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111-680: It is nicknamed the "city of the Sacred Heart " and its inhabitants are called Parodiens and Parodiennes. Paray-le-Monial is located in the southwest of the Saône-et-Loire Département, in the heart of the Charolais countryside, in a plain bounded by the Brionnais upland, the rivers Loire , l' Arroux and the Bourbince . The roughly parallel Bourbince River and the canal du Centre traverse

222-480: A "mystikos" was an initiate of a mystery religion . "Mystical" referred to secret religious rituals and use of the word lacked any direct references to the transcendental. In early Christianity the term mystikos referred to three dimensions, which soon became intertwined, namely the biblical, the liturgical and the spiritual or contemplative. The biblical dimension refers to "hidden" or allegorical interpretations of Scriptures . The liturgical dimension refers to

333-718: A Mass honoring the mystery of the Sacred Heart. In 1693 the Holy See imparted indulgences to the Confraternities of the Sacred Heart, and in 1697 granted the feast to the Visitandines with the Mass of the Five Wounds, but refused a feast common to all, with special Mass and Office. The devotion spread, particularly in religious communities. The Marseille plague in 1720 furnished perhaps

444-564: A better grasp of Latin, that she might better understand the word of God and sing God's praise. Christ granted her request and Lutgarde's mind was flooded with the riches of psalms, antiphons, readings, and responsories. However, a painful emptiness persisted. She returned to Christ, asking to return his gift, and wondering if she might, just possibly, exchange it for another. "And for what would you exchange it?" Christ asked. "Lord, I would exchange it for your Heart." Christ then reached into Lutgarde and, removing her heart, replaced it with his own, at

555-568: A contemporary context. Worship of the Sacred Heart mainly consists of several devotions , practices, consecrations , hymns , the salutation of the Sacred Heart, and the Litany of the Sacred Heart . It is common in Roman Catholic services. Since c.  1850 , groups, congregations, and countries have consecrated themselves to the Sacred Heart. By a law voted on 24 July 1873, the Basilica of

666-452: A day with which the Eudist feast was from then on to be connected. The feast soon spread to other dioceses, and the devotion was likewise adopted in various religious communities. It gradually came into contact with the devotion begun by Margaret Mary Alacoque at Paray-le-Monial , and the two merged. The most significant source for the devotion to the Sacred Heart in the form it is known today

777-544: A feast for it. John Eudes is regarded as "tireless apostle of the devotion of the Sacred Hearts", entitling him as 'Father', doctor and apostle of the liturgical cult of the hearts of Jesus and Mary. Little by little, the devotion to the Sacred Hearts became distinct, and on 31 August 1670 the first feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus was celebrated in the Grand Seminary of Rennes . Coutances followed suit on October 20,

888-406: A feeling of the infinite. The notion of religious experience was used by Schleiermacher to defend religion against the growing scientific and secular critique. It was adopted by many scholars of religion, of which William James was the most influential. McGinn's emphasis on the transformation that occurs through mystical activity relates to this idea of "presence" instead of "experience": This

999-450: A few reflections on the usefulness of the devotion. This journal, including the account – an "offering" to the Sacred Heart in which the devotion was explained – was published at Lyon in 1684. The little book was widely read, especially at Paray-le-Monial. Margaret Mary reported feeling "dreadful confusion" over the book's contents, but resolved to make the best of it, approving of the book for the spreading of her cherished devotion. Along with

1110-423: A further distinction, within contemplation, between contemplation acquired by human effort and infused contemplation. In early Christianity the term "mystikos" referred to three dimensions, which soon became intertwined, namely the biblical, the liturgical and the spiritual or contemplative. The biblical dimension refers to "hidden" or allegorical interpretations of Scriptures. The liturgical dimension refers to

1221-501: A lasting influence on Eastern Christian thought, further develops the idea that the spiritual realities can be found through allegorical readings of the scriptures (along the lines of Jewish aggadah tradition), but he focuses his attention on the cross and on the importance of imitating Christ through the cross, especially through spiritual combat and asceticism. Origen stresses the importance of combining intellect and virtue ( theoria and praxis ) in our spiritual exercises, drawing on

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1332-431: A personal matter of cultivating inner states of tranquility and equanimity, which, rather than seeking to transform the world, serve to accommodate the individual to the status quo through the alleviation of anxiety and stress. Mystical experience is not simply a matter between the mystic and God, but is often shaped by cultural issues. For instance, Caroline Bynum has shown how, in the late Middle Ages, miracles attending

1443-459: A process that is embedded in a total religious matrix of liturgy, scripture, worship, virtues, theology, rituals and practices. Richard King also points to disjunction between "mystical experience" and social justice: The privatisation of mysticism – that is, the increasing tendency to locate the mystical in the psychological realm of personal experiences – serves to exclude it from political issues as social justice. Mysticism thus becomes seen as

1554-766: A somewhat lesser extent the two Mechthildes – experienced this devotion centrally in their mystical visions. In the 16th century, the devotion passed from the domain of mysticism into that of Christian asceticism . It was established as a devotion with prayers already formulated and special exercises, found in the writings of Lanspergius (d. 1539) of the Carthusians of Cologne, the Benedictine Louis de Blois (d. 1566) Abbot of Liessies in Hainaut , John of Avila (d. 1569), and Francis de Sales (d. 1622). The historical record from that time shows an early bringing to light of

