Why the bishops are consecrating the United States to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

On June 11, during their spring meeting in Orlando, bishops of the United States will gather at the Basilica Shrine of Mary, Queen of the Universe, to consecrate the United States to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. The consecration will celebrate America’s semiquincentennial, that is, the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

In linking the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence with the devotion to the Sacred Heart, the bishops invite us to reflect with gratitude on the blessings God has bestowed on our nation but, at the same time, devotion to the Sacred Heart demands that we consider how we might foster truth, justice and charity in American life. Thus, our celebrations around the Fourth of July will foster a constructive and forward-looking patriotism as opposed to a divisive, exclusionary, blind nationalism.

In his book “Memory and Identity,” St. John Paul II wrote of the difference between a constructive patriotism and a destructive nationalism: Patriotism is love for everything to do with our native land — its history, its traditions, its language, its natural features. It is a love which extends also to the works of our compatriots and the fruits of their genius. Whereas nationalism involves recognizing and pursuing the good of one’s own nation alone, without regard for the rights of others, patriotism is a love for one’s native land that accords rights to all other nations equal to those claimed for one’s own. Patriotism, in other words, leads to a properly ordered social love.

We are called to bring our faith into the actions we take and the lives we lead in our communities. We celebrate the ways the Church has contributed to a more just world, and we invite all in our society to see the face of Christ reflected in each sister and brother. In “Dilexi Te,” Pope Leo XIV invited us to contemplate Christ’s love, which moves us out on our mission to attend to our sisters and brothers suffering in the world today, particularly in our care for poor and vulnerable people. As we meditate on Christ’s self-offering for the sake of all, we are naturally led to ask why we too should not be ready to give our lives for others.

On the eve of our nation’s 250 birthday, we recognize that our American experiment in democracy is still a work in progress. As American Catholics, we recognize how far short our nation falls in many areas in forming a more perfect union. But while we recognize flaws and work to correct them, we also acknowledge the blessings of liberty we enjoy in this great country. In spite of extreme polarization, bitter partisanship and entrenched divisions, we Catholics do not despair of America.

We love America, but let’s love her as Jesus loves, not just with a sentimental, saccharine love but with love in truth — a love that is stronger than sin. A love that names the sin not to damn the sinner but to call the sinner to conversion of heart and mind. For the love that opened its arms on a cross of wood and opened its side to a soldier’s lance piercing his heart is love that believes that the sinner can be redeemed.

While predating our nation’s independence, devotion to the Sacred Heart has developed over the centuries following the experiences of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647-1690) and the apparitions she witnessed in the 17th century. Since then, popes have lauded the practice of consecration of the self, home and even whole nations to the Sacred Heart. In his encyclical instituting the solemnity of Christ the King, Pope Pius XI, drawing on the teaching of Pope Leo XIII, commended the “pious custom” of consecrating the nation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus as a way to recognize the kingship of Christ.

Devotion to the Sacred Heart, like the more recent devotion to Divine Mercy, echoes the invitation that Jesus makes in the Gospels to those who are “weary and heavily burdened” because of sin and hurt to turn to him for mercy, healing and restoration. Indeed, devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and devotion to the Divine Mercy have one and the same message, namely, that humanity is good and is greatly loved by God, and God generously offers mercy to all.

St. John Paul II once said: “It is this love which must inspire humanity today, if it is to face the crisis of the meaning of life, the challenges of the most diverse needs and, especially, the duty to defend the dignity of every human person.”

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us!

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