Solemnity of Christ the King and Diocesan Consecration to the Sacred Heart



The Sacred Heart of Jesus

     This Sunday, November 20 is the Solemnity of Christ the King, the last day of the liturgical year.  As the Opening Prayer for Mass says, "Almighty and merciful God, you break the power of evil and make all things new in your Son Jesus Christ, the King of the universe."

   Also on this day, Bishop Paul S. Loverde of our Diocese of Arlington consecrated our diocese to the Sacred Heart.  Writing about today’s consecration, Bishop Loverde said in his Nov. 9 column in the Arlington Catholic Herald, “At the Cathedral of Saint Thomas More at 9:30 a.m., I will consecrate our diocese to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Similarly, each parish will be led in a consecration on that same weekend at each of the Masses.  As part of this consecration, parishioners will be provided with an image of the Sacred Heart to enthrone in their homes, with a place for families and individuals to sign their names in recognition of their own consecration to the Sacred Heart." 

    The Bishop explained how this consecration can help us grow in faith as we engage in the new evangelization, “I am concerned that our hearts are increasingly prone to distraction, anxiety, fear and sin.  Therefore, our need for the Heart of Christ is all the more urgent.  Devotions to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Divine Mercy have greatly helped me in my own life, and I cannot help but hope that others will find them worthy aides to faith.  We can’t share what we don’t have.  If we are not daily cultivating our gaze on the Heart of Christ, then we are not being all that we are called to be.  I hope Fountain of Life, Fire of Love will play a part in spurring men and women of faith to a deeper love of Jesus, and a deeper desire to share His love with others.  This is at the heart of the new evangelization.”    

   The Bishop's column, his pastoral letter on the Sacred Heart of Jesus "Fountain of Life, Fire of Love"  and many resources about the Sacred Heart are available on a new page on the diocesan website about of the Heart of Christ.