1665-399: A type of " insight ", theoria was the act of perceiving in the wording and "story" of Scripture a moral and spiritual meaning," and may be regarded as a form of allegory. The Alexandrian contribution to Christian mysticism centers on Origen ( c.  185  – c.  253 ) and Clement of Alexandria (150–215 AD). Clement was an early Christian humanist who argued that reason

1776-585: Is also endorsed by the World Apostolate of Fátima . The Scapular of the Sacred Heart and the Scapular of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary are devotional articles worn by some Catholics . Christian mysticism Christian mysticism is the tradition of mystical practices and mystical theology within Christianity which "concerns the preparation [of the person] for, the consciousness of, and

1887-523: Is also one of the historical monuments. Another major building in Paray-le-Monial, is Saint Nicolas' tower, built during the 16th century, which hosts different exhibitions but mainly mosaic exhibitions. The area's primary industry is agriculture in particular beef cattle farming. The area is known for its charolais cattle . Paray-le-Monial is twinned with: Sacred Heart The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus ( Latin : Cor Jesu Sacratissimum )

1998-722: Is briefly revealed in his heavenly glory, also become important images for meditation. Moreover, many of the Christian texts build on Jewish spiritual foundations, such as chokmah , shekhinah . But different writers present different images and ideas. The Synoptic Gospels (in spite of their many differences) introduce several important ideas, two of which are related to Greco-Judaic notions of knowledge/ gnosis by virtue of being mental acts: purity of heart, in which we will to see in God's light; and repentance , which involves allowing God to judge and then transform us. Another key idea presented by

2109-486: Is celebrated the third Friday after Pentecost . The 12 promises of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus are also popular. The devotion is especially concerned with what the church deems to be the long-suffering love and compassion of the heart of Christ towards humanity. The popularization of this devotion in its modern form is derived from a Roman Catholic nun from France , Margaret Mary Alacoque , who said she learned

2220-524: Is considered the most important of ancient philosophers, and his philosophical system provides the basis of most later mystical forms. Plotinus (c. 205 – 270 AD) provided the non-Christian, neo-Platonic basis for much Christian, Jewish and Islamic mysticism . For Plato , what the contemplative ( theoros ) contemplates ( theorei ) are the Forms , the realities underlying the individual appearances, and one who contemplates these atemporal and aspatial realities

2331-517: Is contemplation. ... Contemplation is therefore the end of action" and "Such is the life of the divinity and of divine and blessed men: detachments from all things here below, scorn of all earthly pleasures, the flight of the lone to the Alone." The Christian scriptures, insofar as they are the founding narrative of the Christian church, provide many key stories and concepts that become important for Christian mystics in all later generations: practices such as

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2442-527: Is derived from contemplation. The first hypostasis, the One, is contemplation (by the nous, or second hypostasis) in that "it turns to itself in the simplest regard, implying no complexity or need"; this reflecting back on itself emanated (not created) the second hypostasis, Intellect (in Greek Νοῦς, Nous ), Plotinus describes as "living contemplation", being "self-reflective and contemplative activity par excellence", and

2553-630: Is described as a "loving contemplation", and, according to Thomas Keating , the Greek Fathers of the Church, in taking over from the Neoplatonists the word theoria , attached to it the idea expressed by the Hebrew word da'ath , which, though usually translated as "knowledge", is a much stronger term, since it indicates the experiential knowledge that comes with love and that involves the whole person, not merely

2664-505: Is enriched with a perspective on ordinary things superior to that of ordinary people. Philip of Opus viewed theoria as contemplation of the stars, with practical effects in everyday life similar to those that Plato saw as following from contemplation of the Forms. In the Enneads of Plotinus (c.204/5–270 CE), a founder of Neoplatonism , everything is contemplation ( theoria ) and everything

2775-583: Is he who hangs on the cross for you. His death brings the dead to life, but at his passing heaven and earth are plunged into mourning and hard rocks are split asunder. It was a divine decree that permitted one of the soldiers to open his sacred side with a lance. This was done so that the Church might be formed from the side of Christ as he slept the sleep of death on the cross, and so that the Scripture might be fulfilled: 'They shall look on him whom they pierced'. The blood and water, which poured out at that moment, were

2886-460: Is less interested in knowledge, preferring to emphasize the hiddenness, the "mystery" of God's plan as revealed through Christ. But Paul's discussion of the Cross differs from John's in being less about how it reveals God's glory and more about how it becomes the stumbling block that turns our minds back to God. Paul also describes the Christian life as that of an athlete, demanding practice and training for

2997-549: Is looking at, gazing at, aware of divine realities." Several scholars have demonstrated similarities between the Greek idea of theoria and the Indian idea of darśana (darshan), including Ian Rutherford and Gregory Grieve. "Mysticism" is derived from the Greek μύω, meaning "to conceal," and its derivative μυστικός , mystikos , meaning "an initiate." In the Hellenistic world,

