The Cloistered Heart of Saint Margaret Mary

St. Margaret Mary Alacoque's was a heart filled with fire. Jesus chose to reveal to this Visitation nun a Heart ablaze - His own Sacred Heart. I think it's accurate to say that the saint encountered the Fire of Jesus' love and reflected it back to Him. Love met love, Heart met heart, Fire met fire. But the story did not end there.

Jesus entrusted to Margaret Mary a mission: to spread the message of His fiery love.

"My Divine Heart," Christ said in an apparition to this humble nun in 1673, "is so passionately fond of the human race, and of you in particular, that it cannot keep back the pent-up flames of its burning charity any longer. They must burst out through you."

St. Margaret Mary later wrote: "Jesus asked for my heart, which I begged Him to take, and He placed it in His adorable One, in which He showed it to me as a tiny speck consumed in this burning furnace. Then, taking it out as a burning flame shaped like a heart, He replaced it in the place from which He had taken it."  

St. Margaret Mary said many things that strike at the very core of my "cloistered" heart.  I have room here for a few examples....

"Our Lord frequently told me that I should keep a secluded place for Him in my heart, where He would teach me to love Him."  

"I beg the Sacred Heart of Jesus to deign to consume ours in the flames of His holy love, so that they may live and breathe only to love, honor and glorify Him." 

"Jesus Christ is the true friend of our hearts, and they are made for Him alone. They cannot find rest, joy, or satisfaction except in Him."

"He wants your heart without reserve."

Jesus wants my heart without reserve.  He desires my love in return for His.  

How will I respond?

Detail of painting by Georges de la Tours, cropped and digitally altered.  In public domain.

to learn more about St. Margaret Mary, click here

Posted by © Nancy Shuman at 3:30 AM 

*This is a second repost from the archives of 6/13/13.

Lost in His Heart

'I feel entirely lost in this divine Heart. It is as though I were in a fathomless abyss, in which He discloses to me treasures of love and of grace for those who consecrate and sacrifice themselves to give and procure for Him all the honor, love and glory in their power.'

St. Margaret Mary

public domain photo

This is a repost from the archives of 6/12/15.

The Cloistered Heart of St. Margaret Mary

St. Margaret Mary Alacoque's was a heart filled with fire.  Jesus chose to reveal to this Visitation nun a Heart ablaze - His own Sacred Heart.  I think it's accurate to say that the saint encountered the Fire of Jesus' love and reflected it back to Him.  Love met love, Heart met heart, Fire met fire.  But the story did not end there.

Jesus entrusted to Margaret Mary a mission:  to spread the message of His fiery love.

"My Divine Heart," Christ said in an apparition to this humble nun in 1673, "is so passionately fond of the human race, and of you in particular, that it cannot keep back the pent-up flames of its burning charity any longer. They must burst out through you."

St. Margaret Mary later wrote: "Jesus asked for my heart, which I begged Him to take, and He placed it in His adorable One, in which He showed it to me as a tiny speck consumed in this burning furnace. Then, taking it out as a burning flame shaped like a heart, He replaced it in the place from which He had taken it."  

St. Margaret Mary said many things that strike at the very core of my "cloistered" heart.  I have room here for a few examples....

"Our Lord frequently told me that I should keep a secluded place for Him in my heart, where He would teach me to love Him."  

"I beg the Sacred Heart of Jesus to deign to consume ours in the flames of His holy love, so that they may live and breathe only to love, honor and glorify Him." 

"Jesus Christ is the true friend of our hearts, and they are made for Him alone.  They cannot find rest, joy, or satisfaction except in Him."

"He wants your heart without reserve."

Jesus wants my heart without reserve.  He desires my love in return for His.  

How will I respond?

Detail of painting by Georges de la Tours, cropped and digitally altered.  In public domain.

to learn more about St. Margaret Mary, click here

This is a repost from the archives of 6/13/13.  

