# Consecrating Ourselves to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
*2016-06-20*

> Bill Young reflects on the meaning of signs in everyday life and leads listeners in the Act of Consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, based on the writings of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque.

## Why June Belongs to the Sacred Heart

June is traditionally dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, so today we are praying the Act of Consecration to the Sacred Heart. This devotion comes from St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, a 17th‑century French nun who received numerous apparitions of Christ. Although some of her contemporaries dismissed her visions as delusion, the Church eventually recognized the profound spiritual value of her revelations.

## Signs, Flowers, and the Question of Randomness

After Mass last Sunday I noticed three flowers arranged in a triangle on a small altar. My family thought it was just a coincidence, but I wondered whether God sometimes uses ordinary moments to speak to us. I’ve also seen a similar cluster of flowers in our garage, near a chair where we sit to put on shoes. These occurrences made me ask: are such patterns random, or are they signs meant to draw our attention to deeper truths?

I invited listeners to share their own experiences of perceived signs, whether they view them as random or as God’s communication. I asked them to reflect on how the Holy Spirit might help us discern such moments.

## Praying for Discernment

I prayed to the Holy Spirit for the grace to understand any message God might be sending. In that prayer I felt a “R‑R‑R‑R‑R‑M” moment—a sudden awareness of the Holy Trinity’s presence in the ordinary. When we receive Communion, we encounter the Body and Blood of Christ, but we are also united with the Father and the Holy Spirit. This unity reminded me of the Trinity’s intimate relationship and reinforced my desire to be open to God’s signs.

## The Act of Consecration

Here is the prayer St. Margaret Mary composed for consecrating ourselves to the Sacred Heart. Feel free to insert your own name where indicated.

“I, ___, consecrate myself, my life, my actions, my sorrows, and my sufferings to the most adorable Heart of our Lord Jesus. May I use every part of my being to honor, love, and glorify Him. This is my irrevocable will: to belong wholly to Him, to do everything for His love, and to abstain from anything that might displease Him. I choose the Sacred Heart as the sole object of my love, the guardian of my life, the token of my salvation, the remedy for my weakness, and my refuge at the hour of death.

Loving Heart, I place all my trust in You because I am afraid of my own malice and weakness. I put all my hope in Your goodness. Consume me, O Lord, that I may be wholly Yours. Impress Your love deeply upon my heart, that I may never be separated from You. Through Your mercy, may my name be written in Your Heart, that I may find true happiness and glory in serving You.

Amen.”

## Opening Our Hearts to God’s Communication

The real question is whether our hearts, eyes, and ears are open to the ways God speaks—through the Holy Spirit, the saints, the Church, and even the simple beauty of a flower. Let us pray for the grace to be attentive, so that we may recognize and respond to God’s loving guidance.

*May we keep our hearts open to the subtle signs of God’s love, especially through the Sacred Heart of Jesus.*