3108-517: Is more accurate than "union," since not all mystics spoke of union with God, and since many visions and miracles were not necessarily related to union. McGinn also argues that we should speak of "consciousness" of God's presence, rather than of "experience", since mystical activity is not simply about the sensation of God as an external object, but more broadly about ...new ways of knowing and loving based on states of awareness in which God becomes present in our inner acts. William James popularized

3219-524: Is one of the most widely practised and well-known Catholic devotions , wherein the heart of Jesus Christ is viewed as a symbol of "God's boundless and passionate love for mankind". This devotion to Christ is predominantly used in the Catholic Church , followed by high church Anglicans , and some Western Rite Orthodox . In the Latin Church , the liturgical Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

3330-428: Is the most important aspect of human existence and that gnosis (not something we can attain by ourselves, but the gift of Christ) helps us find the spiritual realities that are hidden behind the natural world and within the scriptures. Given the importance of reason, Clement stresses apatheia as a reasonable ordering of our passions in order to live within God's love, which is seen as a form of truth. Origen, who had

3441-510: Is understood as "a gift of the Holy Spirit that enables us to know Christ" through meditating on the scriptures and on the cross of Christ. (This understanding of gnosis is not the same as that developed by the Gnostics , who focused on esoteric knowledge that is available only to a few people but that allows them to free themselves from the evil world. ) These authors also discuss the notion of

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3552-473: Is why the only test that Christianity has known for determining the authenticity of a mystic and her or his message has been that of personal transformation, both on the mystic's part and—especially—on the part of those whom the mystic has affected. Parsons points out that the stress on "experience" is accompanied by favoring the atomic individual, instead of the shared life on the community. It also fails to distinguish between episodic experience, and mysticism as

3663-489: The Blessed Sacrament as much as possible. He gave her his heart as a pledge of his love, as a place of refuge during her life and as her consolation at the hour of her death. From this time Mechtilde had an extraordinary devotion for the Sacred Heart, and said that if she had to write down all the favors and all the blessings which she had received by means of this devotion, a large book would not contain them. Gertrude

3774-503: The Bull of Canonization of Margaret Mary Alacoque on 13 May 1920, Pope Benedict XV encouraged the practice of this act of reparation of the first nine fridays in honor of the Sacred Heart. Pope Pius XII , on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Pius IX's institution of the feast, instructed the entire Latin Church at length on the devotion to the Sacred Heart in his encyclical letter Haurietis aquas of 15 May 1956. On 15 May 2006,

3885-599: The Eucharist , baptism and the Lord's Prayer all become activities that take on importance for both their ritual and symbolic values. Other scriptural narratives present scenes that become the focus of meditation: the crucifixion of Jesus and his appearances after his resurrection are two of the most central to Christian theology; but Jesus' conception, in which the Holy Spirit overshadows Mary, and his transfiguration , in which he

3996-568: The Franciscans , Dominicans , and Carthusians . Among the Franciscans the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus has its champions in Bonaventure (d. 1274) in his Vitis Mystica ("Mystic Vine") and John de la Verna. Bonaventure wrote: "Who is there who would not love this wounded heart? Who would not love in return Him, who loves so much?" It was, nevertheless, a private, individual devotion of

4107-789: The Stoics and Essenes with the active lives of virtue and community worship found in Platonism and the Therapeutae . Using terms reminiscent of the Platonists, Philo described the intellectual component of faith as a sort of spiritual ecstasy in which our nous (mind) is suspended and God's spirit takes its place. Philo's ideas influenced the Alexandrian Christians, Clement , and Origen , and through them, Gregory of Nyssa . Inspired by Christ's teaching and example, men and women withdrew to

4218-539: The apparitions of Christ reported by Margaret Mary Alacoque . This devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus was fully approved by the Catholic Church and a "Great Promise" of final penance was made to those who practice the First Fridays Devotion. The devotion consists of several practices that are performed on the first Fridays of nine consecutive months. On these days, a person is to attend Mass and receive

4329-710: The "two ways", that is, the way of life and the way of death; this idea has biblical roots, being found in both the Sermon on the Mount and the Torah . The two ways are then related to the notion of purity of heart, which is developed by contrasting it against the divided or duplicitous heart and by linking it to the need for asceticism, which keeps the heart whole/pure. Purity of heart was especially important given perceptions of martyrdom, which many writers discussed in theological terms, seeing it not as an evil but as an opportunity to truly die for

4440-518: The 50th anniversary of that encyclical, Pope Benedict XVI sent a letter to Peter Hans Kolvenbach , the Superior General of the Society of Jesus , reaffirming the importance of the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. On 24 October 2024, Pope Francis published his fourth encyclical, the 28,000-word Dilexit nos ("He loved us"), which addresses the importance of the devotion to the Sacred Heart in

4551-547: The Eucharist. If the need arises, in order to receive communion in a state of grace, a person should also make use of the sacrament of penance before attending Mass. Alacoque stated that she received a vision of Jesus in which she was instructed to spend an hour every Thursday night as a reparation and to pray and meditate on his agony in the Garden of Gethsemane . This practice later became widespread among Roman Catholics and became

