Since June is specially dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus we have been paying particular attention to this devotion throughout the month. The feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is a moveable feast, and will actually take place this year in July (July 1).
In "The Devotion to the Sacred Heart," by Fr. John Croiset, SJ, which was commissioned by Our Lord Himself, through St. Margaret Mary, Fr. Croiset tells us that the obstacles to devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus may be reduced to four: "great tepidity in the service of God, self-love, secret pride, and certain passions which people have not taken care to mortify from the beginning of their conversion."
We have also seen that, according to Fr. Croiset, there are two principal means of overcoming these obstacles. The first is true mortification and the second is humility, which we discussed here and here.
We also saw here the seven means suggested by Fr. Croiset for acquiring perfect love of Jesus Christ and a tender devotion to His Sacred Heart.
In addition, we have considered here what Fr. Croiset tells us are proper motives and sentiments with which Devotion to the Sacred Heart ought to be practiced. We also saw here how Our Lord chose the day for the feast of the Sacred Heart.
We have begun to look more deeply into Devotion to the Sacred Heart. We have already considered daily practices of Devotion to the Sacred Heart recommended by Fr. Croiset. We have also meditated upon the motives which Fr. Croiset says should urge us to visit the Blessed Sacrament. Now we will consider practices recommended by Fr. Croiset for a daily visit to the Blessed Sacrament.
"Offer yourself to Jesus Christ to be united more closely to Him, asking Him to fill you with His spirit and His sentiments, and above all, ask Him to be permitted to enter His Sacred Heart never to leave It. Then consider Jesus Christ as your Head, and yourself as one of His members, as one of His associates, one of His brethren to whom He has given over all His merits and bequeathed all the recompense due to Him from His Heavenly Father for His holy labors and death on the Cross. It is in this capacity of associate of the Eternal Word, of one of His brethren, of His members, that we dare to appear before God with confidence, to speak to Him familiarly, and, in union with the Eternal Word, in a manner to oblige Him to give us a favorable hearing, to grant our requests and bestow on us His graces in virtue of this association, this union which we have with His Divine Son and, in particular, in virtue of the infinite value and dignity of the Victim which we offer to Him in the Blessed Sacrament. Then finish the visit by a spiritual Communion, accompanied by a perfect consecration of all your affections and desires to the Sacred Heart."
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