NOVENA TO THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS

OPENING SONG: HEART OF JESUS, MEEK AND MILD

Heart of Jesus meek and mild,

Hear, oh hear thy feeble child,
When the tempest's most severe,
Heart of Jesus hear.

Sweetly we'll rest on thy Sacred Heart,

Never from Thee, oh, let us part,
Hear then thy loving children's pray'r,
Heart of Jesus hear.

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

OPENING PRAYER

Lord Jesus Christ, we thank You for the graces we have received from You, for the grace
of Your divine life in our souls, for the love of God, our Father, and the abiding gift of
the Holy Spirit, for the wonderful gift of Your Presence in the Holy Eucharist, and most
especially for the love in Your Heart which makes us more one with You and with each
other in the depths of Your Sacred Heart.

1
DAY 1. Wednesday, June 15. The Angel Gabriel announces the coming of the
Savior.

Today’s Intention: That the family, as a domestic Church, be centered around the
Heart of Christ, by living the Faith and transmitting it to their children and others

Reflection: Mary believed that what the angel had told her at the annunciation would
be fulfilled. “Is anything impossible with God?”

What is faith? What role does faith play in a family’s life? How much of the
Catholic Faith do parents know? Do they know the 10 commandments? Do they know
the essentiality of Holy Mass and the sacraments? Do parents take the time to teach
their children how to pray, to get to know who God is, to develop a relationship with
Jesus and his mother Mary and foster father Joseph? What impact would teaching the
faith to their children have in the behavior of the youth today?

Faith leads to hope. Lack of hope leads to despair. The rise in suicides points to a
state of despair in many families. How can Mary’s example of faith stimulate hope in
our present situation?

Grace for which to pray: The VIRTUE of Faith

O most Sacred Heart of Jesus, we lift up to You our families. Grant us the
grace to be open to the inspirations of the Holy Spirit, Who will teach us
everything we need to know and understand about the eternal truths. May He
impel us to seek instruction from competent teachers. May He strengthen us to
live our Faith.

(go to page 11 for the Litany of the Sacred Heart)

2
DAY 2. Thursday, June 16. The Marriage of Mary and Joseph.

Today’s Intention: That spouses live their marriage as a vocation, constantly

obedient to God’s law enshrined in their marital vows

Reflection. Are spouses aware that the marital vows they pronounce during the
wedding ceremony reflect the 4 essential elements of a valid and blessed marriage?
The priest asks 4 questions to which they answer: “I do.” FREE (no coercion),
FAITHFUL (no infidelity, no third party, until death), FRUITFUL (no artificial
contraception, open to the children that God would send), and TOTAL (giving of
themselves to each other 100%). This is the theology of the body explained by St. John
Paul II.

Marriage as a vocation, like priesthood, requires the formation of the candidates

for a proper living of that vocation. Many parishes have the Marriage Vocation
Program. How prepared are couples to embark on marriage? Will couples who are “in a
relationship” take the time to go through this program? Will they be obedient to God’s
law within their relationship and eventually marriage? How can Mary and Joseph help
in this regard?

Grace for which to pray: The VIRTUE of Obedience

O most Sacred Heart of Jesus, we lift up to You our families. Grant to

husbands and wives the grace to be faithful to their marriage vows so that they
may live a life of grace and holiness, and be good examples to their children.
Amen.

(go to page 11 for the Litany of the Sacred Heart)

3
DAY 3. Friday, June 17. Mary’s Visit to Elizabeth.

Today’s Intention: That families form communities reaching out with the
compassion of the Sacred Heart to those in need, especially in the existential
periphery, e.g. children in conflict with the law, street children, trafficked
children.

Reflection. The Filipino attitude of “family first” is a good thing that can be
abused to the detriment of the community’s common good. It is ironic that many who
have more in life are more tight-fisted than those who have less. How many times have
we encountered the heartwarming example of children begging in the streets who
remember their siblings at home and ask for an extra piece of bread? In contrast, some
rich husbands forbid their wives to go to the jails for outreach in bible sharing,
catechesis, or gift giving. Some visit jails just for photo-ops.

