Our Spiritual Library

In prayer we come to Him with everything that touches our life,
with the sufferings and hopes of humanity.
(Constitutions, 20)

As apostolic contemplatives, Religious of the Sacred Heart root our lives in prayer. With a mission to discover and reveal the love of God, our spirituality and our mission are based in love. Our contemplative outlook is part of who we are, whether in prayer, in ministry or in our daily lives.

"The contemplative outlook on the world has been a call to be authentic apostles of Christ's love, to help bring to birth a more welcoming world, to make known a God who is great, bountiful and tender. It is a call to educate in such a way that God's plan, God's glory, may become a reality, so that all may grow as brothers and sisters in the inward freedom of the children of God, and have fullness of life." (Superior General Concepcion Camacho, RSCJ)

The pierced Heart of Jesus opens our being to the depths of God and to the anguish of humankind.
(Constitutions, 8)

On these pages, we will share prayers, poems, reflections and artwork that reflect the spirituality of the Society of the Sacred Heart. We hope you will return here periodically for resources appropriate to the liturgical season and our Sacred Heart traditions.

St. Madeleine Sophie Barat, Feast May 25

Feast of St. Madeleine Sophie Barat 2013

May 25, 2013

Poem for Spring

The following poem comes from the book"Smile the Sun Around My Heart" The Collection of Poems of Anna Mae Marheineke, RSCJ. Sister Marheineke is a 1934 alumna of the Academy of Saint Charles and currently resides in California at the Oakwood Retirement Community. Ecce...Lux! There's a forsythia beneath my window - second story. Three bushes in a row, and one all by its golden self next to a stubborn elm, slow- greening to Spring. That frail yellow finery is more than a little brave, d

Advent Poem, Week 3

Kimberly King, RSCJ, shares her poem for the third week of Advent:

Advent III

In the knowing, nothing
now is sameness.

The iridescent ordinary
occupies my wonder, ah!
while spice warm mystery
cradles the dancing of my awe.

Oh the wind borne glory of this,
the unsettling elegance of love!

Kimberly M. King, rscj

Advent Poem, Week 2

Advent II, 2012

Wandering wrappedin the star tousled wind,

I turn toward infinite onward hope in a moon washed silentfullness of Yes, now embracingthe readiness

for birth, for possible,for unshakeable becoming.

~ Kimberly M. King, rscj

Advent Poem

As we approach the holy season of Advent, we invite you to spend a little time each week in contemplation of the great gift of Christmas. Kim King, RSCJ, has promised to share a new poem each week. Her first is here.

Advent I, 2012

In the already not yet waiting
of birth time bright and never before,

Oh let me sing
praise...sing praise
of what I don't yet know
but trust will be

of shimmering heart,
of Love, of Word, of Wonder.

Prayer for Vocations

God whose power is love and whose heart is infinite,
You have called the Religious of the Sacred Heart
To discover and reveal your love
by living as women of the pierced heart of Christ,
attentive both to your presence
and to the anguish and hope of your people.

Keep us faithful to your longings for us:
Contemplative by vocation
desirous of communion
generous in forgiveness
and passionate for justice.

By our witness,
attract other women to this same spirit and mission.

More Advent Poetry

We invite you to visit the RSCJ International website for Advent prayers by other Religious of the Sacred Heart from the U.S. Province and around the world. Here's one example from Sister Anna Mae Marheineke, who served for so long at the Academy of the Sacred Heart in St. Charles: