Celebrate America’s 250th with consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
By Emily Booker
As America prepares to celebrate its semiquincentennial, many Catholics are using the celebration as an opportunity to pray for the nation and entrust it to God’s mercy. From the entire country down to individual homes, American Catholics are invited to call upon the loving Sacred Heart of Jesus.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) will consecrate the United States to the Sacred Heart of Jesus on Thursday, June 11, the day preceding the solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. This consecration seeks “to entrust our nation to the love and care of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.”
“[The bishops] are meeting in Baltimore, all the bishops, and they are consecrating the nation on June 11,” Lisa Morris, president of the Sacred Heart Apostolate, said. “That is huge. It’s such a blessing for our nation, you know, one nation under God, and just everything that we represent as a nation. For them to take that step, I think it is a bold move. I think it’s a fantastic move.”
Bishop Mark Beckman also is excited for the national consecration, which has inspired him to bring it back into the Diocese of Knoxville, into parishes and homes in East Tennessee. He is encouraging parishes and families to participate in this moment with prayer and consecration.
“We’re celebrating the 250th birthday of the United States of America, when we declared our independence. This summer, the bishops of the United States gather in solemn assembly as part of that 250th celebration of our country’s birth. We are reconsecrating the United States to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus,” Bishop Beckman said.
The image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which is on a limited-edition print available and to be used at enthronement ceremonies.
“Here in our own Diocese of Knoxville, we will do the same thing on that feast day on June 12, at the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus,” he added.
The Mass consecrating the diocese to the Sacred Heart of Jesus will be celebrated at noon on Friday, June 12, at the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. Father David Boettner, rector of the cathedral, will celebrate the Mass as Bishop Beckman will be traveling back from the USCCB meeting.
Other parishes around the diocese also will be consecrating their parish that day.
Bishop Beckman hopes that people will choose to participate in this moment of prayer by praying the Novena to the Sacred Heart June 3-11, attending Mass on June 12, and enthroning the Sacred Heart of Jesus in their homes.
“In some ways, there can be no better way for us to celebrate together as a community of faith,” he said.
He recalled how the Sacred Heart has always been a part of his faith journey, from growing up in Sacred Heart Parish in Lawrenceburg to being the bishop at the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.
“I remember growing up at Sacred Heart Church in Lawrenceburg gazing upon the image of Jesus and His Sacred Heart. And through the years, as I ponder the love of God that flows from the heart of God the Father through the heart of His Son Jesus, it is that love which changes our own hearts and sends us forth into the world to bear the love of God, His mercy, and His compassion to each and every person.”
Enthroning the Sacred Heart
The Sacred Heart Apostolate, headquartered in the Diocese of Knoxville, works to share that love and mercy of the Sacred Heart of Jesus to people all over the world through the enthronement of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in parishes, schools, workplaces, and households.
Lisa Morris, president of the Sacred Heart Apostolate, which is based in the Diocese of Knoxville, explains the enthronement ceremony in her Knoxville office. (Photo Bill Brewer)
“Enthronement is taking the love you already have for the Sacred Heart of Jesus and going one step further in your faith journey. You publicly proclaim Him as king of your family,” Mrs. Morris said.
She said the apostolate’s mission is to change the world one heart at a time.
To enthrone the Sacred Heart of Jesus in a home, Mrs. Morris explained, the family prays a nine-day novena in preparation. She noted that the Novena to the Sacred Heart that the country will be praying June 3-11 is a wonderful way to pray with and for the country as well as prepare for enthronement. The novena will be reflecting the Litany of the Sacred Heart.
She also said that it is good to go to confession sometime leading up to the enthronement ceremony.
At the enthronement ceremony, the family places an image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in a selected place of prominence in their home. Items such as a statue of Mary, candles, or prayer cards can be placed on a home altar under the Sacred Heart image.
A priest, deacon, or the head of the household can lead the ceremony, in which the family consecrates themselves to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and enthrones Jesus as King of their home.
Mrs. Morris emphasized that anyone can go through the enthronement ceremony.
“It’s not just the traditional mom and dad and kids. It can be a widow, it can be divorced mom, it can be a single dad, it can be whatever that family looks like. The enthronement is for them because Jesus is for them.”
She recalled that she has even seen enthronements in dorm rooms with college students.
For those attending Mass on June 12, the solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, there will be a limited-edition print of the Sacred Heart available to pick up and be used in enthronement ceremonies. This depiction of the Sacred Heart comes from the rose window in the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, offering the faithful an opportunity to have a bit of the home of the Diocese of Knoxville in their own homes.
Digital copies of this image will be made available on dioknox.org for those who cannot receive one on June 12.
While the enthronement is a one-time commitment, Mrs. Morris said that it is good to renew it every few years.
“We encourage renewal. So maybe on an anniversary or a special day or if you move, then you would do the whole nine-day novena again and do the renewal. The ceremony is the same, except you’re saying ‘I renew the enthronement of the Sacred Heart,’” she said.
She hopes those who have already gone through the enthronement will go through a renewal during this period, praying alongside those who are going through the enthronement for the first time.
For Mrs. Morris, the moment of national, diocesan, and individual consecration is exciting. She believes the graces and blessings from the Sacred Heart of Jesus will heal the world, and she wants everyone to know the love of Jesus.
“I love doing this,” she said. “There’s nothing that is more important right now to me than bringing the Sacred Heart into all aspects of our world.
“All we have to do is look at the news to know we need Jesus as King. We need Him in our lives.”
Resources can be found at www.dioknox.org/from-the-heart-of-christ.