Our Lord, Jesus Christ, made these twelve promises to those who honor
His Sacred Heart to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, a French nun, whom he called “the Beloved Disciple of the Sacred Heart” and the Heiress “of all Its treasures”, in the 1670’s. They show us how much he cherishes this devotion. These promises were revealed in one of many private revelations that Jesus gave St. Margaret Mary. Our Lord promised the following:
I will give them all the graces necessary for their state in life.
I will establish peace in their families.
I will comfort them in their trials.
I will be their secure refuge during life, and, above all, in death.
I will shed abundant blessings on all their undertakings
Sinners will find in My Heart an infinite ocean of mercy.
Lukewarm souls will become fervent.
Fervent souls will rapidly grow in holiness and perfection.
I will bless every place where an image of My Heart shall be exposed and honored.
I will give to priests the gift of touching the most hardened hearts.
The names of those who promote this devotion will be written in My Heart, never to be blotted out.
I promise thee, in the excessive mercy of My Heart, that My all-powerful love will grant to all those who receive Holy Communion on the First Friday of nine consecutive months, the grace of final penitence; they shall not die in My disgrace nor without receiving their Sacraments; My Divine Heart shall be their safe refuge in this last moment.
These promises, like this devotion, remind us that God’s love for us is such that he doesn’t want to lose any of us to Satan and Perdition. The Good Shepherd will search after His lost sheep, but, we must want to be found.
As St. Augustine, the 5th Century bishop of Hippo, one of our greatest theologians and a Doctor of the Church once said about God “He who created us without our help will not save us without our consent.”