad imitandum memoriae ocuiis meditemur, hanc quaesumus, imaginem in honorem et memoriam Sacratissimi Cordis Unigeniti Filii tui Domini Nostri Jesu Christi adaptatam bene + dicere et sancti + ficare digneris; et praesta ut quicumque coram ilia, Cor Sacratissimum Unigeniti Filii tui suppliciter colere et honorare studuerit, illius meritis et obtentu a te gratiam in praesenti, et aeternam gloriam obtineat in futurum. Per Christum Dominum nostrum Amen.

(Let us pray. Almighty and everlasting God, who dost approve the painting and sculpturing of the images of Thy saints, so that as often as we gaze upon them we are reminded to imitate their deeds and sanctity, vouchsafe, we implore Thee, to bless and sanctify this image made in honour and in memory of the most Sacred Heart of Thy only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ; and grant, that whoso­ever, in its presence will suppliantly worship and honour the most Sacred Heart of Thy only-begotten Son, may obtain through His merits and intercession grace in this life and everlasting glory in the world to come. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.)

(The priest here sprinkles the image with holy water.)

3. Then the father (or in his absence, the mother or some other member of the family) enthrones the image of the Sacred Heart in the place of honour. This is the symbolic act of Enthronement.

4. All stand while the Apostles’ Creed is recited as an act of faith on the part of the family.

5. Everyone is seated while the priest addresses a few words to those present, reminding the members of the family of what the Sacred Heart expects from families which have acknowledged Him as King; recalling the magnificent promises of the Sacred Heart; urging the family to live its Enthronement and frequently to renew the act of consecration which they are about to make.

6. All kneel while the priest and the father (or the father alone, or his representative) recite the official Act of Consecration to the Sacred Heart.

Act of Consecration to the Sacred Heart

(Recited by the priest and the father together, or the father alone – or his representative – if the priest is absent. This formula is required for the indulgences and may not be changed.)

O Sacred Heart of Jesus, / who didst make known to St. Margaret Mary Thine ardent desire to reign over Christian families, / behold us assembled here today / to proclaim Thine absolute dominion over our home.

Henceforth we purpose to lead a life like unto Thine / so that amongst us may flourish the virtues / for which Thou didst promise peace on earth, / and for this end / we will banish from our midst / the spirit of the world which Thou dost abhor so much.

Thou wilt reign over our understanding / by the simplicity of our faith. Thou wilt reign over our hearts / by an ardent love for Thee; / and may the flame of this love / be ever kept burning in our hearts / by the frequent reception of the Holy Eucharist.

Deign, O Divine Heart, / to preside over our meetings, / to bless our undertakings both spiritual and temporal, / to banish all worry and care, / to sanctify our joys / and soothe our sorrows. / If any of us / should ever have the misfortune to grieve Thy Sacred Heart, / remind him of Thy goodness and mercy / toward the repentant sinner.

Lastly / when the hour of separation will sound / and death will plunge our home into mourning, / then shall we all and every one of us / be resigned to Thy eternal decrees, / and seek consolation in the thought / that we shall one day be reunited in heaven, / where we shall sing the praises and blessings of Thy Sacred Heart / for all eternity.

May the Immaculate Heart of Mary / and the glorious Patriarch St. Joseph / offer Thee this our consecration / and remind us of the same / all the days of our life.

Glory to the Divine Heart of Jesus, / our King and our Father!

7. The priest here asks those present to say one Our Father and Hail Mary for all the absent members, both living and dead, so that all may share in the graces of the Enthronement.

8. All recite with the priest (or head of the family) the following:

Prayer of Thanksgiving

Glory be to Thee, / O Sacred Heart of Jesus, / for the infinite mercy / Thou hast bestowed / upon the privileged members of this family. / Thou hast chosen it / from thousands of others, / as a recipient of Thy love / and a sanctuary of reparation / wherein Thy most loving Heart / shall find consolation / for the ingratitude of men. / How great, O Lord Jesus, / is the confusion / of this portion of Thy faithful flock / as we accept the unmerited honour / of seeing Thee preside over our family! / Silently we adore Thee, overjoyed to see Thee sharing / under the same roof / the toils, cares, and joys/of Thy innocent children! / It is true/we are not worthy / that Thou shouldst enter our humble abode, / but Thou hast already reassured us, / when Thou didst reveal Thy Sacred Heart to us, / teaching us to find in the wound of Thy Sacred Side / the source of grace and life everlasting. / In this loving and trusting spirit / we give ourselves to Thee, / Thou who art unchanging Life. / Remain with us, Most Sacred Heart, / for we feel an irresistible desire / to love Thee and make Thee loved.

