June 7, 2026 | The Sacred Heart of Jesus, Part 3 of 3
Jesus Christ: Yesterday, Today, and Forever ~
The Sacred Heart of Jesus (Part Three of Three)
Two weeks ago, I began a three-part series on the Sacred Heart of Jesus. In case you missed the first two parts, you can find them on the CRC website. What follows is the final installment of Archbishop Etienne’s letter on the Sacred Heart of Jesus. It is excellent and worthy of a focused and prayerful reading. You will gain much spiritual fruit if you do. You can find the whole document here https://archseattle.org/sacredheart/. Enjoy.
Fr. Thomas Nathe
A continuation — Part Three of Three — of
“Learn from Me for I Am Meek and Humble of Heart”
A Pastoral Letter on the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Archbishop Paul D. Etienne
An Invitation to the Church Today
“Publish this devotion everywhere,” Christ said to St. Margaret Mary, as “a sure and easy means to obtain … a true love of God” for the faithful and “an efficacious means to arrive at the perfection of their state” for clergy and religious. These words of Jesus to St. Margaret Mary are addressed to the Church of every age.
What would it look like for us as a nation to live this consecration — mutual love, respect for persons, loving the neighbor, working for peace?
Today, the Lord entrusts this devotion anew to the Church. In a time marked by division, weariness and a loss of confidence in love itself, the Sacred Heart of Jesus remains what it has always been: the revelation of who God is and who we are called to become.
Earlier this year, Pope Leo XIV stated: “In the face of the many questions of the human heart, as well as tragic situations of injustice, violence and suffering that mark our time, our faith needs to be alert, attentive and prophetic. Faith should open our eyes to the darkness of the world, and bring others the light of the Gospel through our commitment to peace, justice and solidarity.” Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus does not close us off from the realities of the world but opens our eyes to the needs around us.
In every age, the Church must ask not only what she proclaims, but with what heart she proclaims it. The Sacred Heart of Jesus provides the answer. The Church is sent into the world bearing not an abstract message, but a living person — Christ himself — whose heart remains gentle and humble, even when rejected.
In a culture often suspicious of truth claims, yet deeply wounded by lovelessness, the Sacred Heart reveals what credible evangelization looks like: truth spoken in charity, mercy offered without compromise and fidelity lived with patience. The Church does not persuade the world by power, but by love made visible.
Devotion to the Sacred Heart must never be relegated to the past or confined to a particular spirituality. It belongs to the Church’s present mission. It forms priests after the Heart of Christ, strengthens families as domestic churches and sustains the faithful in works of justice, mercy and evangelization. In short, it shapes a missionary Church whose heart beats in unison with the Heart of her Lord.
An Exhortation and Entrustment
Today, the Sacred Heart of Jesus continues to stand before us not only as a mystery to be contemplated, but as a life to be embraced. The Lord who reveals himself as “gentle and humble of heart” continues to invite his Church to learn from him — not in theory, but in the concrete rhythms of daily Christian life.
As a nation soon to be consecrated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, I ask: What would it look like for us as a nation to live this consecration — mutual love, respect for persons, loving the neighbor, working for peace?
I therefore exhort all the faithful of this archdiocese to embrace a devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus in ways that are simple, ecclesial and enduring, so that faith may take root not only in our words, but in our homes, our parishes, and our daily offering of life.
To families, I say: Let the Sacred Heart reign in your homes. In a culture that often weakens commitment and obscures love, the Heart of Jesus remains a sure refuge and a school of fidelity.
I encourage families and individuals to enthrone an image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in their homes, placing before their eyes a visible reminder that Christ is the center of family life and the source of mercy, forgiveness and peace. Such a practice quietly but powerfully shapes the heart, forming the home as a domestic church where love is learned, sustained and given.
I also commend to all the daily Morning Offering, by which the faithful consciously unite their prayers, works, joys and sufferings to the sacrifice of Christ offered throughout the world. This simple act places the whole of life within the Heart of Jesus, teaching us to live not for ourselves, but with Christ and in Christ.
I urge parishes and the faithful to reclaim the First Friday devotion, rooted in participation at Mass and reception of holy Communion in a spirit of reparation and love. In returning regularly to the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, the Church learns again that her strength does not come from herself, but from Christ who gives himself entirely for the life of the world.
These practices are not burdens imposed from without. They are paths of freedom, helping us resist spiritual fatigue, forgetfulness and division. They guard against a faith that remains abstract and, instead, form hearts capable of love — ardent, faithful and missionary.
To priests and deacons, I offer a particular exhortation. You are called to shepherd the people of God after the Heart of Christ. I ask you to lead by example, drawing from the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus the charity, patience and humility that sustain pastoral ministry. In a time of complexity and strain, return often to the Heart from which your vocation flows.
To the young, the poor, the sick and all who carry heavy burdens: Know that the Heart of Christ is open to you. He is not distant. He is near, merciful and faithful.
As your bishop, I entrust our archdiocese, our families, our parishes and our mission to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The desire of Christ’s Sacred Heart is our transformation and conversion. The end goal of this devotion is greater love — that we may love as we have been loved first by Christ. (See1 John 4:19.)
May this love renew our faith, purify our hearts and send us forth as witnesses of hope in a world in need of mercy.
It is fitting to call to mind Bishop A.M.A. Blanchet, the first bishop of our archdiocese. Bishop Blanchet’s motto was “O cor amoris victima” (“O heart, victim of love”) and his coat of arms was an image of the Sacred Heart. When he placed the Blessed Sacrament at Vancouver for the first time, he wrote, “His eyes and His heart will always be here.”
May God always fill us with the love of Christ and lead us to and strengthen our love for His Most Sacred Heart!
Most Reverend Archbishop Paul D. Etienne, D.D., S.T.L. Archbishop of Seattle
Optional Litany to the Sacred Heart
By St. Margaret Mary Alacoque
Hail, Heart of Jesus, save me!
Hail, Heart of my Creator, perfect me!
Hail, Heart of my Savior, deliver me!
Hail, Heart of my Judge, grant me pardon!
Hail, Heart of my Father, govern me!
Hail, Heart of my Spouse, grant me love!
Hail, Heart of my Master, teach me!
Hail, Heart of my King, be my crown!
Hail, Heart of my Benefactor, enrich me!
Hail, Heart of my Shepherd, guard me!
Hail, Heart of my Friend, comfort me!
Hail, Heart of my Brother, stay with me!
Hail, Heart of the Child Jesus, draw me to yourself!
Hail, Heart of Jesus dying on the Cross, redeem me!
Hail, Heart of Jesus in all your states, give yourself to me!
Hail, Heart of incomparable goodness, have mercy on me!
Hail, Heart of splendor, shine within me!
Hail, most loving Heart, inflame me!
Hail, most merciful Heart, work within me!
Hail, most humble Heart, dwell within me!
Hail, most patient Heart, support me!
Hail, most faithful Heart, be my reward!
Hail, most admirable and most worthy Heart, bless me!
Lord Jesus,
let my heart never rest until it finds You,
who are its center, its love, and its happiness.
By the wound in Your heart,
pardon the sins that I have committed
whether out of malice or out of evil desires.
Place my weak heart in Your own divine Heart,
continually under Your protection and guidance,
so that I may persevere in doing good
and in fleeing evil until my last breath.
Amen.
