Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque a religious of the Visitation Order was born at Lhautecour, France, 22 July 1647 and died at Paray-le-Monial, October 17, 1690.
   She experienced three revelations of the Sacred Heart with several months between them. The first was on December 27, 1673, when Margaret was twenty- six years of age and had been professed only a little over a year. The second was in the following year, 1674 but the exact day is unknown. The third took place June, 16, 1675. There was between these apparitions some time-some months between the first and the second, and one year at least between the second and the third.

First Revelation (December 27, 1673)
The first revelation took place on the feast of St. John the Evangelist, December 27,1673. She writes," Once, being before the Blessed Sacrament and having a little more leisure than usual, I felt fully wholly filled with this Divine Presence, and so powerfully moved by it that I forgot myself and the place in which I was. I abandoned myself to this Divine Spirit, and yielded my heart to the power of His love. He made me rest for a long time on His divine breast, where He discovered to me the wonders of His love and the inexplicable secrets of His Sacred Heart, which He had hitherto kept hidden from me. Now He opened it to me for the first time, but in a way so real, so sensible, that it left me no room to doubt, though I am always in dread of deceiving myself."
Margaret adds, "This, as it seems to me, is what passed: The Lord said to me, ' My Divine Heart is so passionately in love with men that it can no longer contain within itself the flames of its ardent charity. It must pour them out by thy means, and manifest itself to them to enrich them with its precious treasures, which contain all the graces of which they have need to be saved from perdition,'…' I have chosen thee as an abyss of unworthiness and ignorance to accomplish so great a design, so that all may be done by Me.' "
Before disappearing, He asked if she desired to give Him her heart. She continues, "He demanded my heart, and I supplicated Him to take it. He did so, and put it into His own Adorable Heart, in which He allowed me to see it as a little atom being consumed in that fiery furnace. Then, drawing it out like a burning flame in the form of a heart, He put it into the place whence He had taken it, saying 'Behold, My beloved, a precious proof of My love I enclose in they heart a little spark of the most ardent flame of My love, to serve thee as a heart and to consume thee till thy last moment. Until now thou hast taken only the name of My slave; henceforth thou shalt be called the well-beloved disciple of My Sacred Heart.' " Mary had learned that God could not contain in His Heart the secrets of His love and that He would make use of her to reveal them to the world.

Second Revelation (1674 day unknown)

  Of this second revelation , Margaret Mary writes, "Once when the Blessed Sacrament was exposed, my soul, being absorbed in extraordinary recollection, Jesus Christ, my sweet Master, presented Himself to me. He was brilliant with glory; His five wounds shone like five suns. Flames darted forth from all parts of His sacred humanity but especially from His adorable breast, which resembled a furnace, and which, opening, displayed to me His loving and amiable Heart, the living source of these flames." She continues, "He unfolded to me the inexplicable wonders of His pure love, and to what an excess He had carried it for the love of men, from whom He had received only ingratitude. 'This is, 'He said, ' much more painful to Me than all I suffered in My Passion If men rendered Me some return of love, I should esteem little all I have done for them, and should wish if such could be, to suffer it over again; but they meet My eager love with coldness and rebuffs. Do you, at least,' said He in conclusion; console and rejoice Me, by supplying as much as you can for their ingratitude.' " [Mary pleaded incompetence but Jesus said] " Fear not…behold, here is wherewith to furnish all that is wanting to thee." " And at that moment, " continued Margaret, " the Divine Heart being opened, there shot forth a flame so ardent that I thought I should be consumed by it. " [Margaret asked God to have pity on her weakness]. " Fear nothing, " said Jesus, " I shall be they strength. Listen only to what I desire of thee to prepare thee for the accomplishment of My designs." The Lord asked her to first, go to communion every first Friday of each month to make Him an honorable atonement; second, to rise between eleven o'clock and midnight on the night between Thursday and Friday of every week, and to prostrate for an hour with her face to the ground, in expiation of the sins of men, and to console His Heart for that general desertion, to which the weakness of the apostles in the Garden of Olives had been only a slight prelude.

Third Revelation ( June 16, 1675 )

It was during this revelation that Jesus was to commission Margaret with her public mission. The Lord appeared on the altar and showed her His Heart. He said," Behold this Heart which has so loved men that it has spared nothing, even to exhausting and consuming itself, in order to testify its love. 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. And what is most painful to Me is that they are hearts consecrated to Me. It is for this reason I ask thee that the first Friday after the octave of the Blessed Sacrament be appropriated to a special feast, to honor My Heart by communicating on that day, and making reparation for the indignity that it has received. And I promise that My Heart shall dilate to pour out abundantly the influences of its love on all that will render it this honor or procure its being rendered. (Taken from The life of Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque.Benzinger Bros.N.Y.)

