The 13th annual Sacred Heart Congress held at Westerville St. Paul the Apostle Church on Saturday, Nov. 9 gathered faithful from across the diocese as well as several states and countries watching on livestream for a morning of Mass, Adoration, speakers and prayer centered on the Heart of Christ.
This year’s congress took place during the 350th anniversary of the Sacred Heart apparitions given by Christ to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque. Christ revealed His Sacred Heart to her as a symbol of His love for mankind.
Celebrating the anniversary of the apparitions, this year’s congress theme was “350th Anniversary: Encounter Love, Hope, Healing and Renewal through the Sacred Heart.”
The morning began with the recitation of the rosary at 7:30 a.m. led by the Daughters of Holy Mary of the Heart of Jesus, who serve at St. Paul. The congress continued with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass celebrated by Bishop Earl Fernandes.
The Mass was celebrated on the feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome. The Archbasilica of St. John Lateran is the cathedral of the Diocese of Rome and seat of the bishop of Rome, the Pope. Nov. 9 marked the 1,700th anniversary of its dedication.
A children’s program led by the Daughters of Holy Mary of the Sacred Heart of Jesus was offered during the congress.
Father Nathan Cromly, a priest of the Archdiocese of Denver and founder of the St. John Leadership Institute and Eagle Eye Ministries, served as the first speaker. Father Cromly spoke about the Sacred Heart of Jesus as a source of hope.
He recalled devotion to the Sacred Heart being a part of his family for years before he was born. He said the image was passed down through generations and is ingrained in his identity.
“I myself am a product of the image of the Sacred Heart hanging in our home,” he said.
He encouraged the audience to enthrone the Sacred Heart of Jesus in their homes. By the act of enthronement, he said, a person declares their home space as being governed by Someone higher than themselves.
“When we don’t allow God to be at the center of our family life, what are we putting at the center of our family life?” He asked. “There will always be a center. There will always be a governing principle. Someone is leading in your home right now.”
He also pointed out that many people strive for excellence and to be at the top of their work, education or athletics. While such aspirations are not necessarily bad, he said religion and faith are often then put in a pocket of “this makes me feel good.”
He suggested that there is something more important than becoming a great athlete or a solid career.
“What could be greater than having a good job in the greatest state in the Union?” He asked, referencing the Buckeye State. “Love. Love – a love that’s so great it consumes you like a fire.”
Father Cromly challenged the audience to let Jesus be their friend and allow love to enter their life. He said they have nothing to lose and everything to gain. He encouraged them to take a step by putting Jesus at the center of their home.
“If you look at this image of the Sacred Heart that’s looking at you, you have a Man literally opening His chest to you to reveal that His Heart is on fire for you,” he said.
“Everyone else will tell us what we are not. Jesus tells us who we are. Put Jesus in your home, so your grandkids grow up under an image of Jesus telling them who they are: ‘You’re My friend.’ Nothing in the world needs to define you.”
He said many people want to exclude themselves from the Kingdom of God because they feel unworthy. He also spoke of a common struggle for individuals to realize or understand how beautiful they are in the eyes of God.
“Jesus wants to know, gaze upon and appreciate you more than anyone else – anyone,” Father Cromly assured the audience. “Behold the Heart that so loves, that like a fire it consumes itself for you. Behold it. It’s a hard thing to look at that image. And He said, ‘Behold,’ while you’re looking at something so intense.”
He encouraged those gathered to not lose hope. He said Christians have a right and an obligation to hope.
“There’s never a reason for me to stop hoping when He never stops loving,” he said of Christ’s love. “As long as He loves, I will hope.”
Father Cromly offered a second talk later in the morning on the Sacred Heart of Jesus as the “Pool of the Water of Life.”
He addressed the pain experienced by parents whose children or grandchildren have left the Church. While such individuals commonly are told or know they are loved by God, Father Cromly encouraged taking the next step, asking them: Does God know that you love Him?
Father Cromly encouraged individuals who feel the faith does not matter to put more into the faith. He challenged individuals to do an extra act, which could be attending Mass one day a week in addition to Sundays.
He also encouraged placing an image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in businesses and offices. He recognized common fears of living out the faith in the workplace, but he reminded the audience that they have nothing to lose.
“God loves the world. Do you? He so loved the world that He gave His only Son to die for it. Will you? Young men who are listening, who are wondering about your vocations, Jesus died for His Church. What will you do for God?” He asked.
“I think the time is coming for us to put away with lesser things, where we contend ourselves, in other words, for living concretely for ourselves and for little things that don’t really matter, that’ll pass away. The time has come for us to dare great things for Christ.”
Emily Jaminet, the national director of the Sacred Heart Enthronement Network, shared a ministry update.
She spoke about the ministry’s continued mission to equip and assist individuals in promoting and living out devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus in their family, parish and community. The network partners with dioceses, religious orders, apostolates and individuals.
“This isn’t a sacrament; this is a devotion that needs to come alive in the hearts of the individuals, so that Jesus Christ can reign, and hearts can become holy,” Jaminet said. “Schools can become holy. Homes can become holy. Marriages can be reconciled. Relationships between generations can become healed again.”
Father Jonathan Wilson, the pastor at St. Paul, also spoke during the congress.
He recounted two pilgrimages he took this year: one to France for the 350th anniversary of the apparitions, where Christ appeared to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque in Paray-le-Monial, and a parish pilgrimage to Italy.
He also reflected on the Holy Father’s recent encyclical on the Sacred Heart.
The 13th annual Sacred Heart Conference included Mass celebrated by Bishop Earl Fernandes on Saturday, Nov. 9 at Westerville St. Paul the Apostle Church.
“The Sacred Heart is relevant; it’s not outdated,” Father Wilson said. “This is the center. This is, if you will, the heart of the renewal of the Church, which is the heart of the renewal of the world.
“I think we have to rediscover that: I think that’s why, a reason why our Holy Father wrote this letter, was to repropose the Sacred Heart.”
The congress concluded with Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.
Father Stash Dailey, the pastor at Worthington St. Michael the Archangel Church, led those gathered in the Litany of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. He also blessed Sacred Heart images.
Father Dailey is a co-founder of the Sacred Heart Enthronement Network and host of the Sacred Heart Hour program on St. Gabriel Catholic Radio.
For more information on enthronement to the Sacred Heart, visit www.WelcomeHisHeart.com.