What can families who have more, offer opportunities of “hanapbuhay” to our
impoverished brothers and sisters? How can we help our youth who are the most
vulnerable by offering them scholarships? How can the example of Mary help us in this
regard?

Grace for which to pray: The VIRTUE of Charity

O most Sacred Heart of Jesus, we lift up to You our families. May you open
our hearts and hands to reach out to those in need, especially the families of
those who serve us and who are the closest to us. Guide us in our community life
so that we may establish programs that would help other families in need.

(go to page 11 for the Litany of the Sacred Heart)

4
DAY 4. Saturday, June 18. The Flight to Egypt.

Today’s Intention: That in times of physical difficulty and material poverty, the
families may learn to trust in Divine Providence and the Sacred Heart of Christ.

Reflection. “Kapit sa patalim” is a Filipino expression that reflects both the

desperation of an individual who is at the bottom of the barrel, and the determination
to surmount the crisis and rise again. Many are living this experience. Many mothers
and fathers have left families to go abroad to seek better opportunities to provide for
their children. This has led to a negative sociological impact on our families. But more
serious than this is the plight of women who have sold themselves into prostitution, or
been trafficked, and people who have become drug pushers just to earn some money to
survive. In their thinking, God is far away and does not care.

St. Joseph did not know what his family would encounter in their flight to Egypt.
Divine Providence had provided some gold from the Magi to tide them over for a
limited period of time. What were the conditions in Egypt as far as work was
concerned? Would he be able to provide for his family? And how about Mary? How well
could she take care of the baby Jesus in a hostile environment?

How much do modern families trust in God’s providence? How can families bring
God back into their lives so that they can trust in Him? What does the example of the
Holy Family teach us?

Grace for which to pray: The VIRTUE of Trust in Divine Providence

O most Sacred Heart of Jesus, we lift up to You our families. We ask that
amidst all the physical difficulties and material poverty we may encounter, we
will not lose our trust in Your Divine Providence. You know everything that
happens to us, even the number of hairs in our heads. We know that You will not
abandon us. We trust in You.

(go to page 11 for the Litany of the Sacred Heart)

5
DAY 5. Sunday, June 19. The Slaughter of the Holy Innocents.

Today’s Intention: That families make the Christian choice of being open to new
life, even to adoption and foster care.

Reflection. The slaughter of the holy innocents horrify us. How cruel and godless
this Herod was to take the lives of innocent babies!

Yet we do not realize that what is happening today is far worse than what
happened before. In Herod’s time, the soldiers had to wrest the babies from their
mothers’ arms and sometimes had to kill the mothers as well. The mothers defended
their babies with their lives.

Today, mothers kill their own babies in their wombs for the flimsiest of reasons.
Abortion kills millions of babies every year. Yet we hardly bat an eyelash when we hear
of this.

How can we as Catholic families campaign to end abortion? How can we

encourage distraught mothers-to-be to keep their babies and offer them up for
adoption if they really cannot support them? How can Mary’s own experience of an
extraordinary pregnancy fraught with personal danger strengthen our mothers?

Grace for which to pray: The VIRTUE of Openness to Life

O most Sacred Heart of Jesus, we lift up to You our families. We ask that
mothers and fathers obtain the grace to love the children God has blessed them
with, and to nurture them with all their strength and ability.

(go to page 11 for the Litany of the Sacred Heart)

6
DAY 6. Monday, June 20. St. Joseph’s Puzzlement.

Today’s Intention: That the youth be educated on sexuality and affectivity, and
that couples betrayed by spousal infidelity be accompanied and healed by the
Church and her Sacraments.