  Lord, Jesus Christ, you who called your apostles to greater intimacy in the bond of true charity, you call us today to be a consecrated people through baptism. Grant us, not only the grace to fulfill our call to holiness as we seek to imitate the love of your Sacred Heart, but also to hear our every prayer to serve you faithfully. If it be your will, grant our request. (Pause). Inflame our hearts with the love we need to reach out to others, fill up what is lacking in our lives and assist us in accomplishing all things for your Kingdom come. Amen. (Fathers of Our Lady of Mercy)

Prayer To The Sacred Heart
Based on the Promises made to
St. Margaret Mary

Sacred Heart of Jesus, behold us kneeling before you to adore and to praise, to thank you, making reparation for our past faults and giving ourselves over to you.

Mindful of your divine promises, we presume to say with compete confidence:
Heart of Jesus, give us all the graces necessary for our state in life. Lord, you have promised it.
Heart of Jesus, establish peace in our homes. Lord, you have promised it.
Heart of Jesus, bless the homes where your picture is exposed and honored. Lord, you have promised it.
Heart of Jesus, ease our burdens and console us in our sorrows. Lord, you have promised it.
Heart of Jesus, be our assured refuge in life and more especially at the hour of death. Lord, you have promised it.
Heart of Jesus, shower down abundant blessings on all our undertakings. Lord, you have promised it.
Heart of Jesus, may sinners find in your heart an infinite ocean of mercy. Lord, you have promised it.
Heart of Jesus, make tepid souls fervent. Lord, you have promised it.
Heart of Jesus, cause fervent souls to advance rapidly to great holiness. Lord, you have promised it.
Heart of Jesus, give to those working for the salvation of souls, the power of touching the most hardened of hearts. Lord, you have promised it.
Heart of Jesus, grant to all those who shall communicate on the first Friday, nine months consecutively, the grace of final perseverance and the Sacraments at death. Lord, you have promised it.
Heart of Jesus, may your kingdom come, despite Satan and the efforts of your enemies. Lord, you have promised it.
Heart of Jesus, write in your Heart, never to be effaced from it, the names of those who promote this devotion. Lord, you have promised it. (Fathers of Our Lady of Mercy)

Lord Jesus Christ, we consecrate to you ourselves and our family, The love for us ad for all men that fills your heart prompts us to pledge our lives in return,
We wish to live our lives in union with you. We wish to share your mission of bringing your Father's love to all men. We wish you to be the center of our hearts and of our home.
Lord Jesus Christ, accept this consecration of our family to you, and keep us ever one in your most Sacred Heart. Amen. (Irish Apostleship of Prayer)

Act Of Reparation
to the
Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

  O most loving Jesus, whose immense love for men is repaid by so much forgetfulness, negligence and contempt, behold us prostrate before Your altar. We are eager to repair, by a special act of homage, the cruel indifference and injuries to which Your loving heart is everywhere subjected.
We ourselves have had a share in such great indignities, which we now deplore from the depths of our hearts. We humbly ask Your pardon and declare our readiness to atone by voluntary penance not only for our own personal offenses, but also for the sins of those, who, straying far from the path of salvation, refuse in their obstinate infidelity to follow You, their Shepherd and Leader, or renouncing the vows of their baptism, have cast off the sweet yoke of Your law.
And while we intend to expiate all such deplorable crimes, we propose to repair each one in particular:

immodesty in dress and actions, the many seductions to ensnare the feet of the innocent, the violation of Sundays and holydays, the horrible blasphemies uttered against You and Your saints, the insults hurled against Your Vicar and Your priests, the negligence and the horrible sacrileges by which the very sacrament of Your love is profaned and finally the public crimes of all nations who resist the rights and the teaching authority of the Church which You have founded.

Would that we could with our blood wash away such abominations! And now, in reparation for these violations of Your divine honor, we offer the satisfaction that You once made on the cross to Your Father, and which You renew daily on our altars. We offer it in union with the expiation of Your Virgin Mother, all the saints and of all the devout faithful on earth. We promise sincerely to repair, as far as we are able, with the help of Your grace, the neglect of Your great love, and for the sins we and others have committed in the past: by a firm faith, an innocent life, the observance of the law of charity, and with all our power to prevent others from offending You and to bring as many as possible to follow You.
O loving Jesus, through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, our model in reparation, deign to receive the voluntary offering we make of this act of reparation. By the crowning gift of perseverance keep us faithful until death in our duty and in the allegiance we owe to You, so that we may all one day come to that happy home, where You with the Father and Holy Spirit live and reign God, world without end. Amen.
(Daughters of St.Paul) A partial indulgence is granted to the faithful who piously recite the above act of reparation. A plenary indulgence is granted (under the usual conditions) if it is publicly recited on the feast of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Act of Consecration to the
Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

