by Marc and Julie Anderson
mjanderson@theleaven.org
ORLANDO, Fla. — On June 11, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops did something extraordinary.
In anticipation of the nation’s 250th birthday, the bishops consecrated the country to the Sacred Heart of Jesus during a Mass celebrated at Queen of the Universe Shrine in Orlando, Florida.
The moment had been highly anticipated since the bishops’ announcement late last year.
Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore served as the homilist. Head of the nation’s first diocese founded in 1789, Archbishop Lori is successor to the first American Catholic bishop, John Carroll. Bishop Carroll was a cousin of Charles Carroll, the only Catholic to sign the Declaration of Independence.
“What a remarkable moment of grace we are privileged to share,” Archbishop Lori said in opening. “On the threshold of our nation’s 250th anniversary, we gather, not first to celebrate ourselves, but to consecrate. To entrust. To place the church in the United States, and indeed the whole nation, into the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ.”
“Consecration is an act of faith,” he went on to say. “It is an acknowledgment that history is not simply the story of what human beings accomplish; it is the story of God’s faithful love at work in the world. We give thanks for the blessings of these past 250 years, but we do so with humility, recognizing in faith that every nation stands in need of God’s mercy, wisdom and guidance.”
Moreover, he said, “It is a declaration that the future does not belong merely to political movements, economic forces or human plans. The future belongs to God. And so we place into his heart, not only ourselves but generations yet unborn, and all those who will inherit the church and the nation we leave behind.”
The bishops encouraged all Catholics to embrace this consecration by incorporating it into the life of their domestic church at home. Archdiocesan parishes, in turn, are encouraged to help families in this process.
One way families can do so is by making a personal act of consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus at home, enthroning an image of the Sacred Heart in their home. (See resources below.) Offering novenas to the Sacred Heart is another way.
Though June is uniquely associated with the Sacred Heart, chancellor and moderator of the curia Father Mike Hawken wrote, “home enthronement need not be limited to a single month. Parishes may wish to encourage this beautiful tradition more frequently on a monthly or bimonthly basis, as part of family faith formation, or when welcoming new parishioners and newly initiated Catholics into the life of the church. Parishioners would be invited to bring their image of the Sacred Heart to a particular Mass for a blessing and receive instructions to take home for enthronement.”
In his June 26 column in The Leaven, Archbishop Shawn McKnight echoed the call made by his brother bishops as he invited “every household in the archdiocese to enthrone an image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and observe a novena of family prayer as a means of extending our national consecration throughout our archdiocese and into each domestic church.
“By bringing this devotion and prayer into our homes, we open our hearts to a profound spiritual renewal centered entirely on the love and mercy of God.”
For more information, for resources on enthroning an image of the Sacred Heart in your home or for other ways to extend the consecration, visit: archkck.org/consecration-to-sacred-heart.
