Sacred Heart

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CheesusPowerKid

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Hey all:)
Sorry if this seems like a stupid question, but I was just wondering if anyone could explain to me exactly what the Sacred Heart is…my family has tons of pictures of it and I wear a medal with it around my neck, but I guess I never really thought about what it really is until one of my friends asked me about it. What exactly is it and why do Catholics have it and Protestants don’t? Thanks:)

God bless,
In Him,
Britty
 
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CheesusPowerKid:
Sorry if this seems like a stupid question, but I was just wondering if anyone could explain to me exactly what the Sacred Heart is…
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This is NOT a stupid question (and I would tell you if it was - I don’t sugercoat stuff).

This is a devotion to the heart of Jesus. It has a somewhat turbulent history.

St. Mechtide (d.1298) and St. Gertrude (d. circa 1303) were visionaries who described the image of the Sacred Heart in rich detail. But their visions attracted little interest and little following until the Carthusians and (mainly) the Jesuits took particular interest. The Jesuits and St. Francis de Sales worked together to obtain popular recognition, but their efforts were not very effective until a Visitandine nun, St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, recounted visions which gave form to the image (especially in reparation for outrages against the Divine Love, especially as manifest in the Blessed Sacrament).

The Sacred Heart then became one of the most popular devotions of the Catholic Church. Liturgical observance was first permitted by Clement XIII in 1765, and was extended to the Universal Church by Pius IX in 1856.
 
The Sacred Heart of Jesus symbolizes his love for us, especially in light of his suffering for our sake. Here’s what the Catechism says:
2563 The heart is the dwelling-place where I am, where I live; according to the Semitic or Biblical expression, the heart is the place “to which I withdraw.” The heart is our hidden center, beyond the grasp of our reason and of others; only the Spirit of God can fathom the human heart and know it fully. The heart is the place of decision, deeper than our psychic drives. It is the place of truth, where we choose life or death. It is the place of encounter, because as image of God we live in relation: it is the place of covenant.
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2669 The prayer of the Church venerates and honors the Heart of Jesus just as it invokes his most holy name. It adores the incarnate Word and his Heart which, out of love for men, he allowed to be pierced by our sins. Christian prayer loves to follow the way of the cross in the Savior’s steps. The stations from the Praetorium to Golgotha and the tomb trace the way of Jesus, who by his holy Cross has redeemed the world.
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