Cor Jesu in Te Confido . . .

Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus existed in the Middle Ages and it appeared as a feast after the apparition of Our Lord to Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque.

Our Lord asked her to make reparation for her personal sins and for the whole world, and to respond to Christ's love. Our Lord asked her to extend the practice of frequent Holy Communion especially on the first Friday of each month in a spirit of reparation.

As we celebrate this feast we consider especially the infinite love of the human heart of Jesus for each one of us.

Today we thank God for loving us to the end and we make reparation to Him because He is often poorly responded to or scarcely repaid even by those who have good reason to thank and love Him.

Very close to the Sacred Heart of Jesus we will always meet His Mother; today, we ask her in a special way to lead us to the Heart of her Son.

"Sweet Heart of Jesus, we implore,

O make us love Thee, more and more."

The Baptism of The Lord

This feast of The Baptism of the Lord falls on the Sunday following the Epiphany; in it we recall the mystery of Christ's Person and mission.

It is also an opportunity for each of us to give thanks for the many gifts and graces we have received since our own baptism.

As the late Pope John Paul II reminded us 'I exhort the faithful to renew with deep faith those baptismal commitments we assumed through our parents and godparents, particularly our loyalty to the teaching of Christ and his church and our determination to struggle against temptation.'

Today we give God thanks for all the benefits each of us has received from the Sacrament of Baptism.

Let us renew our commitment to Christ and His Church by means of regular daily prayer and the reception of the Sacraments.

The Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel and Raphael

Today's liturgy celebrates the feast of the three archangels, Michael (who is like God) is the archangel who defends against Satan and the wicked spirits. Gabriel (the Power of God) is chosen by God to announce to Our Lady that she is to become the Mother of God. Raphael (the medicine of God) is the archangel who takes care of Tobias on his journey.

The church invokes St Michael as a protector and defender in adversity. maybe the greatest triumph of Satan and his followers in our own time is that many have forgotten about them or question their existence. I've heard it said that belief in angels was held only during less culturally advanced periods of history.

May we frequently seek the protection of St Michael, the Archangel:

St Michael, Archangel,

defend us in the hour of battle,

be our safeguard against the

wickedness and snares of the devil.

May God rebuke him we humbly pray;

and do thou Prince of the heavenly host,

by the power of God,

thrust down to hell Satan

and all the wicked spirits

who wander through the

world for the ruin of Souls.

Amen.

Saints Michael, Gabriel and Raphael; pray for us.

Our Lady of Walsingham

I love celebrating feasts of Our Lady and tomorrow we celebrate the memoria of Our Lady of Walsingham. The Church has given us many beautiful feast days to help us in our devotion and I do hope some of you will be able to come along to Mass on Wednesday to celebrate this feast in honour of Our Lady of Walsingham and pray for the conversion of England and the restoraton of Our Lady's Dowry.

Walsingham in Norfolk has been a place of pilgrimage since mediaeval times. The original shrine was destroyed during the Reformation but the Slipper Chapel was later restored and has become the National Shrine to Our Lady.

Our Lady of Walsingham, pray for us.

Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Tomorrow we celebrate the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Here are a few comments on the Feast and the Devotion to the Sacred Heart taken from the excellent website, 'Fisheaters'. Please click on the link if you would like to go into the subject in more detail.

The heart has always been seen as the "centre" or essence of a person and the wellspring of our emotional lives and love. Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is devotion to Jesus Christ Himself, but in the particular ways of meditating on his interior life and on His threefold love -- His divine love, His burning love that fed His human will, and His sensible love that affects His interior life.

Feast of the Sacred Heart

The Friday that follows the Second Sunday in Time After Pentecost is the Feast of the Sacred Heart which brings to mind all the attributes of His Divine Heart mentioned above. Many Catholics prepare for this Feast by beginning a Novena to the Sacred Heart on the Feast of Corpus Christi, which is the Thursday of the week before. On the Feast of the Sacred Heart itself, we can gain a plenary indulgence by making an Act of Reparation to the Sacred Heart.