12 Promises of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

THE TWELVE PROMISES FOR THOSE DEDICATED TO THE MOST SACRED HEART OF JESUS

In the 17^th century, St. Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647-90), a French nun, said that Jesus chose her to spread devotion to the Sacred Heart. A French priest, St. John Eudes (1601-80), preached about the loving heart of Jesus and composed a liturgy for a feast of the Sacred Heart. In 1765, Pope Clement XIII approved this devotion and set the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus on the Church’s calendar. The 12 promises of Jesus to those devoted to His Sacred Heart as revealed to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque:

I will give them all the graces necessary in their state of life.
I will establish peace in their homes.
I will comfort them in all their afflictions.
I will be their secure refuge during life, and above all, in death.
I will bestow abundant blessings upon all their undertakings.
Sinners will find in my Heart the source and infinite ocean of mercy.
Lukewarm souls shall become fervent.
Fervent souls shall quickly mount to high perfection.
I will bless every place in which an image of my Heart is exposed and honored.
I will give to priests the gift of touching the most hardened hearts.
Those who shall promote this devotion shall have their names written in my Heart.
I promise you in the excessive mercy of my Heart that my all-powerful love will grant to all those who receive Holy Communion on the First Fridays in nine consecutive months the grace of final perseverance; they shall not die in my disgrace, nor without receiving their sacraments. My divine Heart shall be their safe refuge in this last moment.

The twelfth promise refers to the First Friday devotion as a way to honor Jesus’s Sacred Heart in our monthly routines by receiving Holy Communion on nine consecutive First Fridays (ensuring to go to Confession beforehand if we are not in a state of grace), offering these Communions in reparation for the sins committed against the Sacred Heart.