ABOVE: Bishop Lucia and concelebrants during Mass at St. Margaret’s Church in Mattydale.
Diocese is reconsecrated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
By Dc. Tom Cuskey, editor
Sister Margaret Mary Alacoque, a 17th Century French nun, was inspired through visions of Christ to establish, among other practices, a devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. In his final revelation to her, Jesus asked that a feast of reparation be observed on the Friday following the octave of Corpus Christi. She consistently strived to bring Christ’s wishes to fruition until her death. She was canonized in 1920.
In 1899, Pope Leo XIII made the first consecration of the Universal Church to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, a practice repeated annually by popes since then.
In the Diocese of Syracuse, the 125th anniversary of that first consecration was celebrated by Bishop Douglas J. Lucia, appropriately at St. Margaret’s Church in Mattydale on the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. A Holy Hour of prayer preceded Mass which was followed by Benediction. Six other priests concelebrated Mass.
In his homily, Bishop talked about the characteristics of the love that pours forth from the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
”It’s a love that overflows with mercy … it’s a love that doesn’t demand to be acknowledged.” Referencing the Old Testament reading from the Mass, Bishop said that “the love again, that Hosea reminds us of, that our God has for us, is that it pours itself out regardless of our awareness.”
In conversation following the liturgy, Bishop, who also serves as pastor of St. Margaret’s, recognized the parish connection to Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque, ”and I just thought, what a wonderful occasion for this parish.” Members of the faithful are urged to consider consecration of their homes to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
“I find that it’s a visible sign of God’s presence in the home,” he said, “and not only of God’s presence, but of His love. And that, certainly in this day and age, of anything we have to be reminded of so often, is God’s great love for us … [it] is meant to be a hallmark, a charism, of our life.”
Anne Costa is the founder and director of Revive Hope and Healing Ministries, a “family of Holy Spirit driven Catholic apostolates” as stated on their website. The Sacred Heart Enthronement Ministry is one of those apostolates.
Regarding the re-consecration of the diocese, Costa said ” that’s very important, because we all need the protection of the Sacred Heart, to know that our diocese is dedicated to the heart of Jesus.” She added that the first diocesan enthronement came under the late Bishop James Moynihan in 1997. The organization facilitates and supports families in enthronement of their homes.
“The family does the consecration,” she shared. “We support them, we get them the materials. There’s actually a very beautiful, brief, solemn ceremony and a few days of preparation that the family enters into as they invite Jesus into their home.”
She shared her estimate that thousands of homes have been consecrated since the 1970’s when the national apostolate was founded in Syracuse. “But now we have younger people. We have younger families who are looking for ways to shore themselves up and strengthen the family bond. And this is a beautiful way to do it.”
As Bishop Lucia said in his homily, “As we gaze at His Sacred Heart today … we’re invited to let him show us his tenderness and generous mercy. Jesus, I’m amazed by all the love in your heart. Amen.”
For information on enthronement of your home, visit revivehopeandhealing.com or call (315) 628-1713.
