7 Ways to Grow in Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

The month of June is traditionally devoted to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, with the feast of the Sacred Heart celebrated at the end of the Octave of Corpus Christi, 19 days after Pentecost. I have childhood memories of the various images of the Sacred Heart which adorned many friends and family member’s homes in the Italian – immigrant neighborhood in which I grew up. It wasn’t till I was an adult that I became interested in the history of the devotion, and eventually, we had our home enthroned to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. I am by no means an expert on the devotion to the Sacred Heart, so writing this post has been both a reflection of things I have already done to grow in this devotion and a list of things I hope to do.1. LearnIn order to for any devotion to bear good fruit, it is essential that we know the history and significance of the devotion. Catholics have long been accused of entering into dubious and suspicious devotional practices. Understanding our own beautiful tradition of devotions and entering into them with the proper dispositions does much for our own spiritual growth and guards against turning a devotional practice into something superstitious.Here are a few links to help learn more about the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus:Catholic Encyclopedia: Devotion to the Sacred HeartThe Sacred Heart Institute has a wide variety of resources (CD’s videos, etc) to help you and your family learn.Three Papal Encyclical’s on the Devotion to the Sacred HeartPope Leo XIII: Annum Sacrum (1899)Pope Pius XI Miserentissimus Redemptor: (1928)Pope Pius XII: Haurietis Aqua (1956)Father James Kubicki, SJ’s book  A Heart on Fire: Rediscovering Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus provides a fresh, contemporary and readable look into this traditional devotion. Citing lyrics to Bruce