God is love. But how do we begin to grasp what that truly means? His heart beats for us. Jesus Christ makes His home within us.
Nearly every Gospel scene can be summarized by this one theme. Jesus places Himself before us; offering love, inviting love, giving Himself with complete vulnerability, only to be rejected, forgotten, or misunderstood. The 12 followed and loved Him. Yet, only Mary Magdalene, the Mother of God, and St. John were present at the Cross. We aren’t that different. We abandon Him, take up our cross half-heartedly, or try to instruct the Divine Physician on how to heal us instead of trusting His care.
Enthroning the Sacred Heart is a devotion that allows us to return to Jesus’s heart. Through this devotion, we can embrace His Love and allow Him to meet us in our weakness and transform our everyday life. It’s so fitting that the enthronement happens in the home. The home is the heartbeat of where we start every day. It’s the domestic church. Ultimately, we are all seeking a home that gives belonging, safety, security, and peace. In one word, Heaven. Jesus’ love is that of the Father, it’s restorative, kind, gentle, and undivided. And it is in the exchange of our hearts for His that we begin to find it.
Image courtesy of the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe
Prep, pray, repeat
The first step to welcoming Jesus into your home as Lord, King, and Friend of your family, is to say a Sacred Heart Novena. EWTN has one here. The Feast Day of the Sacred Heart officially is June 12th; however, the entire month of June is dedicated to the Sacred Heart. It’s best practice to start your novena nine days before the feast day. If your family can’t quite make that timing, a First Friday, Solemnity of the Sacred Heart, or another day works too. Jesus spent most of His hidden life at home. If anyone understands the ups and downs of family life, it’s Him. The non-negotiables are the novena itself, going to Confession, and receiving Communion leading up to your enthronement date.
Second step? Set a place of honor in your home to enthrone an image of the Sacred Heart. Home altar people, rejoice! No home altar? No problem. Try a living room wall, a side table, or a fireplace mantel. The traditional image of the Sacred Heart is the one Pompeo Battoni painted around 1760 from the Church of Gesu in Rome. You can buy Cardinal Burke’s favorite image here to hang in your home.
Here is where we get into the specifics. The enthronement ceremony has specific prayers (which can be found here). Cardinal Burke and CatholicVote have partnered to celebrate America's 250th with this step-by-step enthronement booklet. It is a great comprehensive guide to Sacred Heart Enthronement. A priest can bless the image in-house, if you ask, but the head of household can also lead another set of prayers if a priest isn’t present. Next, you’ll pray the family consecration, and then you will be consecrated to Jesus’ Sacred Heart!
Living out Enthronement
The Flores Mariae gift shop has this great resource where your family can sign their names on this adorably ornate, printable PDF. You can frame and hang this certification or keep it somewhere special!
After enthronement, every day can renew your devotion to the Sacred Heart with a morning offering. This is a simple, yet profound way to live out your consecration. It sets the tone for the day and reminds you Who you’re living for.
Another way to experience the Enthronement is to visit Jesus in the Eucharist. He truly is there! Multiple Eucharistic miracles like the one in Poland in 2008 have found that the Eucharist itself is heart tissue. Receiving Communion is the most intimate part of our day because Jesus' gives His heart to us individually. What an incredible God we have!
If we aren’t able to receive Communion, thinking of a Memorare moment can help us experience God’s Love. A Memorare moment is a memory where you felt fulfilled, loved, and joyful in the presence of Jesus. Returning to these memories gives us the strength to love our families and those around us, helps us continue to do the mundane tasks we would rather ignore, and to give without counting the cost. This kind of love can not only change your life but also the world.