The Devotion to the Sacred Heart Fr. John Croiset, S. J. Originally published in1691; Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur, 1959 TAN Books and Publishers Prayers by St. Margaret Mary Alacoque Prayers Composed in Honor of the Sacred Heart by St. Margaret Mary (From Monsignor Gauthey's Edition, Paris, 1951). Donation of Our Hearts as a New Year's Gift to the Sacred Heart Renewal of Our Donation to the Sacred Heart Act of Hope and Contrition Act of Contrition to the Sacred Heart   DONATION OF OUR HEARTS AS A NEW YEAR'S  GIFT TO THE HEART OF JESUS CHRIST O Jesus, my dearest Spouse, and my all, whom I acknowledge and adore as my God and my last end, I come to present myself before Thy Divine Majesty to offer Thee my heart as a perfect holocaust, by rendering Thee the homage of that entire submission which I owe Thee and that perfect love which I am bound to render Thee as my Lord and my God. I protest that from this moment I withdraw my heart from all created things and place it in Thy Divine Hands. I make this my New Year's gift to Thee today, O Word Incarnate. Graciously accept it and take full possession of it as an object that belongs entirely to Thee. Be Thou its Master, its strength, its sure Refuge in all its troubles and its Pilot to make it happily arrive at the port of salvation. And because, O my amiable Jesus, Thou art infinitely good, I make bold to ask Thee most humbly, without having regard for my unworthiness, for a special favor; it is that Thou wouldst give me, as a New Year's gift, a present that I have long desired, a present which I esteem incomparably more than all that is in the world; it is, that Thou wouldst give me Thy Divine Heart, by receiving me among the number of those who cherish Thee particularly. Grant me this divine favor which I ask of Thee, O my generous Savior, in order that, as by love I have given Thee my heart to be all Thine and now give it to Thee anew, so by Thy grace and mercy, I may be among the number of Thy little slaves. Grant me that I may begin this year happily in Thee, that I may pass it and finish it happily with Thee and for Thee; grant that I may not commit any mortal or voluntary venial offense. Renew the state of my soul completely, O my Jesus, and take entire and perfect possession of my whole being, which I dedicate and consecrate as a perfect holocaust of love to Thy amiable Heart. Make of my poor wretched heart a paradise of Thy delights by causing to grow there the flowers and fruits of solid virtues: of humility, meekness and simplicity. And, above all, inflame it with an eager, burning desire for Thy love, and may all my affection never have any other object but that of pleasing Thee, in order that at the moment when Thou wilt call me from this life, I may die of no other cause but that of Thy love and for Thy love. Amen. RENEWAL OF OUR DONATION TO THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS When you look at the image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, or take it in your hands, remember to give your hearts anew to Jesus Christ and say: O my amiable Jesus, although I have long ago given Thee my heart, I now offer and consecrate it to Thee anew. O unique object of my love, O delight of my soul, give me Thy Heart; love me, good Jesus, and I shall be content. O dear and Divine Heart of my Jesus, what caress I would give Thee if I had Thee! How I would embrace Thee, O most amiable Heart, how I would kiss Thee a thousand times and throw myself on my knees to adore Thee! A thousand times I would clasp Thee tightly to my breast in order to receive from Thee the burning flames of holy love. O Sacred Heart, O burning Heart, O Heart ail on fire, O Divine Heart, which has so many times breathed and sighed for me, I wish henceforth to breathe only for Thee. O good Jesus, drive from my poor heart all that displeases Thee, and make it meek, simple and humble! O my dear Spouse, what confusion for me! I have given Thee my heart many times, but I have most perfidiously stolen it from Thee and bestowed it upon creatures. Ah! poor heart, return to your Creator, and never again separate yourself from Him, otherwise you will perish. O Sacred Heart of my Jesus, dear Spouse, receive me back again in spite of the many times that I have wandered away from Thee and gone far from Thy divine perfections, for there is none so pure as Thou, who art Purity and Sanctity itself, while there is none so impure as I. Thou art a burning Furnace of love, while I have a heart harder than marble and colder than ice. Thou hast been always in a state of abasement and annihilation in spite of Thy greatness, and I, who am but dust, who am viler than the worm, wish to appear great, to exalt myself, O my amiable Savior, do not permit this disorder, but grant that I may live completely united to Thee and hidden in Thy Divine Heart, which I choose as my dwelling in time and in eternity. Amen. ACT OF HOPE AND CONTRITION O Savior of my soul, I am under infinite obligations to Thy mercy, but I value nothing so highly as the desire for my salvation that consumes Thee. I confess that I owe Thee so much gratitude for so signal a favor and that I am under such an obligation to die to myself and to live and breathe only for Thee, that if I be wanting in this duty, I am unworthy of life. I, then, O Divine Redeemer, abandon myself entirely to Thee in life as in death. Make me live or die; I accept both with equal indifference provided that Thou dost not permit that either the one or the other ever separate me from Thee. O my only Hope, do not suffer that I be lost before Thine eyes, after Thou hast saved me with so much pain. Alas! I do not know what is to become of me; but I know well that, as I can save myself by Thy grace, so I can damn myself by my own malice. I indeed hope for Thy grace, but my malice makes me fear and tremble. In this uncertainty, I have no other recourse but in the merits of Thy Cross; I embrace it with all my heart as the last