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4662-454: The Garden of Gethsemane. Her prayers intended to ask mercy for sinners as well as to make reparation for the abandonment Jesus felt from his apostles in the garden. This practice is now known as the " Holy Hour " and is also frequently performed during an hour of Eucharistic adoration . During the octave of Corpus Christi in 1675, probably on June 16, the vision known as the "great revelation" reportedly took place, where Jesus said: "Behold

4773-571: The Great was an early devotee of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Book 2 of the Herald of Divine Love ( Latin : Legatus divinæ pietatis ) vividly describes Gertrude's visions, which show a considerable elaboration on the hitherto ill-defined veneration of Christ's heart. Bernard articulated this in his commentary on the Song of Songs . The women of Helfta – Gertrude foremost, who surely knew Bernard's commentary, and to

4884-572: The Sacred Heart of Montmartre known as National Vow , is declared of public utility by the National Assembly of 1871. On 16 June 1875, the Archbishop of Paris , Cardinal Guibert layed the first stone of the basilica, honoring after two hundred years the fourth request of Jesus reported by Margaret Mary Alacoque from 16 June 1675. On 25 March 1874, by petition of president Gabriel García Moreno and archbishop José Ignacio Checa y Barba, Ecuador

4995-456: The Sacred Heart image. (Enthroning the Sacred Heart in a home should not be confused with the practice of having a priest bless a home, which is customarily done when a family first occupies a new home.) The presence of a priest is not required for an Enthronement. The practice of the home enthronement of the Sacred Heart was started by R. Mateo Crawley-Boevey, a priest of the Congregation of

5106-572: The Sacred Heart of Jesus (also referred as Church of the Good Shepherd or Sanctuary of the Sacred Heart of Jesus) was built between 14 July 1957 and 21 April 1966, in the civil parish of Ermesinde in north Portugal , and consecrated to the Heart of Christ in fulfillment of the vow made by the nun. She is buried in the Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Ermesinde . In 1353, Pope Innocent VI instituted

5217-682: The Sacred Heart of Jesus on 8 June 1899. The following day, Pope Leo XIII consecrated the entire world to the Sacred Heart of Jesus . Mary of the Divine Heart said that in her mystical experiences Jesus Christ inspired her to build a shrine dedicated to his Sacred Heart. According to the writings of Sister Mary of the Divine Heart, Jesus said: "I will make it a place of graces. I will distribute copiously graces to all who live in this house [the convent], those who live here now, those who will live here after, and even to their relatives." She did not live to see this come to fruition. The imposing Church of

5328-589: The Sacred Heart of Jesus. Pope Pius X also granted a Pontifical decree for the imposition of a golden crown to the lowly foot of a statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in the Nevers Cathedral on 9 July 1908 (via the Archbishop of Nevers and Besancon , Francois Leon Gauthey, both signed and notarized by the Sacred Congregation of Rites ). By inserting the "Great Promise" of the First Fridays Devotion into

5439-513: The Sacred Heart, making him the first person to be consecrated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus after Margaret Mary, and began spreading the devotion. De la Colombière directed her to write an account of the apparitions, which he discreetly circulated in France and England. After his death on 15 February 1682, his journal of spiritual retreats was found to contain a copy in his handwriting of the account that he had requested of Margaret Mary, together with

5550-591: The Sacred Heart. The Feast of the Sacred Heart is a solemnity in the liturgical calendar of the Latin Church . It is celebrated on the third Friday after Pentecost , which was up until the changes in the General Roman Calendar of Pope Pius XII referred to as the Friday after the octave of Corpus Christi. It is the last feast day of the year that is dependent on the date of Easter . The acts of consecration , reparation , and devotion were introduced when

5661-399: The Sacred Heart. The First Fridays Devotion , which is the reception of Holy Communion on nine first Fridays of each month, was revealed to her through a "Great Promise" of final penance granted to those who practice this act of reparation . Margaret Mary also said that she was instructed to spend an hour every Thursday night, from eleven to midnight, to pray and meditate on Jesus' agony in

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5772-773: The Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary , in 1907, having visited the apparition chapel in Paray-le-Monial . Enthronement of the Sacred Heart is promoted by the National Enthronement Center in Fairhaven, Massachusetts, the Sacred Heart Apostolate of Knoxville, Tennessee, Sacred Heart Columbus in Columbus, Ohio, and the Sacred Heart Enthronement Network, a 501(c)(3) located in Columbus, Ohio. It

5883-527: The Sacred Wound in the side of Jesus. The first indications of devotion to the Sacred Heart are found in the eleventh and twelfth centuries in the fervent atmosphere of the Benedictine or Cistercian monasteries . It is impossible to say with certainty what were its first texts or who were its first devotees. Bernard of Clairvaux ( d. 1153) said that the piercing of Christ's side revealed his goodness and

5994-478: The Synoptics in stressing knowledge or John in stressing love. In his letters, Paul also focuses on mental activities, but not in the same way as the Synoptics, which equate renewing the mind with repentance. Instead, Paul sees the renewal of our minds as happening as we contemplate what Jesus did on the cross, which then opens us to grace and to the movement of the Holy Spirit into peoples' hearts. Like John, Paul