And In the Wind

There is change in the air as a storm approaches.  The wind picks up, clouds gather, there may be a distant clap of thunder.  As lightning flashes around us, we race for shelter.

Monastery grounds and walls are as subject to storms as those of any other building.  They get slapped with rain, pelted with sleet.  Inhabitants of the cloister might find themselves standing at a window looking out, maybe with a touch of concern.  What are those chunks of hail doing to the roof?  Are the windows secure against the wind?  

The monastery of my life is vulnerable, too.  I face storms, at times, of great magnitude.  Sickness, sudden disaster, an unnerving news report.  It helps me then to remember that I’m in the strongest cloister possible – the cloister of God’s loving embrace.  Everything that touches me must first come through His hands, through His “permissive will.”  I can do as St. Francis de Sales advised, and say amid my contradictions: “this is the very road to heaven.  I see the door, and I am certain the storms cannot prevent us from getting there.”

"The Name of the Lord is a strong tower; the just man runs to it and is safe.”  (Proverbs 18:10)

“Happy is the soul established in God ... The winds of the storm are powerless to shake her.” (St. Jane de Chantal)

"When you hear about wars and threats of war, do not yield to panic.  Such things are bound to happen, but this is not the end.  Nation will rise against nation, one kingdom against another.  There will be earthquakes in various places and there will be famine.  This is but the onset of labor.  Be constantly on your guard.... because of My Name, you will be hated by everyone.  Nonetheless, the man who holds out till the end is the one who will come through safe."  (Mark 13:5-13)

"O Jesus, I am locking myself in Your most merciful heart as in a fortress, impregnable against the missiles of my enemies.” (St. Faustina Kowalska, Diary, #1535)

The cloistered heart is a place of refuge, no matter where I happen to be. A portable fortress, a place inviolate, where I can remain with Jesus in the midst of storms, traffic jams, persecutions, illnesses, fires, floods. It is an appealing idea. It is also (this being most important) theologically sound. "The heart is the dwelling place where I am, where I live... the heart is the place 'to which I withdraw.'  The heart is our hidden center,  beyond the grasp of our reason and of others; only the Spirit of God can fathom the human heart and know it fully. (Catechism of the Catholic Church #2563)

The cloistered heart is the heart of David dancing before the ark; of Mesach, Shadrach and Abednego in the fiery furnace; of Paul in prison, Daniel in the lions’ den, John on Patmos, Peter in chains.  The world is not safe from evil – even the body isn’t safe from harm – but within the cloistered heart there is refuge.

My heart, as long as He is in it, is safe.

(The above is a combined repost from our archives)

An Abyss of Love

'This divine heart is an abyss filled with all blessings, and into it the poor should submerge all their needs. It is an abyss of joy in which all of us can immerse our sorrows. It is an abyss of lowliness to counteract our foolishness, an abyss of mercy for the wretched, an abyss of love to meet our every need.'  St. Margaret Mary

'Since there is in the Sacred Heart a symbol and sensible image of the infinite love of Jesus Christ which moves us to love one another, therefore it is fit and proper that we should consecrate ourselves to His most Sacred Heart - an act which is nothing else than an offering and a binding of oneself to Jesus Christ, seeing that whatever honor, veneration and love is given to this divine Heart is really and truly given to Christ Himself.' Pope Leo XIII

'O Sacred Heart of Jesus, fountain of eternal life, Your Heart is a glowing furnace of Love. You are my refuge and my sanctuary. O my adorable and Loving Savior, consume my heart with the burning fire with which Yours is aflame. Pour down on my soul those graces which flow from Your love. Let my heart be united with Yours. Let my will be conformed to Yours in all things. May Your will be the rule of all my desires and actions.'   St. Gertrude the Great

'Every time I hear anyone speak of the Sacred Heart of Jesus or of the Blessed Sacrament, I feel an indescribable joy. It is as if a wave of precious memories, sweet affections and joyful hopes swept over my poor person, making me tremble with happiness and filling my soul with tenderness. These are loving appeals from Jesus Who wants me wholeheartedly there, at the source of all goodness, His Sacred Heart throbbing mysteriously behind the Eucharistic veils. I love to repeat today 'Sweet Heart of Jesus, make me love You more and more.''  Pope St. John XXIII

'Do not let the past disturb you, just leave everything in the Sacred Heart and begin again with joy.' St. Teresa of Calcutta

When We Are Mystics

"Is this life of union a special vocation for priests, religious, Saints, privileged persons, and mystical souls? Not at all. 

