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.

Saint Madeleine Sophie's Daily Prayer

Sacred Heart of Jesus,

Give me a heart that is one with your own;

A humble heart that knows and loves its nothingness;

A gentle heart that holds and calms its own anxiety;

A loving heart that has compassion for the suffering of others;

A pure heart that recoils even at the appearance of evil;

A detached heart that longs for nothing other than the goodness of heaven;

A heart detached from self-love and embraced by the love of God,

Its attention focused on God, Its goodness its only treasure in time and in eternity.

Sacred Heart Image

First Friday Reflection for June 2017

In Exodus 35:35 we read that God has filled artists with skill to do every kind of work done by an artisan, designer, or embroiderer in blue, purple and crimson yarns, and in fine linen. They are able to do work of all kinds and with such originality. This piece of Scripture reflects something of the skill of this fabric artist. I do not know the artist but the gift that this person offers is a talent, a light, offering compassion, hope and joy to a suffering world.

First Friday Reflection for May 2017

When I first saw the icon above by Soeur Marie-Paul Farran, OSB, and studied it closely, I was drawn to the six water jars in the lower right hand corner. They are reminiscent of the jugs at the wedding feast of Cana. In the Gospel of John, Jesus tells the waiters to fill six jugs with water, and then he changes the water into wine for the wedding guests. But before that, his Mother, Mary, tells the waiters, "Do whatever he tells you."

Photo by Julie Siderfin, Associate

First Friday Reflection for March 2017

Lent has begun: our journey with Christ in suffering, death and resurrection. This old weathered statue looks over a corner of Calvary Cemetery in St. Louis and reminds us of the gift of his heart. It shows Christ with arms outstretched, fingers broken and heart exposed to the world.

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