plank after shipwreck. Oh! my Savior, honor Thy death by my salvation, render it glorious by my happiness; consume in me everything that is displeasing to Thee and fill up in me what is wanting to Thy sufferings; supply for me by Thy merits; make me such as Thou dost desire, in order that I may be able to recognize for all eternity the value of a God who dies for me, and what I owe to Thy death. Woe to that man who sees a God dying for his love and who does not cease to offend Him! I believe that Hell is too light a punishment for such ingratitude. How could I ever sin again when I think that God died on the Cross for me, after He had endured all torments, in order to teach me never to offend Him. Oh! my God, pardon this miserable sinner and force her to sin no more, but always and in all things to do Thy holy will. O my adorable Master, I detest my sins with the Heart of my Savior; I love my God with the Heart of His Son; as the Heart of Jesus has deplored my offenses, I deplore them. The tears which He shed with His eyes are mine, for Thou, O Eternal Father, hast given Him entirely to me, and I offer Thee His sorrow to supply for mine. If I have done evil, my Jesus has done good. Both are mine. If Thou dost regard the one, have regard to the other. I offer Thee His merits; in offering them to Thee, I give Thee more than I have taken away from Thee: for as the merits of my adorable Jesus infinitely exceed the malice of my sins, the good which He has done is greater than the evil which I have committed. Have pity, then, on me, O my God, and save me! I have placed all my hope in the Heart of Thy Divine Son; I will not be confounded. Amen. ACT OF CONTRITION TO THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS O most Sacred and adorable Heart of Jesus, behold me humbly prostrate before Thee with a heart contrite and penetrated with lively sorrow for having loved Thee so little and for having offered Thee so many insults by my wandering from Thee, by my ingratitude, my perfidy and my other acts of infidelity, by which I have rendered myself unworthy of Thy mercies and of all the graces and favors of Thy pure love. The shame and regret which I feel leave me no other words to express myself except to say: I have sinned against Thee. Have pity on me who am unworthy of all mercy. Do not condemn me, however, O Divine Heart, full of charity. I implore Thee to manifest the excess of Thy goodness by showing favor to this poor criminal who appears before Thee annihilated in the abyss of her nothingness and misery. Alas! O Sacred Heart, I have sinned against Thee, do not abandon me to the rigor of Thy justice which would infallibly punish any want of love towards Thee by the eternal privation of Thy love. Oh! rather let all torments, pains and miseries come and overwhelm me, than that I should be deprived for a moment of loving Thee! And since it is Thou, O Divine Heart of Jesus, the Source of love, who hast received the insults of all my infidelities and of my want of love, do Thou take care to be avenged upon me. If Thou wishest to condemn me to burn eternally, I consent, provided it be in the devouring fire of Thy pure love. O compassionate Heart, save me by the excess of Thy mercy. Do not allow me to perish in the deluge of my iniquities. O Heart of love, I cry to Thee from the abyss of my misery; save me by Thy ardent charity. Save me, I implore Thee, by all that is in Thee most capable of moving Thee to do me this great mercy. Have pity, then, on this poor criminal who expects her salvation from Thee. Oh! save me, O merciful Heart, at whatever price it may cost. Save me and do not deprive me of loving Thee eternally. Rather let all the moments of life that remain to me be filled with bitterness, sorrow and affliction. Am I not sufficiently punished for having loved so late a Heart so full of love! But because I love Thee, I have such regret for having so ungratefully offended Thee, my Sovereign Good, that rather than having committed so many sins, I would wish from the moment I commenced to sin to have endured as a preservative all the pains of Hell, although I hope that in Thy love Thou wilt exempt me from them. This is what I pray Thee, while crying to Thee with all my heart for mercy. Pardon, then, in Thy mercy, this afflicted heart which has put all its confidence and all its hope in Thee. O Heart of Jesus, my Savior, exercise over me this office which has cost Thee so dear and do not lose the fruit of so many sufferings and of so painful a death, but honor it by saving me in order that my heart may adore, praise and glorify Thee eternally. Be then, O Sacred Heart, our refuge and our hope, now and at the hour of our death! Take my cause in hand, justify me and turn away the rigors which my sins have merited. Thou art my true friend, do Thou answer and satisfy for me. Draw me from the abyss into which my sins have precipitated me. Hearken to the groans of my afflicted heart which hopes for everything from Thy goodness. But if Thy justice condemns it as unworthy of pardon, it will appeal to the tribunal of Thy love, being ready to suffer all its rigors rather than be for a single moment deprived of loving Thee. Cut, burn, amputate; provided only I love Thee, it is sufficient for me. Spare neither my body nor my life, whenever there is question of Thy glory. I belong to Thee, O Divine and Adorable Heart, work out, then, my salvation, I implore Thee. In punishing my sins, do not abandon me to myself, allowing me to relapse into the same sins. Ah! rather a thousand deaths than offend Thee whom I love a hundred times more than my life! What glory will the loss of a wretched grain of dust give Thee? And Thou shalt have great glory in saving such a miserable sinner. Save me, then, O pure Love, for I wish to love Thee eternally whatever price it may cost me. Yes, I wish to love Thee whatever it may cost me, I wish to love Thee with my whole heart. Amen. 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