Prayers to the Sacred Heart

Welcome to the seventh of our seven page section introducing the Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, written for this site by Kim Buck.

Below you will find an Introduction to the series—which features links to further pages on different aspects of the Devotion. Or you can navigate through the series using this list of links:

Table of Contents

1. An Introduction to the Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus (this current page)
2. The Holy Hour of Reparation
3. The First Friday Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
4. The Annual Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
5. Exposition of the Image of the Sacred Heart
6. Enthronement of the Sacred Heart in the Home
7. Prayers to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Various internal links in this series will also take you to further articles of relevance at this site (for example long articles about St Margaret Mary and St. Claude La Colombière). There is also an archive of posts devoted to the Sacred Heart (here).

About These Prayers to His Heart

There are numerous prayers that have been composed to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, including litanies, consecrations, novenas, a little office and many simple prayers.

Some have been written by Priests and religious, others by Saints, a few by Popes. Some have been specifically composed to help us when praying the Devotions, others as an expression of love and gratitude to the Sacred Heart. Below, I list just a few that I think are the most well known, commonly used and perhaps most important.

As a general guide to the Devotions, I highly recommend Father Croiset’s book, The Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. He was the Jesuit Priest who became Saint Margaret Margaret Mary’s spiritual director after the death of Saint Claude la Colombiere. It was requested by Our Lord Himself, through a message to the Saint, that He write this book in order to spread the Devotion.

There are many different ways in which to pray the Devotions to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. For instance, it is greatly encouraged to pray the Holy Hour in adoration, preferably with exposition of the Blessed Sacrament. Yet it is equally acceptable to pray this Holy Hour of Reparation at home in a quiet place, where one can have an uninterrupted hour.

Books and booklets have been compiled, as guidelines for praying the Holy Hour of Reparation, such as the one we have featured here at this site.

I particularly recommend those prayers that help us personally reflect on Our Lord’s night of agony in Gethsemane. For this reason I like very much those thoughts and reflections compiled by a French Priest, Father Tesniere. Unfortunately, his booklet, simply entitled The Holy Hour, is out of print, but I will include some extracts here below.

Perhaps the most popular and important prayer to the Sacred Heart is the beautiful Litany, papally approved by Leo XIII in 1899. This is often recited on the First Friday after Holy Mass. It is also regularly prayed within the Holy Hour of reparation and is an integral part of the Enthronement Ceremony.

This Litany is thus presented first, followed by the other prayers.

The Litany of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

This Litany was granted Papal approval by Leo the XIII on April 2, 1899. Each line or invocation has a scriptural connection. The Litany can be used during the praying of the Holy Hour of Reparation. It is recited after the First Friday Mass by those Priests who particularly celebrate this devotion. It is also prayed after the Mass of the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

V/ Lord, have mercy on us.
R/ Lord, have mercy on us.

V/ Christ, have mercy on us.
R/ Christ, have mercy on us.

V/ Lord, have mercy on us.
R/ Lord, have mercy on us.

V/ Christ, hear us.
R/ Christ, graciously hear us.

God, the Father of Heaven,

R/ for ff: have mercy on us

God, the Son, Redeemer of the world,
God, the Holy Ghost,
Holy Trinity, One God,
Heart of Jesus, Son of the Eternal Father.
Heart of Jesus, formed by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mother,
Heart of Jesus, substantially united to the Word of God,
Heart of Jesus, of Infinite Majesty,
Heart of Jesus, Sacred Temple of God,
Heart of Jesus, Tabernacle of the Most High,
Heart of Jesus, House of God and Gate of Heaven,
Heart of Jesus, burning furnace of charity,
Heart of Jesus, abode of justice and love,
Heart of Jesus, full of goodness and love,
Heart of Jesus, abyss of all virtues,
Heart of Jesus, most worthy of all praise,
Heart of Jesus, king and center of all hearts,
Heart of Jesus, in whom are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge,
Heart of Jesus, in whom the Father was well pleased,
Heart of Jesus, of whose fullness we have all received,
Heart of Jesus, desire of the everlasting hills,
Heart of Jesus, patient and most merciful,
Heart of Jesus, enriching all who invoke Thee,
Heart of Jesus, fountain of life and holiness,
Heart of Jesus, propitiation for our sins,
Heart of Jesus, loaded down with opprobrium,
Heart of Jesus, bruised for our offenses,
Heart of Jesus, obedient to death,
Heart of Jesus, pierced with a lance,
Heart of Jesus, source of all consolation,
Heart of Jesus, our life and resurrection,
Heart of Jesus, our peace and reconciliation,
Heart of Jesus, victim for our sins,
Heart of Jesus, salvation of those who trust in Thee,
Heart of Jesus, hope of those who die in Thee,
Heart of Jesus, delight of all the Saints,

Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world.
R/ spare us, O Lord.

Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world,
R/ graciously hear us, O Lord.

Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world,
R/ have mercy on us.

Jesus, meek and humble of heart.
R/ Make our hearts like unto Thine.

Let us pray. Almighty and eternal God, consider the Heart of Thy well-beloved Son and the praises and satisfaction He offers Thee in the name of sinners; appeased by worthy homage, pardon those who implore Thy mercy in the name of the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who lives and reigns with Thee forever and ever.

R/ Amen.

The Act of Consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Pope Leo XXIII wrote an Act of Consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which he urged the faithful to recite in order to dedicate themselves to the Heart of Our Lord and God. He asked that it be recited in conjunction with the Litany. Looking upon the dangers and evils of the modern world, the Holy Father composed this prayer as a petition or act of surrender on the behalf of the faithful to the Divine Heart.

Most sweet Jesus, redeemer of the human race, look down upon us, humbly prostrate before your altar.

We are yours and yours we wish to be; but to be more surely united with you, behold each one of us freely consecrates himself today to your most sacred heart.

Many, indeed, have never known you, many too, despising your precepts, have rejected you.

Have mercy on them all, most merciful Jesus, and draw them to your sacred heart.

Be you king, O Lord, not only of the faithful who have never forsaken you, but also of the prodigal children who have abandoned you; grant that they may quickly return to their father’s house, lest they die of wretchedness and hunger.

Be you king of those who are deceived by erroneous opinions, or whom discord keeps aloof, and call them back to the harbor of truth and unity of faith, so that soon there may be but one flock and one shepherd.

Be you king also of all those who sit in the ancient superstition of the Gentiles, and refuse not you to deliver them out of darkness into the light and kingdom of God.

Grant, O Lord, to your Church, assurance of freedom and immunity from harm; give peace and order to all nations, and make the earth resound from pole to pole with one cry:

Praise to the divine heart that wrought our salvation; to it be glory and honor forever. Amen.

Act of Consecration, composed by Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647-1690)

I give and consecrate to the Heart of Our Lord Jesus Christ, my whole life, all my actions, my trials, my sufferings, devoting every portion of my being to loving, honouring , and glorifying Him, to working for His live alone, renouncing with all my heart whatever may be displeasing to Him.

I take Thee, then, O Sacred Heart, for the one object of my live, the Protector of my life, the Pledge of my salvation, the Remedy of my inconstancy, the redeemer of all my faults, and my sure refuge in the hour of death.

O Heart of all goodness, be my justification before God the father, and shield me from the effects of His just anger.

O Heart, overflowing with love, I place all my confidence in Thee, for I dread my own weakness, while I hope everything from thy bounty.

Do Thou destroy in me whatever may displease Thee or withstand Thy will, and may the pure love of Thee be so deeply imprinted in my heart that I may never forget thee nor be separated from Thee, and I implore Thee by all thy love that my name may be graven upon thee.

May it be all my happiness to live and die as Thy slave. Amen.

Offering to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, composed by Saint Claude la Colombiere (1641-1682)

In reparation for so many outrages and such cruel ingratitude, O most adorable and amiable Heart of my amiable Jesus, and as far as is in my power, to avoid falling into such an evil, I offer Thee my heart with all the sentiments of which it is capable.

I give myself entirely to Thee, and from this hour I protest most sincerely that I desire to forget myself an all that can have reference to myself, in order to remove the obstacles which might prevent me from entering into this Divine Heart which in Thy divine goodness Thou openest to me, and where I desire to enter in order to live and die with Thy most faithful servants.

Penetrated and inflamed with thy love, I now offer to Thy Sacred Heart all the merit and satisfaction of all the Masses, of all the prayers, of all the acts of mortification, of all the religious practices, of all the acts of zeal, humility, obedience and all the other virtues which I shall practice until the last moments of my life.