Reflection. Many unintended pregnancies are caused by an erroneous formation

of the youth on sexuality and affectivity, as well as the lack of self control. The “human
right” of instant gratification and permissiveness has been promoted by
advertisements for food, clothing and personal hygiene. The Church’s teaching on
chastity has been pre-empted by messages in magazines, movies, videos, music
concerts, and cartoons celebrating the sexual revolution that says, “It’s good if it feels
good.” Mary’s pregnancy was not the result of any human act except for Mary’s fiat to
God’s initiative. She was a virgin and remained a virgin throughout her life. Joseph was
also a virgin, elevating his manhood in the chaste service of the Word-made-flesh and
his mother. Mary’s assent to her mission despite knowing the fatal consequence of an
apparent adultery, and Joseph being the only one who knew that he had had no part in
that pregnancy, hence the only one who could accuse and condemn Mary, give us a
model on how to resolve crises in the family. Joseph’s puzzlement at Mary’s
extraordinary pregnancy was resolved by the angel’s message.

Families who are God-centered will receive the graces necessary to live chaste
lives and avoid complications from infidelities and unwanted pregnancies. How do we
invite God into our homes? One efficacious way is to enthrone the Sacred Heart of Jesus
in our homes and to consecrate our families to the hearts of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.

Grace for which to pray: The VIRTUE of Chastity

O most Sacred Heart of Jesus, we lift up to You our families. Sins against
chastity have led to a pandemic that has sickened so many of us: husbands, wives,
children, and even those consecrated to you. Heal us, Lord, of this virus. We
especially lift up to You our youth who are confused about their sexuality. May
clarity on the Church’s teaching dispel the fog of confusion. Grant us the grace to
live chaste lives. Amen.

(go to page 11 for the Litany of the Sacred Heart)

7
DAY 7. Tuesday, June 21. Simeon’s Prophecy.

Today’s Intention: That couples who are in the early years of marriage, and who
are learning that true love entails sacrifice, be accompanied by older couples
who can show them how.

Reflection. For many, love equals feelings. And feelings depend on the physical
attractiveness of the “love interest”, on their responsiveness, their pleasantness, their
utility. When the person of interest fails to live up to the expectations of the lover, the
relationship fizzles out.

In reality, love is a decision regardless of feelings. True love wishes that the loved
one attain the highest good. In this resides the virtue of redemptive suffering. No
matter how obnoxious the behavior of the person is, no matter how much he or she has
hurt us, no matter that he/she has declared she does not love us anymore, we go on
wishing the highest good for that person. This is what Jesus and Mary did in their
sacrificial lives. Seven swords of sorrow have pierced Mary’s heart, and yet she prays
for us, her wayward children, then and now. Jesus was tortured and killed by people
who insulted and abused him {as we do till today), yet he continues to plead to the
Father on our behalf. Can we do less?

To truly love is not easy. How can we exercise patience in the face of
provocations? How do we offer our daily sufferings – illnesses, relational wounds,
poverty, loneliness, abandonment, betrayals, rebellions from children, indifference,
decreasing capabilities – for the conversion of family members? We can turn our hurts
into ransom money to liberate those in bondage who have hurt us the most.

Grace for which to pray: The VIRTUE of Accepting Redemptive Suffering

O most Sacred Heart of Jesus, we lift up to You our families. We ask for the
grace to love one another with agape, the kind of love that forgets self in loving
others.

8
DAY 8. Wednesday, June 22. The 3-Day Stay of the Boy Jesus in the Temple.

Today’s Intention: That families pray for the grace of discernment to choose the
path to holiness that best suits their life situation.

Reflection. “We live in the world, but are not of this world.” What does that
mean? Worldly preoccupations usually take the better part of our day. Survival is of the
utmost importance. How can we squeeze God into the busy-ness of our daily lives?

In the Covid19 lockdowns, I see God’s sense of humor. This is not to diminish the
seriousness of the illnesses and deaths caused by the pandemic, nor the economic
havoc caused by the closure of businesses. I see it as a reminder by God to slow down
and think about what is essential to the human person. “What does it profit a man if he
gained the whole world but suffered the loss of his immortal soul?”

