Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
As we enter the month of June, the month which is dedicated by the Church to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, I write to you with great joy and pastoral concern. I meet people who are anxious and worried and am reminded to turn again to that source of eternal love which flows from the pierced Heart of Christ. In the Sacred Heart, we find the peace our hearts long for, the truth our minds seek, and the love that our world so desperately needs. The Lord who has a human heart, understands our personal human struggles in our relationships, families and every day lives. He is the King of broken hearts.
We give thanks for the witness of Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque, to whom the Lord revealed His Sacred Heart in Paray-le-Monial, and her spiritual director, Saint Claude de la Colombière, whose theological insight and spiritual wisdom helped spread this devotion. The Sacred Heart called to them — as He calls to us — “Behold this Heart which has so loved people…”
In his 2024 Apostolic Letter Dilexit Nos (He Loved us First), Pope Francis reminded us that the devotion to the Sacred Heart is not a sentimental piety but a call to enter into the very mystery of God’s love, who first loved us. “He loved us first,” the Pope says, “and He continues to love us with a pierced, burning Heart.”
This year marks the 350th anniversary of the first apparition of the Sacred Heart to Saint Margaret Mary. It is a moment of grace for the Universal Church.