6105-433: The Synoptics is the desert, which is used as a metaphor for the place where we meet God in the poverty of our spirit. The Gospel of John focuses on God's glory in his use of light imagery and in his presentation of the cross as a moment of exaltation; he also sees the cross as the example of agape love, a love which is not so much an emotion as a willingness to serve and care for others. But in stressing love, John shifts

6216-464: The Visitandines, priests, religious , and laymen espoused the devotion, particularly the Capuchins . The reported apparitions served as a catalyst for the promotion of the devotion to the Sacred Heart. In 1691 Jesuit priest John Croiset wrote a book called De la Dévotion au Sacré Cœur , and Joseph de Gallifet promoted the devotion. The mission of propagating the new devotion was especially confided to

6327-537: The charity of his heart for humanity. The earliest known hymn to the Sacred Heart, "Summi Regis Cor Aveto" , is believed to have been written by the Norbertine Herman Joseph (d. 1241) of Cologne, Germany. The hymn begins: "I hail Thee kingly Heart most high." From the 13th to the 16th centuries, the devotion was propagated but it did not seem to have been embellished. It was everywhere practised by individuals and by different religious congregations, such as

6438-528: The city from the southeast to the northwest. Among the elements that form the city, as it has developed over its history, are the upland near the Bourbince River, the priory and basilica, a rectangular town center with very dense housing, national highway N79, which crosses the Bourbince River east and west of the town center, a newer part of town located north of the town center, the Bellevue residential area to

6549-447: The consecration of the human race performed by Leo XIII be renewed each year. Pius XI affirmed the church's position with respect to Margaret Mary Alacoque's visions of Jesus Christ by stating that Jesus had "manifested Himself" to Alacoque and had "promised her that all those who rendered this honor to his Heart would be endowed with an abundance of heavenly graces." The encyclical reaffirmed the importance of consecration and reparation to

6660-482: The deserts of Sketes where, either as solitary individuals or communities, they lived lives of austere simplicity oriented towards contemplative prayer . These communities formed the basis for what later would become known as Christian monasticism . The Eastern church then saw the development of monasticism and the mystical contributions of Gregory of Nyssa , Evagrius Ponticus , and Pseudo-Dionysius . Monasticism, also known as anchoritism (meaning "to withdraw")

6771-462: The devotion from Jesus during a series of apparitions to her between 1673 and 1675, and later, in the 19th century, from the mystical revelations of another Catholic nun in Portugal , Mary of the Divine Heart , a religious sister of the congregation of the Good Shepherd , who requested in the name of Christ that Pope Leo XIII consecrate the entire world to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Predecessors to

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6882-566: The devotion of the Holy Hour , a devotional tradition of spending an hour in prayers or in Eucharistic adoration in the presence of the Eucharist. The Act of enthroning the Sacred Heart entails placing an image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in a place of honor in the home after a time of prayerful preparation. Many families will also place an image of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in tandem with

6993-414: The devotion to his Sacred Heart. Right after this, she had a vision of his heart with a crown of thorns, surrounded by flames and above which a cross was planted. This representation will become the popular image of the Sacred Heart which Margaret Mary used to propagate the devotion. Between 1674 and 1675, other apparitions followed in which Jesus Christ revealed to Alacoque different forms of devotion to

7104-582: The devotion. Ascetic writers spoke of it, especially those of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). The image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus was everywhere in evidence, largely due to the Franciscan devotion to the Five Wounds and to the Jesuits placing the image on the title-page of their books and on the walls of their churches. The first to establish the theological basis for the devotion was Polish Jesuit Kasper Drużbicki (1590–1662) in his book Meta cordium – Cor Jesu ( The goal of hearts – Heart of Jesus ). Not much later John Eudes wrote an office, and promoted

7215-503: The effect of [...] a direct and transformative presence of God " or divine love . Until the sixth century the practice of what is now called mysticism was referred to by the term contemplatio , c.q. theoria , from contemplatio ( Latin ; Greek θεωρία , theoria ), "looking at", "gazing at", "being aware of" God or the divine. Christianity took up the use of both the Greek ( theoria ) and Latin ( contemplatio , contemplation) terminology to describe various forms of prayer and

7326-413: The feast of the Sacred Heart was declared. Some Anglican Franciscans keep the feast under the name (The) Divine Compassion of Christ . The month of June is traditionally devoted in a special way to the veneration of the Sacred Heart. Masses, novenas, and the recitation of devotional prayers in honor of the Sacred Heart are traditionally observed. A personal prayer of consecration to the Sacred Heart

7437-458: The first occasion for a solemn consecration and public worship outside of religious communities. Other cities of southern Europe followed the example of Marseille. After Pope Leo XIII received correspondence from Mary of the Divine Heart asking him to consecrate the entire world to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, he commissioned a group of theologians to examine the petition on the basis of revelation and sacred tradition. The outcome of this investigation

7548-444: The following concepts: In Christian mysticism, Shekhinah became mystery , Da'at (knowledge) became gnosis , and poverty became an important component of monasticism . The term theoria was used by the ancient Greeks to refer to the act of experiencing or observing, and then comprehending through nous . The influences of Greek thought are apparent in the earliest Christian mystics and their writings. Plato (428–348 BC)

