PRAYERS OF ST. MARGARET MARY TO THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS
ACT OF CONSECRATION
I, N. N. give and consecrate to the Sacred Heart of Our Lord Jesus Christ, myself, my life, my actions, my trials and sufferings, so that I will henceforth do nothing but love, honor, and glorify It. My constant purpose is to be entirely devoted to It, to do everything for Its love, and to give up everything that displeases It.
O Sacred Heart! I choose Thee for the only object of my love, the protector of my life, the assurance of my salvation, the remedy of my weakness, the repairer of all my failings; be my sure refuge at the hour of death. Most merciful Heart, be my justification before God, and turn away His anger from me. Most loving Heart, I place all my confidence in Thee, I fear everything from my own wickedness, but I hope everything from Thy goodness. Consume in me everything that can displease Thee or resist Thee; let Thy pure love take such possession of my heart, that I may never forget Thee nor be separated from Thee. I pray Thee by Thine infinite goodness, that my name may be written on Thee, since I would live and die Thy servant. Amen.
ACT OF ADORATION
I adore Thy Sovereignty, O Sacred and Divine Heart of Jesus, with all the powers of my soul. I desire to love Thee, to fear Thee and to honor Thee. I will take the greatest care never to offend Thee, because I love Thee and wish to love Thee more than all things, and with all my strength. I detest all mortal sin and all deliberate venial sin; I hope that as I am entirely Thine, as Thou didst give me life upon the Cross amid Thy sufferings, Thou wilt take pity on my weakness and misery and never let me perish.
Most loving Heart! I offer myself to Thee, with the intention of loving, of honoring and glorifying Thee by my whole being, by my life, by every one of my sufferings and actions. I love Thee as my Sovereign Good, my sole joy, the only object of the worship and love of all hearts. Let my heart be consumed by the fire of pure love. I now renew with my whole soul all the offerings which I have ever made of myself to Thee. Keep me from ever displeasing Thee, and make me ever to do that which is most agreeable to Thee.
Fountain of love! I would that I were all heart to love Thee, and all mind to adore Thee! Let me love nothing except in Thee and for Thy sake. Let my memory dwell only upon Thee; let my understanding be entirely occupied with Thee; let my will and affections have Thee for their only object; let my feet do nothing but seek Thee; my tongue speak only to praise Thee; my eyes look only at Thee, and my hands do nothing but serve Thee, so that I may love Thee throughout eternity. Amen.
ACT OF LOVE
My Saviour, place me in Thy Heart, which is a furnace of love, and then I shall be safe. O Jesus, my Sovereign Good, I hope for entrance there, for I love Thee not for the sake of reward, but for love of Thee. I love Thee above all that is lovely, above all goodness, above all beauty, more than all men, more than all pleasures, more than myself, more than all that is not Thee, and I protest before heaven and earth, that I wish to live and die in Thy love. And if for my love of Thee I were to be persecuted and tormented, and even to suffer death, I would be very glad, and I will always say with St. Paul: no creature is able to separate me from the Sacred Heart of my Jesus, whom I love and will love for ever. O most loving Heart, Thou art my strength and support! O most adorable Heart! Thou art my refuge, my salvation, my reward, my love, and my all. Amen.
REPARATION OF HONOR
O Divine Heart of Jesus, boundless source of love and goodness, how much do I regret that I have so often forgotten Thee, and so little loved Thee. O Sacred Heart, Thou dost deserve the love and the devotion of all those hearts which Thou hast infinitely loved and cherished; yet Thou dost receive from them nothing but coldness and ingratitude; and especially from my unfaithful heart, which justly merits Thy anger. But as Thou art a Heart of love, Thou art also full of goodness, from which I hope for forgiveness and reconciliation. Alas, O Divine Heart, I acknowledge with the deepest sorrow my too great lukewarmness, and confess the unrighteousness of my wicked heart in robbing Thee unjustly of the love which is due to Thee alone, in order to appropriate it to myself or to some other earthly object. O most gentle Heart, if the sorrow and the shame of a heart which sees its error can make atonement to Thee, forgive my heart, for its want of love and of fidelity has put it in this state. Alas! what could it expect but hatred and punishment unless it hoped for everything from Thy mercy? O Heart of my God, most holy Heart, Heart to which alone the pardon of sinners belongs, have mercy, I beseech Thee, upon this wretched heart of mine. All its faculties unite to make, with the utmost humility, a reparation of honor to Thee for all its wanderings and infidelities. Oh, how could I have refused so long to give Thee my heart, for Thou alone art its rightful owner. I am sorry, with my whole heart, for having strayed so far from Thee and from Thy love, from the fountain of all good—in a word, from the Heart of my Jesus, who, without having any need of me, first sought for and loved me. O most adorable Heart, how could I have thus treated Thee, on whose love and goodness I am wholly dependent; and if Thou didst withdraw either the one or the other for a moment, I should be brought to the greatest wretchedness, or be utterly destroyed. O loving Heart, how infinite has been Thy goodness to have borne so long with my ingratitude; there remains nothing but for Thy mercy to forgive my wretched and inconstant heart. O Heart of my Jesus, I now consecrate and give Thee all my love and my heart; I give both to Thee for ever, but with a profound feeling of shame on account of having so long refused Thee that which was Thine own. O divine Heart, Thou wouldst prove to me the excess of Thy love by making me capable of loving Thee, and, alas! I have profited so badly of this opportunity of meriting Thy favors. I am truly sorry; and I most humbly beseech Thee, O Heart of my Jesus, to renew my heart, hitherto so faithless. Grant that it may be bound to Thee henceforth by the bonds of love, and may draw so much nearer to Thee as it has hitherto wandered far from Thee; and, as Thou art my Creator, be also, I beseech Thee, my everlasting reward. Amen.