This trusting and tender union with God is the very foundation of the spiritual life. There is no exception made to that call of the Divine Master: 'Come unto Me!' and for those souls who might imagine that the labours, cares and sorrows of this life might hold them back, He adds: 'Come unto Me, all you that labour and are heavy laden, and I will refresh you!' 

There are hours when we are all mystics. We throw ourselves instinctively upon the Sacred Heart of Jesus, whenever sorrow or pain strikes us with 'a blow from God,' or when we feel the need of carrying our joys to a safe refuge."

from 'Listening to the Indwelling Presence' by a Religious, Pelligrini, 1940, p. 75

In This Fortress

Enclose My Heart

'Heart of Jesus, I give my heart to Thee, but so enclose it in Thee that it may never be separated from Thee. Heart of Jesus, I am all Thine; but take care of my promise so that I may be able to put it into practice even unto the complete sacrifice of my life.'  

Blessed Miguel Pro

A Fount Overflowing

 

 'My Heart overflows with great mercy for souls, and especially for poor sinners... It is for them that the Blood and Water flowed from My Heart as from a fount overflowing with mercy.' Jesus to St. Faustina

 

Encounter

Your Sacred Oratory

"Choose the 
Divine Heart 
for your 
sacred oratory, 
wherein 
to offer to 
God your 
petitions 
and prayers."

St. Margaret Mary

Jesus, I Trust in You

"Those who sincerely say 'Jesus, I trust in You' will find comfort in all their anxieties and fears."

Pope St. John Paul II

A Beautiful Abyss

Lost in His Heart

'I feel entirely lost in this divine Heart. It is as though I were in a fathomless abyss, in which He discloses to me treasures of love and of grace for those who consecrate and sacrifice themselves to give and procure for Him all the honor, love and glory in their power.'

St. Margaret Mary

public domain photo

My Haven on the Sea of Life

'He gave me His Heart to be my refuge, my help in all my needs, and my haven of repose amidst the storms and tempests on this sea of life. There the cross must be my throne of glory. On it alone must I find my joy. Nothing means anything to me anymore but Jesus...'

     St. Margaret Mary

I am Welcomed!

I step over the threshold into God's will and the welcome is immediate.  Perhaps all of heaven bursts forth in celebration.  Whether or not I feel any different, the truth is that I am met with great love.  

"Suddenly, when I had consented to the sacrifice with all my heart and all my will, God’s presence pervaded me… I felt that His Majesty was enveloping me…. I saw that God was well pleased with me and, reciprocally, my spirit drowned itself in Him... And the Lord said to me, ‘You are the delight of My Heart; from today on, every one of your acts, even the very smallest, will be a delight to My eyes...'  My earthly body was the same, but my soul was different; God was now living in it with the totality of His delight.  This is not a feeling, but a conscious reality that nothing can obscure.”  (St. Faustina, Diary)

God will not be outdone in generosity.  If I've taken even one step toward Him (no matter how timid the step, no matter how faltering), I can be sure that He is reaching out to receive me.  I am enfolded, encompassed, and totally embraced by Love. 

"I know well the plans I have for you, says the Lord; plans for your welfare, not for woe!  Plans to give you a future full of hope.”  (Jeremiah 29:11) 

For a look at a real postulant's first moments of entering the cloister, click this line!