7659-483: The goal of spiritual growth away from knowledge/ gnosis , which he presents more in terms of Stoic ideas about the role of reason as being the underlying principle of the universe and as the spiritual principle within all people. Although John does not follow up on the Stoic notion that this principle makes union with the divine possible for humanity, it is an idea that later Christian writers develop. Later generations will also shift back and forth between whether to follow

7770-419: The great precursors of the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. A contemporary of Francis of Assisi, she "entered upon the mystical life with a vision of the pierced Heart of the Saviour, and had concluded her mystical espousals with the Incarnate Word by an exchange of hearts with Him." Sources say that Christ came in a visitation to Lutgarde, offering her whatever gift of grace she should desire; she asked for

7881-493: The heart which has so loved men that it has spared nothing, even to exhausting and consuming itself, in order to testify its love; and in return, I receive from the greater part only ingratitude, by their irreverence and sacrilege, and by the coldness and contempt they have for me in this sacrament of love." He then asked Margaret Mary for a feast of reparation of the Friday after the octave of Corpus Christi, bidding her consult her confessor Claude de la Colombière , then superior of

7992-442: The heart. The wounds and crown of thorns allude to the manner of Christ's passion , while the flames represent a furnace of ardent love. Historically, the devotion to the Sacred Heart is an outgrowth of devotion to what is believed to be Christ's sacred humanity. During the first ten centuries of Christianity, there is nothing to indicate that any worship was rendered to the wounded Heart of Jesus. The revival of religious life and

8103-592: The image of Moses and Aaron leading the Israelites through the wilderness, and he describes our union with God as the marriage of our souls with Christ the Logos , using the wedding imagery from the Song of Songs . Alexandrian mysticism developed alongside Hermeticism and Neoplatonism and therefore share some of the same ideas, images, etc. in spite of their differences. Philo of Alexandria (20 BCE – c.  50 CE)

8214-532: The influence of Mary of the Divine Heart and in response to demands received over 25 years. On 19 May 1908, a particular family consecration prayer known as the Act of Consecration of the Family to the Sacred Heart was approved and granted with an indulgence by Pope Pius X . The First Fridays Devotion is a devotion to offer reparations for sins to the Eucharist and in honor of the Sacred Heart, which had its origin in

8325-502: The influence of Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite (late 5th to early 6th century) the mystical theology came to denote the investigation of the allegorical truth of the Bible, and "the spiritual awareness of the ineffable Absolute beyond the theology of divine names." Pseudo-Dionysius' apophatic theology , or "negative theology", exerted a great influence on medieval monastic religiosity. It

8436-557: The last vision and private revelation was reported during her presence as mother superior in the Convent of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd in Porto , Portugal. Based on the messages she said she received in her revelations of Christ, on 10 June 1898 her confessor at the Good Shepherd monastery wrote to Pope Leo XIII stating that Mary of the Divine Heart had received a message from Christ, requesting

8547-431: The liturgical mystery of the Eucharist , the presence of Christ at the Eucharist. The third dimension is the contemplative or experiential knowledge of God. Bernard McGinn defines Christian mysticism as: [T]hat part, or element, of Christian belief and practice that concerns the preparation for, the consciousness of, and the effect of [...] a direct and transformative presence of God. McGinn argues that "presence"

8658-429: The liturgical mystery of the Eucharist, the presence of Christ at the Eucharist. The third dimension is the contemplative or experiential knowledge of God. The 9th century saw the development of mystical theology through the introduction of the works of sixth-century theologian Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite , such as On Mystical Theology . His discussion of the via negativa was especially influential. Under

8769-508: The mind. Among the Greek Fathers, Christian theoria was not contemplation of Platonic Ideas nor of the astronomical heavens of Pontic Heraclitus, but "studying the Scriptures", with an emphasis on the spiritual sense. Later, contemplation came to be distinguished from intellectual life, leading to the identification of θεωρία or contemplatio with a form of prayer distinguished from discursive meditation in both East and West. Some make

8880-551: The modern devotion arose unmistakably in the Middle Ages in various facets of Catholic mysticism , particularly with Gertrude the Great . The Sacred Heart is often depicted in Christian art as a flaming heart shining with divine light, pierced by the lance-wound, encircled by the crown of thorns , surmounted by a cross, and bleeding. Sometimes, the image is shown shining within the bosom of Christ with his wounded hands pointing at

8991-786: The mystical order. Nothing of a general movement had been inaugurated, except for similarities found in the devotion to the Five Holy Wounds by the Franciscans, in which the wound in Jesus's heart figured most prominently. Bonaventure's Opusculum 3, Lignum vitae (a part from which is the reading for the Divine Office on the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart) refers to the heart as the fountain from which God's love poured into one's life: Take thought now, redeemed man, and consider how great and worthy

9102-475: The particular cultural and theological issues of the time. The idea of mystical realities has been widely held in Christianity since the second century AD, referring not simply to spiritual practices, but also to the belief that their rituals and even their scriptures have hidden ("mystical") meanings. The link between mysticism and the vision of the divine was introduced by the early Church Fathers , who used

9213-407: The pope to consecrate the entire world to the Sacred Heart. The pope initially attached no credence to it and took no action. However, on 6 January 1899 she sent another letter asking that in addition to the consecration, the first Fridays of the month be observed in honor of the Sacred Heart. Mary of the Divine Heart died in her monastery in Portugal when the church was singing the first vespers of

