Blessed Maria of the Divine Heart.

 

“My only burning desire was to belong to my beloved saviour; it seemed to me that he was inviting me, and all the words related to this subject seemed to be spoken to me.”— Blessed Maria of the Divine Heart.

 

Maria and her twin brother, Max, were born in Erdbrostenhof Palace in Münster, Germany, into a wealthy and distinguished family that had proven his faithfulness during the anti-Catholic persecutions of the Kulturkampf.

An intelligent and lively child, she was educated by the Sacré-Coeur Sisters in Riedensburg, Bavaria. It was during her time in school that she developed a special devotion to the Heart of Christ. During a mystical experience in 1883, she came to understand that she was called to dedicate herself to the Sacred Heart as a religious sister.

After an encountered with a young woman in a hospital in Darfield, she discerned that she was called to the Sisters of the Good Shepherd, a community that showed special care for unwed mothers and young women in who were victims of trafficking and exploitation. She entered the community on November 21, 1888 and received the religious name Sister Maria of the Divine Heart.

In her spirituality, she always brought together devotion to the Heart of Jesus with devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, but her spirituality was always manifest in the care she showed for the girls entrusted to her care, reflecting that “the most needy, the most miserable, the most forsaken are the children I love best.”

In 1894, she was sent to the community’s foundation in Lisbon, Portugal, before being name superior of the mission in Porto only a few months later.

Inspired by another mystical experience, Sister Maria of the Divine Heart urged Pope Leo XIII to consecrated the world to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Although she was initially ignored, she expanded her petition to include the practice of devoting the first Friday of each month to the Sacred Heart. Ultimately, the pope accepted her proposal and in 1899, in the encyclical Annum sacrum, he decreed that the consecration would take place on June 11 of that year.

Blessed Maria “of the Sacred Heart” Droste zu Vischering died on June 8, 1899, the vigil of the Feast of the Sacred Heart and three days before the consecration was to take place. She was beatified in 1975 by Pope Paul VI.

 

Daily Offering to the Sacred Heart of Jesus (in Latim and English)

 

Domine Iesu Christe, in unione illius divinae intentionis, qua in terris per sanctissimum Cor tuum laudes Deo persolvisti et nunc in Eucharistiae Sacramento ubique terrarum persolvis usque ad consummationem saeculi, ego per hanc diem integram, ad imitationem sanctissimi Cordis beatae Mariae semper Virginis immaculatae, tibi libentissime offero omnes meas intentiones et cogitationes, omnes meos affectus et desideria, omnia mea opera et verba. Amen.

Lord Jesus Christ, in union with that divine intention wherewith on earth Thou didst offer to God Thy praises through Thy Most Sacred Heart, and dost now offer them in the Sacrament of the Eucharist everywhere on earth even to the end of time, I most gladly offer Thee throughout this entire day, all my thoughts and intentions, all my affections and desires, all my words and deeds, in imitation of the most sacred Heart of the blessed and ever Virgin Mary Immaculate. Amen.

Blessed Isidore Bakanja.

 Prayer for the canonsation of Blessed Isidore Bakanja:

Loving God, your servant, blessed Isidore, gave his life because of his faith in you. Through his intercession I ask for your mercy and help. Father, in his name, I come to you with my needs: (mention requests.) Lord, help me always to imitate the great faith of Isidore. Glorify your servant as he wished to glorify you. Amen.

Dear Mary, Mother of Carmel, pray for us.

Dear Isidore, Martyr, pray for us.

Amen.

 

“One of the holy men remembered by the Church… on 15th August, is Blessed Isidore Bakanja. He was born in 1887 at Bokendela, now in the Democratic Republic of Congo. At the age of 18 years Blessed Isidore was baptised and welcomed into the Catholic Church through the missionary work of Cistercians.

Blessed Isidore was a devout convert and catechist. He had a great love for the Blessed Virgin Mary, expressed through his frequent praying of the Rosary and being invested in the Brown Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

At his first employment Blessed Isidore was permitted by his supervisor to speak of Jesus to the other co-workers which led to many converts to the Faith. At his next employment, however, the supervisor, who was intolerant of religion, forbade Blessed Isidore from teaching other workers how to pray, ‘You’ll have the whole village praying and no one will work’, he was told.

Blessed Isidore refused to stop and also refused to take off his scapular, as ordered by the supervisor. The supervisor then flogged Blessed Isidore twice and then pinned Blessed Isidore on the ground, ripping the scapular from his neck. Blessed Isidore was then beaten over 100 times with a whip with nails at the end. He was then put in chains.

His wounds became severely infected and the supervisor wished to keep Blessed Isidore from the view of the plantation inspector who was visiting. Blessed Isidore was taken outside of the plantation for this visit but he managed to hide in the forest and then dragged himself back and was seen by the plantation inspector, who was horrified at what he saw.

The plantation inspector took Blessed Isidore to his own home and looked after him. The inspector wrote, ‘I saw a man come from the forest with his back torn apart by deep, festering, malodorous wounds, covered with filth, assaulted with flies. He leaned on two sticks in order to get near me – he wasn’t walking; he was dragging himself.’ Blessed Isidore said to the plantation inspector, ‘If you see my mother, or if you go to the judge, or if you meet a Priest, tell them that I am dying because I am a Christian.’

Missionaries came to be with Blessed Isidore and reported that he devoutly received his last sacraments. The Missionaries asked Blessed Isidore to forgive the supervisor who had beaten him and he assured them that he had already done so. ‘I shall pray for him. When I am in heaven, I shall pray for him very much’, Blessed Isidore replied. After six months of suffering, Blessed Isidore died from his wounds at the age of 21 years with his Rosary beads in his hands and a Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel around his neck. Blessed Isidore Bakanja was beatified in 1994 by Pope John Paul II.”

 

 

Triduum to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

 

1^st Day

    O my Jesus, you have said: "Truly I say to you, ask and you will receive, seek and you will find, knock and it will be opened to you."

    Behold I knock, I seek and ask for the grace of (State your intention here.)

    Our Father...

    Hail Mary...

    Glory Be to the Father...

    Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in you.

 

2^nd Day

    O my Jesus, you have said: "Truly I say to you, if you ask anything of the Father in my name, he will give it to you."

    Behold, in your name, I ask the Father for the grace of (State your intention here.)

    Our Father...

    Hail Mary...

    Glory Be to the Father...

    Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in you.

 

3^rd Day

    O my Jesus, you have said: "Truly I say to you, heaven and earth will pass away but my words will not pass away."

    Encouraged by your infallible words I now ask for the grace of (State your intention here.)

    Our Father...

    Hail Mary...

    Glory Be to the Father...

    Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in you.

 

Lets pray: O Sacred Heart of Jesus, for whom it is impossible not to have compassion on the afflicted, have pity on us miserable sinners and grant us the grace which we ask of you, through the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary, your tender Mother and ours.