During the lockdown, Catholics were treated to a smorgasbord of livestreamed

Masses from all over the world. We could pick and choose the liturgical celebrations
that best fed our souls. Lazy and mediocre homilists were passed over in favor of
pastors who prepared their homilies more conscientiously. More time was available for
family to share the Faith in action. People searched the internet for spiritual videos that
could uplift their hearts. Prayer groups zoomed their meetings, undeterred by lack of
face-to-face interactions. It seemed like God was telling us, “You say you have no time
for me. Let me help you on that.”

The Holy Family lived the simple rhythm of a prayerful God-centered life in the
midst of a busy day. How can we develop a Rule of Life that would put God and prayer
in our daily schedules?

Grace for which to pray: The VIRTUE of Loving God above all things.

O most Sacred Heart of Jesus, we lift up to You our families. We ask for the
grace to know, love and serve God in all our ways, and thus grow in holiness as a
family. Amen.

9
DAY 9. Thursday, June 23. St. Joseph’s Work.

Today’s Intention: That fathers, as priests of the domestic church, faithfully fulfill
their responsibility as providers for the spiritual and material needs of their
families.

Reflection.If we were to look at St. Joseph with the modern eye, we would see a
man taking care of a child who is not his biological son. This was heroic in those times,
just as it is heroic in our times.

With the turmoil in families today, with many unwed mothers cohabiting with or
marrying another man who is not the father of her child, we can see the crisis in
fatherhood. Why did the man who sired the child not assume his responsibility to
nurture his child? Why did he leave the mother to fend for the child alone?

It is through the father that graces flow from heaven. He is the channel to whom
God gave the authority to call down God’s action in the family. Sadly, few fathers realize
this great spiritual power. (The exorcist, Fr. Ripperger, asserts that when fathers pray
for demons to leave their children, the demons obey.)

May families develop a devotion to St. Joseph so that he can help them in their
struggles against the rupture of their families in their fatherless homes, and to
strengthen those homes that are blessed with a faithful father.

Grace for which to pray: The VIRTUE of Spiritual Fatherhood.

O most Sacred Heart of Jesus, we lift up to You our families. We ask that You
endow our fathers the grace to exercise their spiritual fatherhood to the fullest,
uniting their families under the Fatherhood of God. Amen.

(go to page 11 for the Litany of the Sacred Heart)

10
Litany to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
In 1899 Pope Leo XilI approved this Litany of the Sacred Heart of Jesus for public use. This litany is actually a synthesis of
several other litanies dating back to the 1 in century. Father Croiset composed a litany in 1621
from which 17 invocations were used by Venerable Anne Madeleine Remat when she composed her litany in
1718 at Marseille. She joined an additional 10 invocations to those of Father Croiset, for a total of 27
invocations. Six more invocations written by Sister Madeleine Joly of Dijon in 1686 were added by the Sacred
Congregation for Rites when it was approved for public use in 1809. This makes a total of 33 invocations, one
for each year of life of our Lord Jesus Christ. A partial indulgence is attached to this litany.

Lord, have mercy Lord, have mercy

Christ, have mercy Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
Christ, hear us Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us. Christ, graciously hear us.

God the Father of Heaven, HAVE MERCY ON US

God the Son, Redeemer of the world,
God, the Holy Spirit,
Holy Trinity, One God,
Heart of Jesus, Son of the Eternal Father,
Heart of Jesus, formed by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mother,
Heart of Jesus, substantially united to the Word of God,
Heart of Jesus, of Infinite Majesty,
Heart of Jesus, Sacred Temple of God,
Heart of Jesus, Tabernacle of the Most High,
Heart of Jesus, House of God and Gate of Heayen,
Heart of Jesus, burning furnace of charity, V
Heart of Jesus, abode of justice and love,
Heart of Jesus, full of goodness and love,
Heart of Jesus, abyss of all virtues,
Heart of Jesus, most worthy of all praise,
Heart of Jesus, king and center of all hearts,
Heart of Jesus, in whom are all treasures of wisdom and knowledge,
Heart of Jesus, in whom dwells the fullness of divinity,
Heart of Jesus, in whom the Father was well pleased,