CONFIDENCE IN THE SACRED HEART
O most Sacred and Divine Heart of Jesus, from the abyss of my nothingness I prostrate myself in Thy presence in order to give Thee all the homage of love, adoration, and praise which I am able; to lay before Thee all my wants, by making known to Thee, as to my best friend, all my wretchedness, my poverty, my failings, and my lukewarmness—in a word, all the wounds of my soul—beseeching Thee to have pity and compassion upon me, and to help me, according to the greatness of Thy mercies. O Heart of love, I beseech Thee, by all that can move Thee, to bestow on me this grace to save my soul, and the souls of all those who, like myself, are in danger of being lost for ever. O most merciful Heart, do not allow me to perish amid the deluge of my sins. Do with me what Thou wilt, if only I may love Thee for all eternity. I have placed all my hope in Thee; do not cast me off for ever. I call upon Thee; I invoke Thee as the sovereign remedy of all my evils, the chief of which is sin. O destroy this in me, I beseech Thee, and grant me forgiveness for all the sins which I have committed during my lifetime, for which I am most heartily sorry.
O Sacred Heart, make me, and all those hearts which are able to love Thee, feel and experience Thy supreme power; I beg this grace for my parents, my friends, and for all those who have been recommended to my prayers, or who pray for me, and for whom I am specially bound to pray. I beseech Thee to help them according to the necessities of each.
O most loving Heart, soften hardened sinners, and comfort the souls in Purgatory; be the safe refuge of the dying, and the consolation of the afflicted and of the needy. O Heart of love, be, lastly, my all in all, but especially be the haven of rest for my soul at the hour of my death. Yes, receive me, at that moment, into the bosom of Thy mercy. Amen.
PACT WITH THE SACRED HEART
With a contrite and humble heart, I offer Thee my homage of love, praise, and adoration, O most Divine Heart of Jesus, acknowledging Thy sovereign rights over my soul, and confirming every promise of fidelity to Thee that I have ever made. I wish to do this as many times as I draw my breath, for I am, and will be Thine, in spite of all the opposition of the enemies of my salvation. I renounce and disavow every suggestion contrary to the pure love of Thee. O Sacred Heart, reject me not, but acknowledge me as Thine own. Receive me and defend me, strengthen my weakness, for my great desire is to love and serve Thee; give me grace to do it perfectly. Therefore, O most loving Heart, I give Thee my body, my soul, my heart, and all that I am, to love and glorify Thee. I wish to repeat this donation by all my words, and I wish that every movement of my lips might be an act of contrition for all the sins I have done, and all the good that I have neglected to do. O most loving Heart, would that I could draw Thee unto myself every time I draw in my breath, and that every time I give it forth I could offer Thee to Thine Eternal Father, to pay Him all I owe. I would offer Thee every beating of my heart as an act of love and gratitude for all the gifts and graces that I have received or shall receive from Thee. Take away, I pray Thee, everything that hinders me from corresponding to them.
I would fain go nearer to Thee by every step I take, I wish that my every movement might show Thee my desire to be united to Thee, so as never again to be separated from Thee. Grant that everything I understand may lead me to love Thee, and that every glance of my eyes may invite Thee to come into my heart and take possession of me, so as to transform me into Thyself.
O Most Sacred, Divine and Adorable Heart! receive and accept this pact which I make with Thee, and which I mean to render as often as I put my hand on my heart, or kiss the cross; renouncing every suggestion of pride and self-love, and every inordinate movement of nature, protesting a thousand times that I am entirely Thine, and that if I knew of any more perfect way of uniting myself to Thee, I would follow it, even at the cost of my life. O Divine Heart of Jesus, do not let my sleep or anything else interrupt this agreement which I would have endure until my last breath.
I wish to live and die in the arms of my Crucified Saviour, and to hide myself in His Divine Heart. Amen.