The Diocese of Columbus will serve as a diocesan center for the Guard of Honor of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
The Guard of Honor was approved by Bishop Earl Fernandes on the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which fell on June 9 earlier this year. Enrollment in the Guard began at the end of June.
The first public enrollment was held at Holy Family on Friday, Sept. 5, after the 7 p.m. Mass. To date, 35 members in the diocese are currently enrolled.
Rebecca Rector, a parishioner at Columbus Holy Family Church, serves as the zelatrix, or promoter, for the newly established Columbus Diocesan Center for the Guard of Honor of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Each diocesan center also has a director. Father Michael Donovan, O. de. M. (Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy), a Mercedarian priest and pastor at Holy Family, is the director of the diocesan Guard.
As part of the Guard, individuals – laity, clergy and consecrated religious – dedicate an hour of their day – the same hour every day – known as an hour of presence.
Guard members do not need to spend their dedicated hour in prayer or in a church. They simply offer Christ their thoughts, words, actions, sufferings and desire to console His divine Heart.
Members place themselves spiritually at the foot of the cross with the first three guards: the Blessed Mother, St. John the Evangelist and St. Mary Magdalene.
“As His Heart was pierced on the cross, they were there to guard him,” Rector explained. “You’re giving Him glory, love and reparation, or consoling His Heart for that hour.
“You change nothing else in your vocation, your life, wherever you were placed for the day. You’re living that day and that hour just as God intended you to be, and you’re giving Him that love.”
Sister Marie of the Sacred Heart Bernaud (1825-1903), a religious sister at the Monastery of the Visitation of Holy Mary in Bourg-en-Bresse, France, began the Guard of Honor in 1863. It became a confraternity a year later and the Archconfraternity of the Guard of Honor in 1878.
In Sister Marie’s vision, enrollments in the confraternity would be inscribed upon a dial marking the 12 hours of the day. A crown of adorers would take up their guard.
The association ensures that Christians are attentive to Christ’s burning love for them all hours of the day. Members chose one hour of the day to be attentive to Jesus’ presence.
Each hour has an assigned devotion or intention. As an example, from 1 to 2 (a.m. or p.m.), enrollees pray with St. Joseph and the saints for the nations of the world. From 10 to 11, members pray with the archangels for the souls in purgatory.
Blessed Marie Deluil-Martiny (1841-1884) of Marseille, France, learned of the Guard of Honor of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in 1864. She promoted the Guard, distributing printed materials, holy pictures and medals throughout the world, earning the title “First Zelatrix” for her work.
The purpose of the Guard of Honor – a worldwide association – is to glorify, love and console the Sacred Heart of Jesus, offering oneself with Him in a life of prayer, penance and charity in reparation for the sins of the world.
Guard members can offer a supplemental Hour of Mercy – implemented in 1882 – for the intention of a person in a spirit of reparation. Parents, spouses and friends might offer an Hour of Mercy for the conversion of a loved one.
To bring the Guard of Honor to the Diocese of Columbus, Rector contacted the national center based in Tyringham, Massachusetts. The Sisters of the Visitation of Holy Mary there offered guidance.
After receiving approval from Bishop Fernandes in June, Rector first presented the association at Holy Family Church.
She is working to set up public enrollments on First Fridays. To date, three public enrollments at Holy Family have taken place.
The majority of Guard members are Holy Family parishioners. A few individuals are from other diocesan parishes.
During the first public enrollment on Friday, Sept. 5 at Holy Family, 15 people were enrolled. Three were publicly enrolled on Sunday, Sept. 7 after the parish’s 8 p.m. Mass. Another five were enrolled publicly on Sunday, Sept. 14 after the 11 a.m. Mass.
Eight individuals have enrolled privately. Four are to be publicly enrolled after a daily Mass at Holy Family in the coming weeks.
Enrollment is not binding. Individuals do not have to be Catholic to enroll.
Rector plans to take the Guard of Honor to other parishes and places in the diocese.
“We’re hoping to take this into nursing homes, hospitals and prisons,” she said, “anywhere that people sometimes can feel like, ‘I’m trapped; I can’t get out.’ What can you do? You can still give Jesus your love from no matter where you are.”
Nearly two centuries before Sister Marie of the Sacred Heart Bernaud began the Guard, Jesus revealed His Sacred Heart to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, a religious sister in the Order of the Visitation of Our Lady, in Paray-le-Monial, France.
Christ made Twelve Promises to faithful who honor His Heart. He promised His excessive mercy and all-powerful love to those who receive Holy Communion on First Fridays for nine consecutive months, assuring that they will not die without receiving the sacraments.
The first public enrollment in the Guard in Columbus was held on a First Friday, honoring Christ’s Sacred Heart.
Enrollees complete an informational card. They can opt to enroll publicly or privately.
“It’s up to each person if they feel like, ‘Yes, I want to publicly let everyone know that I am doing this,’ or if they just want it to be between them and Jesus,” Rector explained.
As part of a public enrollment, members receive a medal.
Father Donovan blesses the medals and places them around the neck of each person. He then offers a blessing for the people who will wear the medal.
Indulgences are attached to public enrollment.
All enrollees receive an enrollment card. The card features the dial marking the 12 hours of the day with the Sacred Heart of Jesus in the center.
Members who enroll in the Guard must reside in the diocese in which they enroll. Anyone interested in enrolling can also contact the national center in Tyringham, Massachusetts.
The association is promulgated in 36 countries on every continent.
Related to: Korean Catholic community finds new home – Catholic Times: Read Catholic News & Stories