C&SI - The Sign of God's Love - the Sacred Heart of Jesus - 22 June 2025 (S05E30)

On this week's programme we dip into the archive to share our discussion from June 2019 with Fr. Donal Neary S.J., then Editor of The Sacred Heart Messenger, who speaks to us about the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and about The Sacred Heart Messenger. In part one we have our regular run through the liturgical odds and ends of the coming week including the saints of the week.In part three we reflect on the gospel of the Sunday which of course is that for the wonderful feast of Corpus Christi which in Ireland has been transferred from the Thursday to the Sunday. We have Luke's account of miracle of the feeding of the 5,000; one of the few miracle stories in all four gospels. Devotion to the Sacred HeartThis year marks the 350th anniversary of the  appearance of Jesus to Sr Margaret Mary with the message to share about his Sacred Heart. We revisit our chat withh Fr Donal who reflects on the devotion to the Sacred Heart which goes back to the scene at Calvary when a sword pierced the Heart of Jesus. From the 17th Century the devotion to the Sacred Heart became more widespread after Sr Margaret Mary Alacoque had visions where Jesus showed her is heart that beats for everyone and loves everyone of us. The devotion to the Sacred Heart was very much part of people’s lives when they were unable to attend Mass. Fr Donal speaks of the Sacred Heart as that of a friend. Both the 1st Friday devotion & the ‘Holy Hour’ came about as a result of devotion to the Sacred Heart.Fr Donal also spoke to us about the Sacred Heart Messenger of which he was the editor. In 1858 Fr James Cullen started an ‘Apostleship of prayer’ magazine and from this beginning the Sacred Heart Messenger came about. With a monthly circulation of 45,000 copies, 80% of which sold through promoters, the magazine contains inspirational articles which support readers on their faith journey. As the cover of the magazine quotes – A modern message in a much-loved tradition. Copies of the Messenger are available at some shops and Church book stalls and can be sourced from: https://www.messenger.ie/magazine/ Text us at +353 874668950 or email at [email protected]