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Flee to the Cove

 

"What heavier burden is there than that which makes the soul descend from its sublime dignity down to the underworld, where all holiness is held in contempt?  Then, my brother, flee all this agitation and misery, and go from the storm of this world to the cove where there is tranquil and certain rest." St. Bruno

These words rushed straight into my heart when I read them today.  Having accepted God's invitation to turn "ten times the more" to seek Him, here I find another "how to."  I could meditate on Bruno's words all day.  

With the grace of God, I WILL meditate on Bruno's words all day.  

The storms of the world swirl around me.  In this time, as in Bruno's, all holiness is held in contempt (I notice that the word used by Bruno is "all," not "some").  Faith is mocked and dismissed, Jesus is discounted, sin is normalized, the sanctity of life is compromised, perversion is used to sell books and music and TV and movies.  We know how it goes.  

I grow so weary at times.  I want to take Bruno's advice and go to a cove.  But of course I can't do that, not in a physical way.  As I ponder these words, however, I see anew the gift of heart-cloister, the gift of living in the haven of God's will.  I see, in the swirling storm surge, a path before me.  Jesus beckons us all to a safe refuge.

Even in the midst of agitation and misery, I can flee.  Surrounded by shadows, I can rush to place my heart in the bright, blazing Light of Jesus.  

In the Cove of His Heart, there is tranquil and certain rest.

Painting:  Jean-Bernard Restout, St. Bruno Praying in the Desert

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The Cloistered Heart of St. Margaret Mary

St. Margaret Mary Alacoque's was a heart filled with fire.  Jesus chose to reveal to this Visitation nun a Heart ablaze - His own Sacred Heart.  I think it's accurate to say that the saint encountered the Fire of Jesus' love and reflected it back to Him.  Love met love, Heart met heart, Fire met fire.  But the story did not end there.

Jesus entrusted to Margaret Mary a mission:  to spread the message of His fiery love.

"My Divine Heart," Christ said in an apparition to this humble nun in 1673, "is so passionately fond of the human race, and of you in particular, that it cannot keep back the pent-up flames of its burning charity any longer. They must burst out through you."

St. Margaret Mary later wrote: "Jesus asked for my heart, which I begged Him to take, and He placed it in His adorable One, in which He showed it to me as a tiny speck consumed in this burning furnace. Then, taking it out as a burning flame shaped like a heart, He replaced it in the place from which He had taken it."  

St. Margaret Mary said many things that strike at the very core of my "cloistered" heart.  I have room here for a few examples....

"Our Lord frequently told me that I should keep a secluded place for Him in my heart, where He would teach me to love Him."  

"I beg the Sacred Heart of Jesus to deign to consume ours in the flames of His holy love, so that they may live and breathe only to love, honor and glorify Him." 

"Jesus Christ is the true friend of our hearts, and they are made for Him alone.  They cannot find rest, joy, or satisfaction except in Him."

"He wants your heart without reserve."

Jesus wants my heart without reserve.  He desires my love in return for His.  

How will I respond?

Detail of painting by Georges de la Tours, cropped and digitally altered.  In public domain

to learn more about St. Margaret Mary, click here

This post is linked to Catholic Bloggers Network Linkup Blitz

An Abyss of All Good

'In a word, this Divine Heart is an abyss of all good, 

into which the poor must plunge their necessities.  

It is an abyss of joy, into which we must cast all our sorrows.  

It is an abyss of humiliation for our pride,

an abyss of mercy for the miserable,

and an abyss of love into which we must cast all our troubles.' 

St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

This post is linked to Catholic Bloggers Network Linkup Blitz
 

I Ask You

I have grabbed onto the 'ropes,' allowed God to help me through walls that kept me from Him, I've made the climb.  It has taken cooperation on my part, but I can now concentrate better in prayer.

Sometimes, it's as if a door opens and my heart suddenly recognizes the One I've been seeking.

Is what I find worth my efforts? 

I ask you.  

This is part of a 'mini-series' of posts on walls. To continue, click here.