Holy Mother Church dedicates the month of June to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. For anyone not familiar with the origin, promises and methods of this devotion I cannot encourage you enough to do a little research. There are many sources of valuable information concerning this beautiful devotion if you’re wanting the quick general gist, but if I could persuade you to dive a bit deeper I would strongly suggest the perfectly all-in-one book, Jesus King of Love*. I was blessed, indeed, to have grown up in a home and family enthroned to the Sacred Heart. With aspects of this devotion woven into my life since childhood I considered myself well versed in the matter. When my husband and I were gifted this book by the priest who generously came for our home and family enthronement, I placed it on the shelf thinking I probably knew most of what this book had to say. (Yes, pride loves to look pretty and get in our way.)

It had been his personal book and is complete with all the “used book charm”…discolored pages, disheveled cover that is seriously lacking visual appeal, the smell we all know so well and his personally designed library sticker politely greeting the reader on the turn of the cover. No matter how I arranged our other books I could never (and still can’t) get this book to nicely go with the flow of things. So, there it sat on the bookshelf, basically an unwrapped gift and looking like an ugly misfit among better bindings. It certainly caught my attention over and over again and in quite an annoying fashion. Funny enough, I always knew I could hide it away, but I didn’t have the heart to do that without snooping around on the inside. After all, it had been a gracious gift on a most beautiful day for our family. But I always postponed snooping around.

A couple years ago I finally gave in and began the first page with a threefold purpose: I did desire to better understand and deepen my devotion to the Sacred Heart so just maybe there’d be something I could take away; I wanted to appease that twinge of guilt for never giving this gift its proper time and I figured common courtesy demanded an attempt at a chapter or two; last but certainly not least I was finally going to do the adequate snooping and then retire this book out of everyday site. My top bookshelf would finally be free of its misfit and the closet bookshelf would probably not notice the newcomer in the dark.

To say that I read a chapter and then dove completely in with a newfound love and yearning is an understatement and I owe that only to the Sacred Heart. I read and reread paragraphs, I cruised along and then revisited parts of a previous chapter, I hit sections I knew I needed to savor and digest so I would take up a slower pace…I realized that the more I opened myself up to this book the more it opened to me. Its amazing what we learn when we quit pretending to know so much. This book truly embodied the proper attitude and spirit this devotion demands from us if it is to be genuine and produce fruit. I have learned that a soul never reaches a completion of this devotion. It can only expand and strengthen, and any progress is truly a gift from the Sacred Heart. Heaven forbid we let it shrink, grow cold or diminish. We are never in danger of understanding the Sacred Heart enough. Through this devotion, the Sacred Heart can reign as King and Friend in our soul, family and home. And as any true king and friend worth his salt, the more we open up to Him, love Him, serve Him, seek and share Him the more He opens Himself to us and shares Himself with us.

Interestingly (let’s be real… nerdly), I find that our shabby book and the Sacred Heart have a bit in common. Our used ‘Jesus King of Love’ sat alone on the shelf for a couple years. Yes, it was among company, but it did not fit in comfortably and it did not meet the visual standards I wanted for a bookshelf. Our Lord with His Sacred Heart, loving and suffering for all souls and being the way, truth and life, didn’t fit in with the crowd either. Once opened, this book became a prized treasure trove. The Sacred Heart is a “burning furnace of charity”, the “source of all consolation”, is “patient and abounding in mercy”. To name just three*. Our book sat there continually ignored after being noticed repeatedly. How often do we ignore the Sacred Heart when He is seeking and calling us? How often do we exile Him to a dark closet because He and His way of truth and life don’t suit our style for the day?

You wonder where the book ended up? It went directly back to its proper place on the bookshelf. Top shelf, front row. I need to keep it handy. I know exactly where to find my favorite words of encouragement and needed instruction. Sometimes I just pick it up to look at its unsightly cover and give a nod of thanks to the Sacred Heart with an embarrassed smile on my face. It’s always right there, patiently waiting for the next person to open it up with an open heart.

*I am not affiliated with the linked website in any way.