Today, the Feast of the Sacred Heart, the faithful can gain a plenary indulgence by the public recitation of Iesu dulcissime (Act of Reparation) (Ench. Indulg., al. conc., 3). All other recitations gain a partial indulgence.
Priests and Bishops! Have PUBLIC recitation!
Do not be afraid to bend yourself down before God especially and also to the angels and saints our intercessors and patrons and be simply pious.
Man was made to be pious.
This is the essence of religion, without which we are empty shells: to give due reverence to God. The sin of our first parents came from trying to be the opposite of pious: self-sufficient self-gods. That was defiance of due piety.
We can drift into the same emptiness of life by neglect of piety and devotion, neglect of fostering the habits of devotion.
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Oh, how I wish so much that this Solemnity, this devotion, could be more greatly promoted in parishes. I have tried but am just a little lay person. We have lost so much of our devotions and we need them back! They touch hearts. And the Sacred Heart–Who has loved men so much and received from the greater part of them so little love in return–is a good devotion to strongly pursue in personal and parish life. Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us!
Is there a dispensation from abstinence today?
Abstinence is a great opportunity to eat one of my favorites: Toasted cheese sandwich made with sourdough bread and extra sharp cheddar.
I think only solemnities qualify for the exemption from Friday penance.
Our parish is having a special Mass this afternoon for parishioners that enrolled in the Enthronement of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in their homes, followed by a potluck dinner, in commemoration of this feast day. I have been told that abstinence is not required today but I don’t have an official source for that.
Father Z thank you for the link to the Reparation prayer and for the wonderful source for Latin prayers. What memories they bring back what a source to practice Latin while “praying” of course:)
Blessings,
Fern
Sad to say, but this type of thing never goes on in my parish, or at least is never mentioned ahead of time, and to the best of my knowledge it is not done anywhere in my diocese. I have to confess that I have never heard of this particular practice–that’s how common it is. Alas, I’m not assertive enough to do anything about it.
Mass at 7:00 pm…followed by a celebration of hoes d’oeuvres…in Honor of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Sacred Heart parish in Bangor, MI. Fr. Rob Johansen is the pastor.
Joseph-Mary: A little over a decade ago, I was teaching something in Religion at a Catholic school where I was employed and happened to mention something about the Sacred Heart. None of the students had even heard of it!
I made it a point to get to the diocesan library to obtain some background materials. Finding none, I talked with the librarian and she said it sounded like “some East Coast thing” and that the library had nothing on it! Can you imagine?
So…I went on-line and bought some things, including a couple of books on the Sacred Heart and St. Margaret Mary, of which I bought two of and sent one to the library for their use.
There are whole generations I guess….
Last night, Bishop Choby consecrated the Diocese of Nashville and all of its inhabitants to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
I had never been to something like that before. It was ineffable – the weight of the words used in the prayers,…. My heart trembled and knew that a successor to the Apostles was before me, does that make sense?
What would constitute a “public recitation”? If I were to say the Act of Reparation by myself, is the indulgence not attained?
Today is a Solemnity so abstinence and penance are dispensed with. Instead, the Church wants its members to celebrate this Friday as a very special day!
What does “public act” mean? in a church? with at least one other person? at a liturgical function (i.e.: Mass)? only when led by a priest in a church?
The world would be a much, much better place if every Catholic recited this awesome act of reparation each year on this day.
Many thanks for posting it.
Will public resitation of the Rosary, Holy Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and Fr. R.’s amazing ‘Latin Hymn’ sung at the conclusion of Adoration followed by Mass in which the beauty of this day was expounded upon do? I didn’t know about the ‘rlease from abstinence’ and remained vegetarian, but the amazing Indian meal my husband and I enjoyed at the little place down the street was certainly not penitential; no plain dahl and wholemeal roti for said meal last night (it is now Sat morning, 7:30AM).
There would only be a handful of us who are even aware of indulgences at this parish, 90% of parishioners believing such has been abolished since VII (wrong).
This coming Sunday, as my husband and I will be in Sydney, I am going to Sydney’s one and only TLM; the only one for the state of NSW that is not ‘SSPX’ as far as I know!!!!!!!!
but my weekend penance is the entire weekend spent with my husband’s atheist (lapsed Catholic plus Catholic-hating) boomer friends; same for his middle brother and wife (she is only marginally better) who have invited themselves to come down to the South Coast with us and stay Sunday night; PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PRAY FOR ME!! They do not accept Scriptural authority and inerrancy proven from its own pages nor church teachings, being ‘Dawkinsesque’. Please pray that I do not lose my temper with them as they just shut down. I’m packing some sacramental to guard myself with in the home of the friends we’ll be staying with tonight; a batch of Blessed Salt and Holy Water. The guest bed at home has also been made up with the Green Scapular squirrelled away where it can’t be dislodged. I am also making my mass intention today for the weekend and them (pray for them before our Lord in Adoration weekly and as part of the CDM 6 days out of 7.
Sorry if my adding a prayer request to my comment isn’t the done thing.
We always have Adoration and Benediction on Friday evenings followed by Holy Mass. Last night we also recited, as we do every year on the Feast of the Sacred Heart, The Act of Reparation. To gain a Plenary Indulgence, it must be recited in public before the Blessed Sacrament. Regarding abstinence, my 2014 FSSP Ordo notes that abstinence is dispensed with only on Holy Days of Obligation according to the Discipline of 1962. My FSSP calendar also shows the day as a day of abstinence. The Ordo does show, also, the “Current Practice.” Under the list of Solemnities in the New Rite which might fall on a Friday and abstinence is dispensed, The Feast of the Sacred Heart is not listed.