11
Heart of Jesus, of whose fullness we have all received,
Heart of Jesus, desire of the everlasting hills,
Heart of Jesus, patient and most merciful,
Heart of Jesus, enriching all who invoke Thee,
Heart of Jesus, fountain of life and holiness,
Heart of Jesus, propitiation for our sins,
* Heart of Jesus, loaded down with opprobrium,
Heart of Jesus, bruised for our offenses,
Heart of Jesus, obedient to death,
Heart of Jesus, pierced with a lance, |
Heart of Jesus, source of all consolation,
Heart of Jesus, our life and resurrection,
Heart of Jesus, our peace and our reconciliation,
Heart of Jesus, victim for our sins
Heart of Jesus, salvation of those who trust in Thee,

Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world, spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world, graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world have mercy on us, O Lord.
R. Make our hearts like to Thine.
V. Jesus, meek and humble of heart.

Let us pray:
Almighty and eternal God, look upon the Heart of Thy most beloved Son and upon the
praises and satisfaction which He offers Thee in the name of sinners; and to those who
implore Thy mercy, in Thy great goodness, forgiveness in the name of the same Jesus
Christ, Thy Son, who livest and reignest with Thee forever and ever. Amen.

12
ACT OF REPARATION
Divine Savior of Souls: with faces covered with confusion, we prostrate ourselves in
Your sovereign presence. Our eyes turn toward the solitary tabernacle where You,
imprisoned, sigh for our love. Heartbroken, we grieve at the sight of You
forgotten by those whom You have redeemed; Your Blood made void, Your sacrifices
fruitless, Your love derided. Yet, since in Your infinite condescension,
You permit us tonight to unite our sighs with Yours, our tears with the tears, which for
our sake fell from those most sacred eyes and with the drops of
blood which poured out from Your Divine Heart, we pray to You, sweet Jesus, for those
who do not pray to You, we bless You in place of those who curse
You; we adore You for those who outrage You. With every power of our souls, in all
the moments of this night, and before all the tabernacles of the
world, in union with the efficacious desires of Your oving Heart, we wish to bless and
praise You. Amen

CONCLUDING PRAYER
(PRAYER OF ST. MARGARET MARY ALACOQUE)

O Sacred Heart of Jesus, for whom, it is impossible not to have compassion on the
afllicted, have pity on us, miserable sinners, and grant us the grace which we ask of you,
through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Your tender Mother and ours. Amen.

Our Father…
Hail Mary…
Glory Be…

Leader: Sacred Heart of Jesus.

All: Fill us with Your love.
Leader: Immaculate Heart of Mary
All: Pray for us.
Leader: St. Joseph, foster father of Jesus
All: pray for us.
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
Closing Song: O Sacred Heart, O Heart Divine.

13
ON THE FEAST DAY OF THE SACRED HEART

PERSONAL AND FAMILY CONSECRATION TO THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS

Lord Jesus Christ, we consecrate ourselves to you today, each one of us, and all of
us together as a family. Your Sacred Heart, the heart of your crucified and risen
body, is the ever-living source of mercy and grace, hope and love for all of us. We
desire to pledge ourselves and our lives to you in return. Teach us to always be
united with you through your Holy Spirit: in mind and heart, in all our thoughts,
words, deeds, joys and sufferings. Grant that we may ever "know you more
clearly, love you more dearly, and follow you more nearly." We wish to share in
your redeeming work in our world: that your Father's will may be done on earth
as it is in heaven: that the "civilization of justice and love" may thus be built up in
our land. Heart of Jesus, help us to keep sin away from our lives.

Help us to keep loving, serving, and forgiving one another. Live in our hearts and
in our homes always. Make us wholly yours.

With your Mother's Immaculate Heart, we renew our consecration to your Sacred
Heart. For the greater glory of our Father in Heaven. AMEN.

Jesus, Mary and Joseph, be with us and bless us now

and at the hour of our death. AMEN

14