From Father’s Desk

Last Sunday I gave an intro (from Wikipedia) into the life of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque. Here is what happened next:

One night she returned home, dressed in her finery, from a ball for Carnival. She experienced a vision of Christ, scourged and bloody, in which he reproached her for her forgetfulness of him, and of how His heart was filled with love for her due to her promise. As a result she determined to fulfill her vow and entered, when almost 24 years of age, the Visitation Convent at Paray-le-Monial on 25 May 1671, intending to become a nun. Alacoque was subjected to many trials to prove the genuineness of her vocation. She was admitted to wearing the religious habit on 25 August 1671 and she was admitted to profession on 6 November 1672.

In this monastery Alacoque received several private revelations of the Sacred Heart, the first on 27 December 1673, and the final one 18 months later. The visions revealed to her the form of the devotion, the chief features being reception of Holy Communion on the first Friday of each month, Eucharistic adoration during a "Holy hour" on Thursdays, and the celebration of the Feast of the Sacred Heart. She stated that in her vision she was instructed to spend an hour every Thursday night to meditate on Jesus' Agony in the Garden of Gethsemane.

On December 27, 1673, the feast of St. John, Margaret Mary reported that Jesus permitted her to rest her head upon his heart and then disclosed to her the wonders of his love, telling her that he desired to make them known to all mankind and to diffuse the treasures of his goodness, and that he had chosen her for this work.

-Fr. Appel

Some time ago, I asked the people of the parish to pray for my “secret intention.” I later let everyone know that my intention was to consecrate our parishes to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Now that the Knights of Columbus council is up and running, we are ready to begin this great work. In order to prepare ourselves for the consecration, I would like to offer a little history lesson on where this particular devotion came from. Here is an excerpt from Wikipedia regarding Margaret Mary Alacoque, who first had a vision of the Sacred Heart:

Alacoque was born in 1647 in L'Hautecour, now part of the commune of Verosvres, then in the Duchy of Burgundy, the only daughter of Claude Alacoque and Philiberte Lamyn, who had also several sons. From early childhood, Margaret was described as showing intense love for the Blessed Sacrament, and as preferring silence and prayer to childhood play. After her First Communion at the age of nine, she was confined to her bed with rheumatic fever for four years. At the end of this period, having made a vow to the Blessed Virgin to consecrate herself to religious life, she was instantly restored to perfect health. In recognition of this favor, she added the name Mary to her baptismal name of Margaret. According to her later account of her life, she had visions of Jesus Christ, which she thought were a normal part of human experience and continued to practice austerity.

Alacoque lost her father at a young age, and the family's assets were held by a relative who refused to hand them over, plunging her family into poverty. During this time, her only consolations were frequent visits to pray before the Blessed Sacrament in the local church. When she was 17, however, the family regained their fortune and her mother encouraged her to go in society, in the hopes of her finding a suitable husband. Out of obedience, and believing that her childhood vow was no longer binding, she began to accompany her brothers in the social events of her society, attending dances and balls.

Her story does not end here…

-Fr. Appel