May our home be for Thee / a haven as sweet as that of Bethany, / where Thou canst find rest / in the midst of loving friends, / who like Mary / have chosen the better part / in the loving intimacy of Thy Heart! / May this home be for Thee, / O beloved Saviour, / a humble but hospitable refuge / during the exile / imposed on Thee by Thine enemies.

Come then, Lord Jesus, come, / for here as at Nazareth, / we have a tender love / for the Virgin Mary / Thy sweet Mother / whom Thou hast given us to be our Mother. / Come, / to fill with Thy sweet presence the vacancies / which misfortune and death / have wrought in our midst.

O most faithful Friend, / hadst Thou been here / in the midst of sorrow, / our tears would have been less bitter; / the comforting balm of peace / would then have soothed these hidden wounds, / which are known to Thee alone. / Come, for even now perhaps, / there is drawing near for us / the twilight of tribulation, / and the decline of the passing days / of our youth and our illusions. / Stay with us, / for already it is late, / and a perverted world / seeks to envelop us / in the darkness of its denials / while we wish to adhere to Thee / who alone art the Way / the Truth / and the Life. / Repeat for us those words / Thou didst utter of old: / “This day I must abide in this home.”

Yes, dear Lord, / take up Thy abode with us, / so that we may live in Thy love / and in Thy presence, / we who proclaim Thee as our King / and wish no other! / May Thy triumphant Heart, O Jesus, / be forever loved, / blessed, / and glorified / in this home! / Thy Kingdom come! Amen.

9. (All stand) To thank the Immaculate Heart of Mary for the grace of the Enthronement, and to proclaim this loving Mother as the Queen of the home, all recite the Hail, Holy Queen. If so desired, an Act of Consecration to the Heart of Mary may be added, and her image may be installed near the Sacred Heart.

10. Most Sacred Heart of Jesus: Have mercy on us! (3 times)

Immaculate Heart of Mary: Pray for us.

St. Joseph: Pray for us.

St. Margaret Mary: Pray for us.

(All) Glory to the most Sacred Heart of Jesus forever and ever! Amen.

11. The priest gives his blessing: Benedictio Dei omnipotentis, Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti, descendat super vos et maneat semper. Amen. – May the blessing of Almighty God, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, descend upon you and remain forever. Amen.

12. Then the members of the family and the priest sign the certificate of the Enthronement, which should be framed and hung near the image of the Sacred Heart or kept in the family archives.

13. Then are announced the following indulgences to be gained by the members of the family (Raccolta 1943, page 536):

1. A plenary indulgence under the usual conditions, on the day of die Enthronement.

2. An indulgence of seven years for all the members of the family who, at least contrite of heart, assist at the ceremony of the Enthronement in their home.

3. An indulgence of three years – once a year, on the day they renew their official act of consecration before the likeness of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

4. A plenary indulgence on the same day under the usual conditions.

Note: The CEREMONY of the Enthronement is only the beginning: The following practices of devotion will help you LIVE the Enthrone-ment. This is the TRUE reign of the Sacred Heart in your family.

Suggested Practices of Devotion
1. Frequent and even daily attendance at Mass by at least one member of the family, and Communion of reparation. Recite the “Mass of St. John” during the day.

2. Observance of the First Friday of each month. (Holy Mass, Communion of reparation [at least spiritual communion if no traditional mass near your home], renewal of act of consecration before enthroned image.)

3. Daily family Rosary before the enthroned image of the Sacred Heart, with renewal of the short act of consecration.

4. Celebration of the Feast of the Sacred Heart by the entire family: attendance at Mass, Communion for the extension of the reign of the Sacred Heart through the Enthronement; family gathering and celebration at home, with renewal of Enthronement; special party for the children.

5. Observe the month of June, the month of the Sacred Heart; keep flowers before the “throne”. Mass and Communion as often as possible.

6. Assist at Holy Hour in church (if there is a true traditional church or chapel near your home. If not: the holy hour can be made at home).

7. Night Adoration in the home. Any hour between 9 and 6, by any one or all the members of the family at least once a month.

8. Celebrate the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary on the 22nd of August. Mass, Communion, consecration of family to the Immaculate Heart.

9. Make the five First Saturdays in reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary and for the conversion of Russia; holy Mass and Communion of reparation (at least spiritual communion if no traditional mass near your home); five decades of the Rosary plus a fifteen-minute meditation on the fifteen mysteries of the Rosary. The Rosary and meditation may be carried out at any hour on the First Saturday, a sermon in church will satisfy the obligation of the meditation.

10. Practice devotion to the Holy Ghost. Recite “Chaplet of the Holy Ghost.”

Special occasions on which the family should renew the Act of Consecration

(Prayer of Thanksgiving may be added)

1. Feast of Sacred Heart; Christ the King.

2. Anniversary of the Enthronement

3. Anniversary of parents and children.

4. At births; after baptism in the church; consecrate the children to the Sacred Heart before the “throne” in the home.

5. At First Communion: Prepare the children before the image of the Sacred Heart in the home. When they return from church, let the children renew the act of consecration made for them by parents at birth.