O most loving Jesus, Redeemer of the human race, behold us humbly prostrate before Your altar. We are Yours and Yours we wish to be. But to be more surely united in You, behold each one of us freely consecrates himself today to Your most Sacred Heart, Many, indeed, have never known You; many, too, despising Your precepts, have rejected You. Have mercy on them all, most merciful Jesus, and draw them to Your Sacred Heart.
Be King, O Lord, not only of the faithful who have never forsaken You, but also of the prodigal children who have abandoned You. Grant that they may quickly return to their Father's house, lest they die of wretchedness and hunger.
Grant, O Lord, to Your Church, assurance of freedom and immunity from harm. Give peace and order to all nations. Make the earth resound from pole to pole with one cry: Praise to the Divine Heart that wrought our salvation. To It be glory and honor forever. Amen. (Daughters of St. Paul)

Act of Consecration
Of the Family
To the Sacred Heart

O most loving heart of Jesus, who, to Your great lover St. Margaret Mary, has made this consoling promise: " I will bless those homes in which an image of my Sacred Heart shall be exposed and venerated, " deign to accept today the consecration of our family to You. By this act we intend to proclaim solemnly the dominion that You have over all creatures and over us, recognizing You as King of our souls. Your enemies, O Jesus, refuse to admit Your sovereign rights, and repeat the satanic cry: " We do not want this One to reign over us" thereby torturing in a most cruel manner Your most loving heart. We, on the other hand, repeat with greater fervor and more ardent love; Reign, O Jesus, over our family and over each of its members. Reign over our minds, that we may always believe in the truths You have taught us. Reign over our hearts, that we may always follow Your divine teachings. O divine heart, You alone are the loving King of our souls, of these souls which You have conquered at the price of Your precious Blood, and all of which You desire to see saved.
And now keep Your promise and let fall upon us Your blessings. Bless us in our labors, in our undertakings, in our health, in our interests. Bless us in joy and in sorrow, in prosperity and adversity, now and always. Grant that peace reign in our midst as well as concord, respect, love for one another, and good example.
Defend us from dangers, from sickness, from accidents, and above all, from sin Deign, finally, to write our names in the most sacred wound of Your heart, and grant that it be never effaced so that after having been united with You on earth, we may one day be united in heaven, there to sing the glories and the triumphs of Your mercy Amen. We want God who is our Father; We want God, who is our King. ( Daughters of St. Paul ) Recite one Our Father, one Hail Mary, one Glory Be in honor of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and a Hail, Holy Queen, to the Blessed Virgin Mary to obtain her protection.

Litany of the
Sacred Heart of Jesus

Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
          (Repeat " have mercy on us " after each invocation)
God the Father of heaven,
God the Son ,Redeemer f the world,
God the Holy Spirit,
Holy Trinity one God,
Heart of Jesus, Son of the eternal Father,
Heart of Jesus, formed by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mother,
Heart of Jesus, substantially united to the Word of God,
Heart of Jesus, of infinite majesty,
Heart of Jesus, sacred temple of God,
Heart of Jesus, tabernacle of the Most High,
Heart of Jesus, house of God and gate of heaven,
Heart of Jesus, burning furnace of charity,
Heart of Jesus, abode of justice and love,
Heart of Jesus, full of goodness and love,
Heart of Jesus, abyss of all virtues,
Heart of Jesus, most worthy of all praises,
Heart of Jesus, King and center of all hearts,
Heart of Jesus, in whom are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge,
Heart of Jesus, in whom dwells the fullness of divinity,
Heart of Jesus, in whom the Father was well pleased,
Heart of Jesus, of whose fullness we have all received,
Heart of Jesus, desire of the everlasting hills,
Heart of Jesus, patient and most merciful,
Heart of Jesus, enriching all who invoke You,
Heart of Jesus, fountain of life and holiness,
Heart of Jesus, expiation for our sins,
Heart of Jesus, loaded down with insults,
Heart of Jesus, bruised for our offenses,
Heart of Jesus, obedient unto death,
Heart of Jesus, pierced with a lance,
Heart of Jesus, source of all consolation,
Heart of Jesus, our life and resurrection,
Heart of Jesus, our peace and reconciliation,
Heart of Jesus, victim for sins,
Heart of Jesus, salvation of those who trust in You,
Heart of Jesus, hope of those who die in You,
Heart of Jesus, delight of all the saints,

Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.
     V. Jesus, meek and humble of heart.
     R. Make our hearts like Yours.

LET US PRAY

O almighty and everlasting God, look upon the heart of Your well-beloved Son, and the praise and satisfaction He offers You in the name of sinners and for those who seek Your mercy. Be appeased, and grant us pardon in the name of the same Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, world without end. Amen. (Daughters of St. Paul)