Thursday, July 31, 2008

Our Good Father Colombiere Has Obtained That The Holy Society Of Jesus Be Blessed

On the Feast Day of St. Igantius
wouldn't Ignatius want us to devote ourselves to Jesus Christ?
The Sacred Heart and the Society of Jesus
There are five letters of St. Margaret Mary in which she refers to the commission from Christ to the Society of Jesus to propagate devotion to His Sacred Heart. The first two, dated July 4, 1688, and June 1689, were addressed to her former superior, Mother de Saumaise; the third was to Father Croiset, S.J., on August 10, 1689; the fourth again to the superior on August 28 of the same year, as also the last, to Father Croiset, on September 15. Quotations which follow are in sequence from these letters, citing the pertinent passages and omitting items which overlap. When St. Margaret Mary speaks of the "Fathers of the Society of Jesus," we know from the context and from the tenor of her other statements that all the members of the Society are concerned.
  • "Then turning to Father la Colombiere, this Mother of Divine Goodness said: 'As for you, faithful servant of my divine Son, you have a great share in this precious treasure. For if it is given to the daughters of the Visitation to know and distribute it to others, it is reserved to the Fathers of your Society to show and make known its utility and value, so that all may profit from it by receiving it with the respect and gratitude due so great a benefit. In proportion as they give Him this pleasure, this divine Heart, source of blessings and graces, will shower them so abundantly on the works of their ministry that they will produce fruits far beyond their labors and hopes, even for the salvation and perfection of each of them in particular.' "
  • "Our good Father Colombiere has obtained that the holy Society of Jesus be blessed … with all the graces and special privileges of this devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus … He promises that He will bless abundantly, even profusely, their labors for souls and the works of charity in which they are engaged."
  • Although this treasure of love is a good everyone can claim and to which everyone has a right, it has hitherto been little known… . It is reserved to the Reverend Fathers of the Society of Jesus to make known the value and advantages of this precious treasure, of which the more one takes the more there is to take. All they have to do, then, is to enrich themselves abundantly with every grace and blessing from it. For it is by this efficacious means which He is entrusting to them that they will be able to carry out perfectly according to His desire the sacred ministry of charity committed to them. This divine Heart will so spread the sweet unction of His charity on their words that they will penetrate like a two-edged sword the most hardened hearts and make them susceptible to the love of this divine Heart. The most sin-ladened souls will be brought by this means to salutary repentance… . He expects much of your holy Society in this regard and has great designs upon it. That is why He made use of the good Father la Colombiere to begin the devotion to this adorable Heart."
  • "This Sacred Heart will shower upon it [the Society of Jesus] grace and blessings in abundance… . To the daughters of the Visitation He has given the commission of revealing His Heart and making it known by establishing the devotion to this all-lovable Heart. He wants the Reverend Jesuit Fathers to make known its utility and worth. This is reserved for them."
  • "If it is true that this most attractive devotion is to take its origin in the Visitation, it will be spread through the efforts of the Reverend Jesuit Fathers… . There is nothing more attractive or gentle and at the same time stronger or more efficacious than the unction of the ardent charity of this lovable Heart… . It will melt by His love the coldest hearts. This applies especially to the holy Society of Jesus, to which He offers His graces in order to give its members effective means for worthily and perfectly fulfilling the duties of their ministry of charity, for the glory of God, in the conversion of souls. The members of the Society ought frequently to exhort souls to avail themselves of the great treasures contained in this devotion to the Sacred Heart."

Link to the Jesuit Fr. John Hardon's Homily entitled, For Jesuits - Heart of the Lord



"I promise you, in the excessive mercy of My Heart

that My all-powerful love will grant to all those who receive

Holy Communion on the first Friday for nine consecutive months

the grace of final repentance; they shall not die in My disgrace

nor without receiving the sacraments;

My Divine Heart shall be their safe

refuge in that last moment."

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

This is a beautiful post. The devotion to the Sacred Heart is top on my list. It was renewed nearly 30 years ago thanks to a French jesuit who had a great devotion to the Sacred Heart and always carried its image on his person. I have, in my bedroom, an enlargement of that image.
The Jesuit's name: Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. Eh oui!
Elise B.