The Sacred Heart of Jesus
The devotion that gives our parish its name — its history, its promises, and the prayers we pray together.
A Heart That Has Loved So Much
The Sacred Heart is the Heart of Jesus Christ — pierced on the Cross, crowned with thorns, aflame with love — venerated as the living symbol of God's love for humanity.
The devotion grew from the wound in Christ's side (John 19:34) through the mystics of the Middle Ages, and was given to the whole Church through the revelations to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, a Visitation nun at Paray-le-Monial, France, between 1673 and 1675. "Behold this Heart," Jesus told her, "which has loved men so much, and yet is so little loved in return." With the help of her confessor, St. Claude de la Colombière SJ, the devotion spread throughout the world.
Pope Pius IX extended the Feast of the Sacred Heart to the universal Church in 1856; Pope Leo XIII consecrated the whole human race to the Sacred Heart in 1899; and in 2024 Pope Francis dedicated the encyclical Dilexit Nos ("He loved us") to the human and divine love of the Heart of Jesus Christ. The month of June, and the first Friday of every month, are dedicated to the Sacred Heart.
The Twelve Promises of the Sacred Heart
Promises made by Our Lord to those who practise devotion to His Sacred Heart.
- I will give them all the graces necessary for their state of life.
- I will establish peace in their families.
- I will console them in all their troubles.
- I will be their secure refuge during life, and above all in death.
- I will bestow abundant blessings on all their undertakings.
- Sinners shall find in My Heart the source and infinite ocean of mercy.
- Tepid souls shall become fervent.
- Fervent souls shall rise quickly to great perfection.
- I will bless every place in which an image of My Heart is exposed and honoured.
- I will give to priests the gift of touching the most hardened hearts.
- Those who promote this devotion shall have their names written in My Heart, never to be effaced.
- I promise the grace of final perseverance to those who receive Holy Communion on the first Friday of nine consecutive months: they shall not die in My disfavour nor without receiving the sacraments; My Divine Heart shall be their safe refuge in that last moment.
First Friday Devotion
In our parish: Holy Mass at 6.30 pm, car procession and night vigil every first Friday. Receive Holy Communion on nine consecutive First Fridays in reparation and in response to the Twelfth Promise.
Enthronement in the Home
Families are invited to enthrone an image of the Sacred Heart in their homes and consecrate the family to Him. The fathers gladly bless homes on request.
Eucharistic Adoration
Every Friday at the 6.30 pm Mass we adore the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, the living presence of the Heart of Jesus among us.
Prayers to the Sacred Heart
Prayer of Trust
O Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in Thee.
Sacred Heart of Jesus, Thy Kingdom come. Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.
Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make our hearts like unto Thine.
Amen.
Morning Offering
O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer You my prayers, works, joys and sufferings of this day, in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world, for the salvation of souls, the reparation of sins, the reunion of all Christians, and in particular for the intentions of the Holy Father this month.
Amen.
Act of Consecration to the Sacred Heart
O Sacred Heart of Jesus, to Thee I consecrate and offer up my person and my life, my actions, trials and sufferings, that my entire being may henceforth be employed only in loving, honouring and glorifying Thee. This is my irrevocable will: to belong entirely to Thee, and to do all for Thy love, renouncing with my whole heart all that can displease Thee.
I take Thee, O Sacred Heart, for the sole object of my love, the protection of my life, the pledge of my salvation, the remedy of my frailty and inconstancy, the reparation for all the defects of my life, and my secure refuge at the hour of my death. Be Thou, O Heart of goodness, my justification before God Thy Father, and screen me from His anger which I have so justly merited. I fear all from my own weakness and malice, but placing my entire confidence in Thee, O Heart of love, I hope all from Thine infinite goodness.
Annihilate in me all that can displease or resist Thee. Imprint Thy pure love so deeply in my heart that I may never forget Thee or be separated from Thee. I beseech Thee, through Thine infinite goodness, grant that my name be engraved upon Thy Heart, for in this I place all my happiness and all my glory — to live and die as one of Thy devoted servants.
Amen.
Efficacious Novena to the Sacred Heart
O my Jesus, You have said: "Truly I say to you, ask and you will receive, seek and you will find, knock and it will be opened to you." Behold I knock, I seek and ask for the grace of… (mention your intention). Our Father… Hail Mary… Glory be… Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in You.
O my Jesus, You have said: "Truly I say to you, if you ask anything of the Father in My name, He will give it to you." Behold, in Your name I ask the Father for the grace of… Our Father… Hail Mary… Glory be… Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in You.
O my Jesus, You have said: "Truly I say to you, heaven and earth will pass away but My words will not pass away." Encouraged by Your infallible words I now ask for the grace of… Our Father… Hail Mary… Glory be… Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in You.
O Sacred Heart of Jesus, for whom it is impossible not to have compassion on the afflicted, have pity on us miserable sinners and grant us the grace which we ask of You, through the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary, Your tender Mother and ours. Hail, Holy Queen… St. Joseph, foster father of Jesus, pray for us.
Amen.
Prayer to Mary Help of Christians
Most Holy Virgin Mary, Help of Christians, how sweet it is to come to your feet imploring your perpetual help. If earthly mothers cease not to remember their children, how can you, the most loving of all mothers, forget us? Grant then to us, we beseech you, your perpetual help in all our necessities, in every sorrow, and especially in all our temptations. We ask your unceasing help for all who are now suffering. Help the weak, cure the sick, convert sinners. Grant through your intercessions many vocations to the religious life. Obtain for us, O Mary, Help of Christians, that having invoked you on earth we may love and eternally thank you in heaven.
Amen.
Prayer to St. John Bosco
O glorious St. John Bosco, who in order to lead young people to the feet of the divine Master and to mould them in the light of faith and Christian morality did heroically sacrifice yourself to the very end of your life and did set up a proper religious institute destined to endure and to bring to the farthest boundaries of the earth your glorious work — obtain also for us from Our Lord a holy love for young people who are exposed to so many seductions, in order that we may generously spend ourselves in supporting them against the snares of the devil, in keeping them safe from the dangers of the world, and in guiding them, pure and holy, in the path that leads to God.
Amen.
Litany of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
Christ, hear us. Christ, graciously hear us.
God the Father of Heaven, have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us.
God the Holy Spirit, have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, One God, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, Son of the Eternal Father, have mercy on us.
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 centre of all hearts,
Heart of Jesus, in whom are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge,
Heart of Jesus, in whom dwells the fullness of divinity,
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 offences,
Heart of Jesus, obedient unto 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, have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.
V. Jesus, meek and humble of heart, R. Make our hearts like unto Thine.
Let us pray: Almighty and eternal God, look upon the Heart of Thy most beloved Son and upon the praises and satisfaction which He offers Thee in the name of sinners; and to those who implore Thy mercy, in Thy great goodness, grant forgiveness in the name of the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee for ever and ever.
Amen.
Churches of the Sacred Heart
Our small parish church shares its name with some of the most visited churches in the world.
Basilica of the Sacred Heart, Pondicherry
The minor basilica of our own Archdiocese — a Gothic landmark built in 1907, a place of pilgrimage for all of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.
Sacré-Cœur, Paris
The white basilica on Montmartre, consecrated in 1919, where perpetual Eucharistic adoration has continued day and night since 1885.
Sacred Heart Cathedral, New Delhi
The cathedral of the Archdiocese of Delhi, built in the 1930s, and a centre of the Church's life in India's capital.
Basilica of Paray-le-Monial
The shrine in Burgundy, France, where Jesus revealed His Heart to St. Margaret Mary — the birthplace of the modern devotion.