11 June 2010

Feast of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

The thoughts of His heart are from generation to generation: To deliver their souls from death, and feed them in famine.

Today is the final day of the priestly year declared by our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI. Please remember to offer your prayers for priests today in honor of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. There is also an indulgence available today, according to the relevant Decree of the Apostolic Penitentiary:

"The Plenary Indulgence is granted to all the faithful who are truly repentant who, in church or in chapel, devoutly attend the divine Sacrifice of Mass and offer prayers to Jesus Christ the Eternal High Priest, for the priests of the Church, and any other good work which they have done on that day, so that he may sanctify them and form them in accordance with His Heart, as long as they have made expiation for their sins through sacramental confession and prayed in accordance with the Supreme Pontiff's intentions:

~on the days in which the Year for Priests begins and ends,
~on the day of the 150th anniversary of the pious passing of St John Mary Vianney,
~on the first Thursday of the month
~or on any other day established by the local Ordinaries for the benefit of the faithful.

It will be most appropriate, in cathedral and parish churches, for the same priests who are in charge of pastoral care to publicly direct these exercises of devotion, to celebrate Holy Mass and to hear the confession of the faithful."



Important, easy-to-read, and edifying texts of the Magisterium on the Sacred Heart of Jesus:

Pope Leo XIII, Annum sacrum (On Consecration to the Sacred Heart), 1899.
Pope Pius XI, Miserentissimus Redemptor (On Reparation to the Sacred Heart), 1928.
Pope Pius XI, Caritate Christi compulsi (On the Sacred Heart), 1932.
Ven. Pope Pius XII, Haurietis aquas (On Devotion to the Sacred Heart), 1956.

2 comments:

Jake said...

Actually the Year for Priests does not end until June 19, so we cannot get a Plenary Indulgence today.

Unknown said...

Well... I admit the issue is confusing, and you certainly could be right, but I still incline toward thinking that the opening paragraph of the decree of the Apostolic Penitentiary, which says that the year ends on June 19th, is simply an erroneous statement of fact, not binding in law.

Whereas the legal part of the document, under (B), says that the indulgence is available on the final day of the year, not specifying the 19th in this section.

And Pope Benedict XVI himself publically said that the Feast of the Sacred Heart closed the year, and celebrated a closing Mass of the year on the Feast.

So... it could go either way, and thus Lisa's approach is to do the indulgenced work on both days and hope for the best...