Friday is, traditionally, a day to honor the Heart of Jesus. The First Friday of every month is a particular day to honor the Heart of Jesus. The month of June is observed as a special month to honor the Heart of Jesus and this year, the annual feast of the Sacred Heart fell this year on Friday, June 11. So, each Friday in June, our Night Prayer will begin with a reflection on a particular image of the Heart of Jesus, followed by Wendy Wright's Litany of the Sacred Heart. (*What's A Litany?) and ending (below) with a song...
(This painting depicts the apparition of the Sacred Heart to St. Margaret Mary
and is found in the Apse of Visitation Chapel in Paray-le-Monial in
France. The second image is a detail from the first.)
We might mistake your arms, Lord,
for the wood of your Cross
- but there's no mistaking this:
here we meet you risen, shining, bright,
alive in all your glory...
Your face looks down on us
with the purest pity in your eyes,
longing to lift us up, to embrace us
with your healing, saving love...
Risen? Yes!
And yet your blood runs red-fresh from your side
and your holy heart glows,
not with fire and flame
but with the sun's white hot heat, burning
but never consuming
those who know its warmth...
You're the center of all life, Lord,
you're the light of the world
and without your warmth
our common home would perish
in cold oblivion
and we along with it
- but we are saved, we are redeemed, we are healed,
we are warmed by the light of your holy heart
opened for us on the Cross of your love...
Christ, be our light,
be the heart that beats in our hearts,
be the heat that saves us from the cold,
the love that warms us
in your arms...
Litany of the Sacred Heart
* A prayer form, addressed to the Lord, the Blessed Virgin or
one of the Saints, consisting of a number of "titles" or
attributes of the one addressed in prayer, with a recurring refrain...
Heart of Jesus, hear our prayer!
So loving
So humble
So gentle
So compassionate
So faithful
So wise
So patient
So steadfast
So tender
So spacious
Heart of Jesus, hear our prayer!
God’s joy
God’s shalom
Harp of the Trinity
Wingbeat of the Spirit
Breath of God
Five-petaled rose
Heart of Jesus, hear our prayer!
Womb of justice
Birthplace of peace
Our dearest hope
Longing of our lives
Heart of Jesus, hear our prayer!
Freely flowing fountain
Spring of grace
Freshet of forgiveness
Merciful river
Mystical dew
Heart of Jesus, hear our prayer!
Warmth of our hearts
Transforming fire
Cosmic furnace
Enflamer of hearts
Heart of Jesus, hear our prayer!
Heart of evolution
Beginning and ending
Center of all
Heart of Jesus, hear our prayer!
Garden of virtues
Mystical dew
Table and food
Heart of Jesus, hear our prayer!
Our refuge
Our shelter
Our comfort
Our rest
Our welcoming breast
Heart of Jesus, hear our prayer!
Wounded by love
Pierced by our cruelty
Broken by our hardness
Mystic winepress
Poured out as gift
Heart of Jesus, hear our prayer!
Have mercy, gracious heart,
Give us gratefulness
Teach us tenderness
Let us learn to love.
Heart of Jesus, hear our prayer!
- Wendy Wright
Protect us, Lord, and keep us safe
in the depths of your holy heart:
be our strength while we're awake
and watch over us while we sleep
that awake our hearts beat one with yours
and asleep find peace til the morning dawns...
Amen.
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