9324-448: The price of our salvation. Flowing from the secret abyss of our Lord's heart as from a fountain, this stream gave the sacraments of the Church the power to confer the life of grace, while for those already living in Christ it became a spring of living water welling up to life everlasting. According to Thomas Merton , Lutgarde (d. 1246), a Cistercian mystic of Aywieres , Belgium, was one of

9435-412: The process of coming to know God. Contemplative practices range from simple prayerful meditation of holy scripture (i.e. Lectio Divina ) to contemplation on the presence of God, resulting in theosis (spiritual union with God) and ecstatic visions of the soul's mystical union with God . Three stages are discerned in contemplative practice, namely catharsis (purification), contemplation proper, and

9546-456: The religious of the Visitation and to the priests of the Society of Jesus. Alacoque said that in her apparitions Jesus promised specific blessings to those who practice devotion to his Sacred Heart. The last promise, also called the "Great Promise", is a promise of final penance granted to those who practice the First Fridays Devotion. Another source for the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

9657-559: The sake of God—the ultimate example of ascetic practice. Martyrdom could also be seen as symbolic in its connections with the Eucharist and with baptism. Theoria enabled the Fathers to perceive depths of meaning in the biblical writings that escape a purely scientific or empirical approach to interpretation. The Antiochene Fathers, in particular, saw in every passage of Scripture a double meaning, both literal and spiritual. As Frances Margaret Young notes, "Best translated in this context as

9768-461: The sake of the prize; later writers will see in this image a call to ascetical practices . The texts attributed to the Apostolic Fathers , the earliest post-Biblical texts we have, share several key themes, particularly the call to unity in the face of internal divisions and perceptions of persecution, the reality of the charisms , especially prophecy, visions, and Christian gnosis , which

9879-441: The same time hiding her heart within his breast. Mechtilde of Helfta (d. 1298) became an ardent devotee and promoter of Jesus' heart after it was the subject of many of her visions. The idea of hearing the heartbeat of God was very important to medieval saints who nurtured devotion to the Sacred Heart. Mechtilde reported that Jesus appeared to her in a vision and commanded her to love him ardently, and to honor his sacred heart in

9990-459: The small Jesuit house at Paray-le-Monial. This request was transmitted and the feast of the Sacred Heart was progressively instituted throughout the Church. The feast later became a solemnity in the liturgical calendar , a feast of the highest rank, celebrated eight days after the Feast of Corpus Christi just as Jesus requested. On 21 June 1675, following that apparition, Claude consecrated himself to

10101-406: The southwest, and several suburbs. Paray ( Paredum ; Parodium ) existed before the monks who gave it its surname of Le Monial , for when Count Lambert of Chalon , together with his wife Adelaide and his friend Mayeul de Cluny , founded there in 973 the celebrated Benedictine priory, the borough had already been constituted, with its ædiles and communal privileges. At that time an ancient temple

10212-409: The state of being a spectator . Both Greek θεωρία and Latin contemplatio primarily meant looking at things, whether with the eyes or with the mind. According to William Johnston, until the sixth century the practice of what is now called mysticism was referred to by the term contemplatio , c.q. theoria . According to Johnston, "[b]oth contemplation and mysticism speak of the eye of love which

10323-456: The story of Jacob's ladder —and sought to fend off the demon of acedia ("un-caring"), a boredom or apathy that prevents us from continuing on in our spiritual training. Anchorites could live in total solitude (" hermits ", from the word erēmitēs , "of the desert") or in loose communities (" cenobites ", meaning "common life"). Monasticism eventually made its way to the West and was established by

10434-513: The taking of the Eucharist were not simply symbolic of the Passion story, but served as vindication of the mystic's theological orthodoxy by proving that the mystic had not fallen prey to heretical ideas, such as the Cathar rejection of the material world as evil, contrary to orthodox teaching that God took on human flesh and remained sinless. Thus, the nature of mystical experience could be tailored to

10545-433: The term as an adjective, as in mystical theology and mystical contemplation. In subsequent centuries, especially as Christian apologetics began to use Greek philosophy to explain Christian ideas, Neoplatonism became an influence on Christian mystical thought and practice via such authors as Augustine of Hippo and Origen . Jewish spirituality in the period before Jesus was highly corporate and public, based mostly on

10656-439: The third hypostatic level has theoria . Knowledge of the one is achieved through experience of its power, an experience that is contemplation ( theoria ) of the source of all things. Plotinus agreed with Aristotle's systematic distinction between contemplation ( theoria ) and practice ( praxis ): dedication to the superior life of theoria requires abstention from practical, active life. Plotinus explained: "The point of action

10767-453: The use of the term " religious experience " in his 1902 book The Varieties of Religious Experience . It has also influenced the understanding of mysticism as a distinctive experience which supplies knowledge. Wayne Proudfoot traces the roots of the notion of religious experience further back to the German theologian Friedrich Schleiermacher (1768–1834), who argued that religion is based on