Not only will all this be to honour the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Its admirable dispositions, but in addition, I most humbly beseech Him to accept the entire donation which I make to Him of them, and to dispose of them in the manner which pleases Him, and in favout of whomsoever it pleases Him: and as I have already given to the Holy Souls in Purgatory all that is in my actions capable of satisfying divine justice, I desire that it be distributed to them according to the good pleasure of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

This will not prevent me from acquitting myself of the obligation which I have of saying Mass and praying for certain intentions as prescribed by obedience, from offering Mass out of charity for poor people or for my brothers and friends who may ask for them.

But as on such occasions, I make use of a good that does not belong to me, I intend, as is just, that the obedience, charity, and other virtues, which I shall practice on such occasions, be all for the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

From It I hope to receive the grace to practice these virtues which, consequently will belong to It without reserve.

Sacred Heart of Jesus, teach me to sacrifice myself completely, teach me what I must do to arrive at the purity of Thy live with the desire of which Thou hast inspired me.

I feel in myself a great wish to please thee and great powerlessness to succeed in doing so without great light and very special help which I can expect only from Thee. Do Thou accomplish thy will in me; I know well that I am opposing it.

But I eagerly wish, at least it seems so to me, not to oppose it.

It is for Thee to do everything, O Divine Heart of Jesus.

Thou alone wilt have all the glory of my sanctification if I become a saint; that appears to me clearer than daylight, but it will be a grat glory for Thee, and it is for that alone that I wish to attain perfection. Amen.

Short Petition to the Sacred Heart of Jesus by Saint Madeleine Sophie Barat (1779-1865)

Sacred Heart of Jesus, my light, my love and my life, grant that I may know but Thee, that I may live but Thee, that I may live only by Thee, in Thee, through Thee, and for Thee.

Daily Offering to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

There are many versions of this old and well-known prayer. This is the one that I use, which offers the prayer for the intentions of the Holy Father.

O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer Thee the prayers, works, sufferings and joys of this day for all the intentions of Thy Divine Heart in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world. I offer them especially for the Pope’s intentions, for this month.

A Prayer to the Sacred Heart, written by Reverend W. Roche, S. J.

This prayer, written to be recited at the Memento of the Mass is very special to Roger and myself. I find it useful in the praying of the Holy Hour, to put us in mind of all Our Lord took upon Himself throughout His Passion.

Remember, most gracious Lord, for Thy Son’s sake, all those whose lot He shared on earth: the poor, the workpeople, the lonely, the oppressed.

He is the Man of sorrows, gathering in Himself His people’s griefs and bearing all human burdens in His Heart.

He is sorrowful with the sorrowful, hungry with those that hunger, in pain with those who suffer pain.

His soul responds by sympathy and live to every secret misery and slient agony.

His heart-beats are as echoes to every pain and pang and cry of woe.

For His sake, O God! For His sake whose life is one with ours, let comfort and courage be carried everywhere to every struggling soul, by the ministry of Angels and of men, from the copious treasuries of the Eternal Sacrifice wherein is all the hope of all mankind.

Amen.

Other Pages in this Section of our website introducing the Sacred Heart Devotion can be found with this:

Table of Contents

1. An Introduction to the Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
2. The Holy Hour of Reparation
3. The First Friday Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
4. The Annual Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
5. Exposition of the Image of the Sacred Heart
6. Enthronement of the Sacred Heart in the Home
7. Prayers to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Update 2017 and 2023:

I would just like to add to this page that my husband Roger Buck, now author of a book on the Sacred Heart (Cor Jesu Sacratissimum – here at Amazon worldwide) also has a two-part EWTN interview about his conversion to the Faith as well as the Sacred Heart.

The first part is more about the New Age (from which he converted) but in the second part he talks about our experiences on pilgrimage to Paray-le-Monial in France, experiences which completely changed both of our lives and led to the creation of this website dedicated to His Most Sacred Heart. 

The second part though is stand-alone—that is to say it stands by itself. You do not need to listen to the first part. You can easily skip to the second part which has many beautiful thoughts and insights about Paray-le-Monial and the Spirituality of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Foreword for Monarchy by Roger Buck

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