June 1, 2025
Dear Parish Family:
June is dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, a devotion which began in the 12th Century and gained popularity after Jesus appeared to Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque in the 1670s, revealing to her the image of His Sacred Heart. It is a month to contemplate the wonderful mystery of the human heart of Jesus that contains all of God’s eternal, infinite, self-giving love for each person.
In Jesus’ first apparition to Saint Margaret Mary, after revealing His Heart to her, He said to her, “My divine Heart is so passionately fond of the human race, and of you in particular, that it cannot keep back the pent-up flames of its burning charity any longer. They must burst out through you.” As we look at the image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, we see symbols that expresses some aspect of God’s love for us.
Flames: The Sacred Heart burns with divine love. The Sacred Heart of Jesus is aflame with love for you and for me, and in this month, He wants to set our hearts on fire with His love, to consume all that is not His love, and for this fire of His love to spread to others who need to know God’s love for them.
Rays of Light: The Sacred Heart is surrounded by rays of light, as if rays of light are emanating from it. Light shines in and dissipates the darkness, and it reveals the truth. The Sacred Heart of Jesus reveals to us the eternal truth of God’s love for us, bringing the light of God’s love into the darkness of our sin and suffering, our fear and doubt.
Crown of Thorns: We remember that during His Passion, the soldiers placed a crown of thorns on Jesus’ head. In one of His revelations to St. Margaret Mary, Jesus told her that the crown of thorns symbolizes our individual sins, which prick His heart.
The Cross: In the image of the Sacred Heart, the Heart of Jesus no longer hangs upon the Cross, but rather the Cross stands atop the Sacred Heart, as if to say that the Heart of Jesus is what supported the Cross and what supports us when we have to bear a cross.
The Open Wound: The open wound in the image of the Sacred Heart shows us that the Heart of Jesus is always open to us, His mercy always available to us, that He never closes His Heart to us.
Our dear Sister Mary Ann Lawrence who was and continues to be a special part of our parish family is a Missionary of the Sacred Heart. So June is a very special month for her. Wouldn’t it be lovely to shower her with cards reminding her that we love and are praying for her this month? Her mailing address is: 464 Bernardine Street, Room 245, Reading, PA 19607.
Love and prayers,
Father Neil Sullivan