6. Before a departure from home: To join the armed services, enter a convent or seminary, before marriage, etc.

7. On the return of an absent member of family.

8. On days of great family joys, in times of sorrow, sickness, and death.

Note: There is no more appropriate way for a young couple to begin their married life than to enthrone the Sacred Heart in their new home.

ACTS BY WHICH TO UNITE ONESELF TO THE HEART OF JESUS PRAYING IN THE GARDEN OF OLIVES

Heart of Jesus, praying for those who are at this hour sinning against Thee, I unite myself to Thee.

Heart of Jesus, praying for all tried and tempted souls, I unite myself to Thee.

Heart of Jesus, praying for all Thy holy pontiffs and priests until the end of time, that their “faith may not fail,” I unite myself to Thee.

Heart of Jesus, praying for every afflicted and sorrow-stricken soul, and enduring their sorrows in Thyself, I unite myself to Thee.

Heart of Jesus, uttering Thy loving fiat to every grief Thou shouldst bear for man’s salvation, I unite myself to Thee.

By the fear Thou didst will to endure for us, sanctify our fears of suffering, of death, and of judgment, O Sacred Heart.

By Thy sadness even unto death, – have pity on the souls who are now bowed down with sorrow, and give them grace to say in union with Thee: “My Father, if this chalice may not pass from Me, Thy will, not Mine, be done.”

By Thy thrice-repeated prayer, O Heart of Jesus, give us grace to persevere in prayer amidst our sorrows and temptations.

O Jesus, whose Heart was sick unto death at the vision of the sins which would be committed until the end of time, make known to us all the malice of sin and give us an ever-increasing horror of it for Thy sake.

O Jesus, sweating blood in Thy mortal anguish; may we resist even unto the shedding of our blood rather than ever willfully sin against Thee.

O sorrow of the Heart of Jesus in Gethsemane, I will never forget Thee.

O prayer of the Heart of Jesus in Gethsemane, I will never forget Thee.

O agony of the Heart of Jesus in Gethsemane, I will never forget Thee.

O sweat of blood of Jesus, in Gethsemane, I will never forget Thee. For Thy boundless sorrows, O Heart of Jesus, I desire to console Thee.

For the shame Thou didst feel at the sins of the world which were laid upon Thee, O Jesus, I desire to console Thee.

For the cruel betrayal of Judas which closed this hour of agony, O Heart of my Jesus, I desire to console Thee.

For all the outrages Thou didst receive during this night of Thy Passion, and for the renewal of them now by so many souls through-out the world, O my Jesus, I desire to console Thee.

TO JESUS’ HEART, ALL BURNING
To Jesus’Heart all burning
With fervent love for men,
My heart with fondest yearning
Shall raise the joyful strain.

Refrain
While ages course along
Blest be with loudest song,
The Sacred Heart of Jesus
By ev’ry heart and tongue,
The Sacred Heart of Jesus
By ev’ry heart and tongue.
O Heart for me on fire
With love no man can speak,
My yet untold desire,
God gives me for Thy sake.

Refrain.

Too true I have forsaken
Thy flock by wilful sin,
Yet now let me be taken
Back to Thy fold again.

Refrain.

IMMACULATE MARY
Immaculate Mary,
Thy praises we sing.
Who reignest in splendour
With Jesus our King.

Refrain
Ave, Ave, Ave Maria !
Ave, Ave, Ave Maria !

In Heaven the Blessed,
Thy glory proclaim,
On earth we, thy cildren
Invoke thy fair name.

Refrain.

Thy name is our power,
Thy virtues our light,
Thy love is our comfort,
Thy pleading our might.

Refrain.

We pray for our Mother
The Church upon earth ;
And bless dearest Lady,
The land of our birth.

Refrain.

HAIL, HOLY QUEEN

Hail, Holy Queen enthroned above,
O Maria, Hail Mother of Mercy and of love, O Maria.

Refrain

Triumph all ye Cherubim,
Sing with us ye Seraphim,
Heav’n and earth
Resound the hymn :
Salve, Salve, Salve Regina.
Our life, our sweetness here below,
O Maria.
Our hope in sorrow and in woe, Ô Maria.

(Refrain).

Note:

  1. Article originally published at Dominicans of Avrille, reposted here with permission.

Sacred Heart of Jesus Series
– Part 1 (History of the devotion)
– Part 2 (The Promises)
– Part 3 (A Prodigal Son’s Journey)
– Part 4 (History of The Enthronement)