10878-565: The vision of God. Contemplative practices have a prominent place in Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy , and have gained a renewed interest in Western Christianity. The Greek theoria (θεωρία) meant "contemplation, speculation, a looking at, things looked at", from theorein (θεωρεῖν) "to consider, speculate, look at", from theoros (θεωρός) "spectator", from thea (θέα) "a view" + horan (ὁρᾶν) "to see". It expressed

10989-537: The work of John Cassian and Benedict of Nursia . Meanwhile, Western spiritual writing was deeply influenced by the works of such men as Jerome and Augustine of Hippo . Neo-Platonism has had a profound influence on Christian contemplative traditions. Neoplatonic ideas were adopted by Christianity, among them the idea of theoria or contemplation, taken over by Gregory of Nyssa for example. The Brill Dictionary of Gregory of Nyssa remarks that contemplation in Gregory

11100-552: The worship services of the synagogues, which included the reading and interpretation of the Hebrew Scriptures and the recitation of prayers, and on the major festivals. Thus, private spirituality was strongly influenced by the liturgies and by the scriptures (e.g., the use of the Psalms for prayer), and individual prayers often recalled historical events just as much as they recalled their own immediate needs. Of special importance are

11211-668: The zealous activity of Bernard of Clairvaux and Francis of Assisi in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, together with the enthusiasm of the Crusaders returning from the Holy Land, gave a rise to devotion to the Passion of Jesus Christ and particularly to practices in honour of the Sacred Wounds . Devotion to the Sacred Heart developed out of the devotion to the Holy Wounds, in particular to

11322-453: Was Mary of the Divine Heart (1863–1899), a religious sister from the Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd , who reported to have received several interior locutions and visions of Jesus Christ. The first interior locution Mary of the Divine Heart reported was during her youth spent with the family in the Castle of Darfeld  [ de ] , near Münster , Germany, and

11433-687: Was Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647–1690), a nun of the Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary , who claimed to have received Sacred Heart revelations from Jesus Christ between 1673 and 1675 in the Burgundian French village of Paray-le-Monial . The first apparition took place on 27 December 1673, the day of the feast of Saint John the Evangelist , during which Jesus allowed Margaret Mary to rest her head upon his heart, telling her that he wanted to make his love known to all mankind and that he had chosen her to spread

11544-419: Was a Jewish Hellenistic philosopher who was important for connecting the Hebrew Scriptures to Greek thought, and thereby to Greek Christians, who struggled to understand their connection to Jewish history. In particular, Philo taught that allegorical interpretations of the Hebrew scriptures provides access to the real meanings of the texts. Philo also taught the need to bring together the contemplative focus of

11655-654: Was dedicated to the Mother of God (Charter of Paray). The Cluny monks were, 999–1789, lords of the town. The town is mainly known for its Romanesque church of the Sacré-Coeur ("Sacred Heart") and as a place of pilgrimage . It was built starting in the 12th century as a small-scale version of the Abbey of Cluny . It was finished in the 14th century, while the cloister dates to the 18th century. The Hôtel de Ville, in Renaissance style,

11766-475: Was influenced by Neo-Platonism , and very influential in Eastern Orthodox Christian theology . In western Christianity it was a counter-current to the prevailing Cataphatic theology or "positive theology". Within theistic mysticism two broad tendencies can be identified. One is a tendency to understand God by asserting what he is and the other by asserting what he is not. The former leads to what

11877-505: Was officially consecrated to the Sacred Heart by King Alfonso XIII . In the Catholic tradition , the Sacred Heart has been closely associated with Acts of Reparation to Jesus Christ . In his encyclical Miserentissimus Redemptor , Pope Pius XI stated: "The spirit of expiation or reparation has always had the first and foremost place in the worship given to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus." The Golden Arrow Prayer directly refers to

11988-647: Was positive, and in 1899 he decreed that the consecration of the entire human race to the Sacred Heart of Jesus should take place on 11 June 1899. The encyclical letter also encouraged the entire Roman Catholic episcopate to promote the First Friday Devotions , established June as the Month of the Sacred Heart, and included the Prayer of Consecration to the Sacred Heart . The idea of this act, which Leo XIII called "the great act" of his pontificate. Pope Pius X decreed that

12099-495: Was seen as an alternative to martyrdom, and was less about escaping the world than about fighting demons (who were thought to live in the desert) and about gaining liberation from our bodily passions in order to be open to the word of God. Anchorites practiced continuous meditation on the scriptures as a means of climbing the ladder of perfection—a common religious image in the Mediterranean world and one found in Christianity through

12210-449: Was the first country in the world to be consecrated to the Sacred Heart by legislative decree. Since then, more than twenty countries have followed and consecrated themselves either by decree or at the initiative of their respective national Church, some of which renewed their consecration a few times. On 22 June 1902, Colombia was consecrated by decree with the agreement of president José Manuel Marroquín . On 30 May 1919, Spain

12321-484: Was written by Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque , allegedly under the inspiration of Jesus, which she wrote to the priest John Croiset, recommending that he include it in the book he was to publish about her revelations "It comes from Him, and He would not agree to its omission." On 25 may 1899, Pope Leo XIII wrote an Act of Consecration of the Human Race to the Sacred Heart in his encyclical letter Annum sacrum , with

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