ABOVE: Bishop Lucia presides over the June 27 Mass at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Diocese is reconsecrated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
By Tami S. Scott, editor
Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque, a 17th-century French Visitation nun and mystic, began to receive private revelations from Jesus between December 1673 and June 1675. The apparitions focused on devotion to the Sacred Heart. Jesus revealed that His love for humanity overflowed from His Sacred Heart, and He encouraged 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 that popes continue annually.
And in 2023, the Vatican proclaimed a Jubilee of the Sacred Heart to commemorate the 350th anniversary of the apparitions. The 18-month celebration began on December 27, 2023, marking the date of the first apparition, and just concluded on June 27, the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart and the date of Jesus’ final apparition to Saint Margaret Mary.
Bishop Lucia presides over the June 27 Mass at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
To honor this special occasion, Bishop Douglas J. Lucia celebrated Mass at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, with four priests concelebrating: Father Andrew Baranski, parish pastor; Father Thomas Kubuszewski, who retired from active ministry in 2021; Father Robert Hyde, pastor of St. Joseph, Camillus; and Father Pawel Zmija, parochial vicar at Mary, Mother of Our Savior in New Hartford and Utica. Deacons Jeffrey Getman and Michael Casey assisted.
Additionally, through the Supreme Council of the Knights of Columbus, a framed copy of Pompeo Batoni’s 1767 painting of the Sacred Heart of Jesus was on display. Blessed by Pope Francis through the Papal Almoner, the reproduction is one of more than 300 icons traveling across the world — from council to council — for veneration and use in prayer services.
In his homily, Bishop Lucia talked about inviting Jesus into our homes, telling a story from an article he read, about a woman who recounted the remarkable effects of having an image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus hanging on a prominent wall in their home. Visitors would gravitate toward it, comment on it, and feel peace. Conversations would inevitably be drawn to a higher level, too, she said.
“The woman ends her article by saying she knows people will smile at her remarks and even ridicule them, but she doesn’t care,” Bishop said. “‘This much I know,’ she says. ‘When you invite Jesus into your home, you’re never the same again.’”
Bishop Lucia blesses the faithful’s images brought to Mass on the feast day of the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.
People were encouraged to bring icons, statues, or portraits to Mass to have them blessed. Mary Catherine Coon and her mom, Mary Catherine Szczech, attended the feast day celebration but didn’t bring any images with them. “I had my house blessed (or enthroned) when it was built,” 55 years ago, said Szczech. “I’ve got three or four pictures in the house,” as does her namesake, whom she nicknamed “Kay.” Another daughter was named after St. Margaret Mary and was even married on St. Margaret Mary’s original feast day of October 17 — it was moved to October 16 during the liturgical reforms of 1969.
The mother-daughter duo, both graduates of Catholic diocesan schools, each joyfully remarked on the Bishop’s homily, the music, and the reconsecration of the Diocese to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. As noted by Anne Costa in a past interview with The Catholic Sun, the reconsecration is especially meaningful: “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 said.
Costa is the founder and director of Revive Hope and Healing Ministries, a “family of Holy Spirit-driven Catholic apostolates” as stated on its website. The Sacred Heart Enthronement Ministry is one of those apostolates.
She noted at the time of the interview that the first diocesan enthronement took place under the late Bishop James Moynihan in 1997. The organization continues to support and guide families in enthroning the Sacred Heart in their homes, which includes a few days of preparation and a brief yet beautiful, solemn ceremony.
“Brothers and sisters, inviting Jesus into our home … into our lives … is the most important thing we could ever do,” Bishop continued in his homily. “And the way we do it can range from concretizing Jesus’ presence with a crucifix, a picture of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, or the Divine Mercy image, or a Bible to pray reverently at meals. Or it can range from treating each other with genuine love to never speaking ill of others.
“Whatever it may be, once you and I invite Jesus into our home, we can expect something special,” he added, “Jesus never visits a home without doing something special.”
For information on the enthronement of your home, visit revivehopeandhealing.com or call 315-628-1713.
Editor’s note: You can read Bishop Lucia’s full June 27 homily here: A home for Jesus, or in the July 3 issue of The Catholic Sun.
The 12 Promises of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
In the outpouring of His love for you, the Sacred Heart has made these promises:
- I will give them all the graces necessary in their state of life.
- I will establish peace in their homes.
- I will comfort them in all their afflictions.
- I will be their secure refuge during life, and above all, in death.
- I will bestow abundant blessings upon all their undertakings.
- Sinners will find in My Heart the source and infinite ocean of mercy.
- Lukewarm souls shall become fervent.
- Fervent souls shall quickly mount to high perfection.
- I will bless every place in which an image of My Heart is exposed and honored.
- I will give to priests the gift of touching the most hardened hearts.
- Those who shall promote this devotion shall have their names written on My Heart.
- 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 Fridays in nine consecutive months the grace of final perseverance; they shall not die in My disgrace, nor without receiving their sacraments. My divine Heart shall be their safe refuge in this last moment.
From REVIVE Hope and Healing Ministry, Inc.
