# Consecration to the Sacred Heart: Love All, Hate None
*2015-06-15*

> Bill Young reflects on the feast of St. John Francis Regis and shares a personal experience of growing love through prayer, leading into a heartfelt consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

## Feast of St. John Francis Regis

Good morning, I’m Bill Young. Today, June 16, we celebrate the feast of St. John Francis Regis, a French priest (1597‑1640) who entered the Society of Jesus at age 18 and spent countless hours in chapel.

## A Personal Encounter with Love

I want to share a recent experience that deepened my understanding of love. While praying the rosary for my aunt’s sister, Mary Teresa, I felt a profound certainty that she was already in heaven. The first time I prayed, I was at home with my son and was overwhelmed by a great love.

The next day I was at work, praying the rosary hidden in my car. Again I asked God to confirm that Mary Teresa was in heaven, and after the prayer I felt that same overwhelming love—not only for my family but for strangers as well. It became clear to me that heaven is love, a love that extends to everyone without exception.

## Consecration to the Sacred Heart

With that insight, I offer this short prayer of consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus:

“Jesus, we know you are kind and that you offered your heart for us, crowned with thorns and our sins. Even today you intercede for us, keeping us from temptation. Stand by us, that we may not fall into sin. Through your Sacred Heart grant us the grace to love one another always, that there may be no hatred among us.

Show us your love. We love you and ask that, with your shepherd’s heart, you protect us from all sin. Enter every heart, O Jesus; knock on the closed doors. Be patient and untiring with us, for we have not yet understood your will and remain closed to you. Knock steadfastly and grant us the grace to open our hearts to you, especially as we remember your suffering for us. Amen.”

## Living the Call to Love

Our ultimate goal is heaven, and that requires a heart free of hatred. It is easy to find reasons to resent others, but the Christian call is to love everyone, just as Christ loves us. This is challenging, yet it is the path the Sacred Heart invites us to walk.

*True discipleship means opening our hearts to the Sacred Heart’s love, so that we may love every person without hatred.*