Sacred Heart of Jesus

Act of Consecration to the Sacred Heart

O Sacred Heart of Jesus, to Thee I consecrate and offer up my person and my life, my actions, trials, and sufferings, that my entire being may henceforth only be employed in loving, honoring and glorifying Thee. This is my irrevocable will, to belong entirely to Thee, and to do all for Thy love, renouncing with my whole heart all that can displease Thee.

I take Thee, O Sacred Heart, for the sole object of my love, the protection of my life, the pledge of my salvation, the remedy of my frailty and inconstancy, the reparation for all the defects of my life, and my secure refuge at the hour of my death. Be Thou, O Most Merciful Heart, my justification before God Thy Father, and screen me from His anger which I have so justly merited. I fear all from my own weakness and malice, but placing my entire confidence in Thee, O Heart of Love, I hope all from Thine infinite Goodness. Annihilate in me all that can displease or resist Thee. Imprint Thy pure love so deeply in my heart that I may never forget Thee or be separated from Thee.
I beseech Thee, through Thine infinite Goodness, grant that my name be engraved upon Thy Heart, for in this I place all my happiness and all my glory, to live and to die as one of Thy devoted servants.

Amen.

Just Another Day

Didn't know that it could happen and yet it has, a spring cold has arrived. Lack of sleep didn't help but as always it's keeping a cheerful attitude when the sinuses want to explode. I think the best part of a head cold is hearing people say God bless you without refraining from only saying bless you when we sneeze. I'm not ashamed to say God bless you even if the person isn't of the faith, I never really saw anyone mind it being said to them when they sneeze. If anything they say thank you.

It takes four days for a cold to evolve and mine started yesterday with a sore throat so from deductions it must have occured from Sunday or Monday. On Sunday that was a huge place to make contact with a cold, but so was Monday if there was anyone in the vicinity. Such is life, things happen to slow us down a bit and reflect on areas that may need a bit of pruning. Each of us has moments in our life when there are some ups and downs, good health and days when it's not so good. It's in those moments that reflecting on what is important matters. For me it's God, Jesus and the whole Divine family. If I begin to make my health a central focus then I failed to place my trust in God and placing Him first. I am discovering so many things that sometimes are not so important.

I had a medal and a St. Joseph card with me the other day in my pocket. The medal was attached to a small pin, it's a picture of Jesus pointing to his heart. What was interesting when I took the card and the medal out of my pocket when I went to change clothes, I found the medal without the pin attached to it, only thing bizarre about the pin, it was closed and right where it should have been but not attached to the medal. It was the strangest thing to pick up the medal by the pin as usual but when I did it, it didn 't take the medal with it. I hardly moved all day and my hand didn't go into my pocket until that moment. I wondered how on earth did the pin open and release the medal it was attached to and then close itself but stay with the pin as if attached.

Interesting as it was I wore it attached on my top and it stayed secure all day and that was with my cross hitting it as well. The medal originally wasn't mine to begin with, and I was going to burn it as I was told to do with sacramentals. The glass on it obscures the image as it is quite scratched. It is visible to make out. But anyway I ended up keeping it and then the pin thing happened after I kept it on me all day. Is Jesus making a specific point, I think so. He is telling me not to throw any of his sacramentals away, but it is also his Sacred Heart that matters the most. It's his heart and his love that he keeps pointing to. Twice in two different ways has he managed to come across other than music or circumstance in life and nature. It is in a direct fashion now. He is my heart, my life, my very soul. No matter what happens to me in my life I will always trust him to keep me safe.

Endings and Beginnings

Last day for the job tomorrow, it was nice that they asked for me to stay on with them. But I have to look to some of the future in regards to retirement if I don't end up with a community. But with these past few songs and the picture I have to place it all at Jesus' feet. Sometimes we go through issues to keep us humble and focused on Him. We may not like those issues but they are there to help us. Hard to believe but true. Depends if we are willing to learn from them. Mine is with eating and now I have to relearn to eat slower, or suffer in the process. I should have done that long ago anyway, but limited time, makes for hasty dinning in the workforce. Not always pleasant either.

I have been not as focused in writing as I would like to be, but my concerns about something have placed my thoughts on Jesus more and his help. I've been trying to see what or where I am headed, and I've been peaceful through it all, even when I feel ill at times. But that's par for the course. I took a book out of our Dominican library on the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. I hope it will enlighten me on this journey and gain a better understanding.