❤️Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque (died 1690) was a humble nun of the Visitation Order in Paray-le-Monial, France, chosen by Christ to be the messenger of the devotion to His Sacred Heart. Through a series of apparitions, Jesus revealed to her the depth of His love for humanity and the pain He felt at the ingratitude and coldness with which He was treated, especially in the Blessed Sacrament. He entrusted her with the twelve promises for devotees of His Heart and the request for the institution of a liturgical feast in its honor, to be celebrated on the Friday after the octave of Corpus Christi. Facing great disbelief and opposition within her own community, she persevered with the help of her spiritual director, the Jesuit Saint Claude de la Colombière, who recognized the authenticity of her visions. Her mission was a testament to the love God reserves for the simple and humble, as expressed in Our Lord's words to her: "Behold the Heart which has so loved men that it has spared nothing, even to exhausting and consuming Itself, in order to testify Its love; and in return, I receive from the greater part only ingratitude, by their irreverence and sacrilege, and by the coldness and contempt they have for Me in this Sacrament of Love."
📖Epistle (Eph 3:8-9; 14-19)
Brethren: To me, the least of all the saints, is given this grace, to preach among the Gentiles, the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to enlighten all men, that they may see what is the dispensation of the mystery which hath been hidden from eternity in God, who created all things. For this cause I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom all paternity in heaven and earth is named, that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened by his Spirit with might unto the inward man, that Christ may dwell by faith in your hearts; that being rooted and founded in charity, you may be able to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth, and length, and height, and depth: to know also the charity of Christ, which surpasseth all knowledge, that you may be filled unto all the fulness of God.
✝️Gospel (Mt 11:25-30)
At that time, Jesus answered and said: I confess to thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them to the little ones. Yea, Father; for so hath it seemed good in thy sight. All things are delivered to me by my Father. And no one knoweth the Son, but the Father: neither doth any one know the Father, but the Son, and he to whom it shall please the Son to reveal him. Come to me, all you that labour, and are burdened, and I will refresh you. Take up my yoke upon you, and learn of me, because I am meek, and humble of heart: and you shall find rest to your souls. For my yoke is sweet and my burden light.
🤔Reflections
🙏The Gospel reveals a central truth in the life of Saint Margaret Mary: divine wisdom is granted not to those proud of their own intellect, but to the humble of heart. Saint Augustine teaches that the "wise and prudent" are those who, full of themselves, presume to attain truth by their own strength, while the "little ones" are those who, recognizing their own insufficiency, open themselves to God's grace. "He hid Himself from the proud and revealed Himself to the humble. You call the proud wise. Why are these things hidden from them? Because they are great in their own presumption. But to be filled with God, they must first be emptied of themselves" (St. Augustine, Sermon 68). The saint of Paray-le-Monial, in her simplicity and obedience, embodied this evangelical littleness, becoming a worthy vessel to receive the revelations of the Sacred Heart, a mystery that remained hidden from many theologians of her time.
📜The Epistle of Saint Paul to the Ephesians perfectly describes the mission of Saint Margaret Mary. She was chosen to help "enlighten all men, that they may see what is the dispensation of the mystery which hath been hidden," which is the infinite love of Christ, symbolized in His pierced Heart. Saint Thomas Aquinas, commenting on the dimensions of Christ's love—breadth, length, height, and depth—explains that "breadth" is the charity that extends to all, friends and enemies; "length" is perseverance in love to the end; "height" is the hope in the heavenly goods this love promises; and "depth" is the unfathomable judgments of God from which such love springs (St. Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on the Epistle to the Ephesians, Ch. 3, Lesson 5). These are precisely the dimensions of the Sacred Heart revealed to the saint, a love that is universal, eternal, divine, and merciful, surpassing all human understanding.
🏛️The message received by Saint Margaret Mary was echoed and confirmed by the Magisterium of the Church, which integrated it into the heart of Catholic piety. The Encyclical *Miserentissimus Redemptor* by Pope Pius XI articulates the need for reparation, a central element of the Paray-le-Monial revelations. The document teaches that, in addition to adoration and thanksgiving, it is our duty to console the Heart of Jesus for the countless offenses He receives, especially for the ingratitude of men. This obligation of reparation responds directly to Christ's lament to the saint about the coldness and contempt He suffers in the Sacrament of the Altar. Thus, the popular devotion born from the humility of a "little one" was elevated to the dignity of a universal doctrine, showing how the "sweet yoke" of love for Christ also implies a compassionate sharing in His sorrow for the salvation of souls.
➡️See English version of the critical articles here.
