Day 1: The Golden Chapel of the Sacred Heart

Sonnet One from The Golden Chapel of the Sacred Heart [VIDEO – click on the play icon to start]

The Golden Chapel of the Sacred Heart

I

Six healings, carved in wood, sealed in gold leaf
of paralytics; blind men; deaf and dead;
surround the Sacred Heart statue, relief–
of mercy. As I pray, above my head,
the Savior points to His Heart, set aflame,
a Trinity of fingers raised. His eyes
are lowered—for He knows each person’s name,
and broken heart, and waits, for He is wise.
The floor is hard and cold, but I am home:
there in the chapel-silence with my Lord.
Before its reredos, under its dome,
my blindness, deafness, deadness dies. Restored,
I leave, enter the traffic, crowds, fresh air—
longing to run back to my golden prayer.

—Annabelle Moseley, from Our House of the Sacred Heart

Ponder and Pray Questions:

  1. What was the last work of Catholic art in a church or chapel that moved you deeply?
  2. Have you ever felt like the speaker of this poem, longing to stay in church, rather than going back out into the “traffic, crowds, fresh air”? How does praying the at-home Holy Hour help bridge this gap?
  3. What is your prayer intention for these special eight days marking the jubilee of the Sacred Heart devotion? Pause to pray for this intention.

Sacred Art History lesson: What is the definition of “Reredos”?

  • A decorative screen or facing on the wall at the back of an altar.
  • The back of an open hearth of a fireplace.
  • A screen or partition wall behind an altar.

The reredos described in this poem depict the healings of Jesus. What in your life (or in the lives of those for whom you are praying) needs healing?

Let us contemplate as we listen to this prayer set to music:

Angel of the Agony [VIDEO – click on the play icon to start]

Sweet Lord Jesus, I thank you and am grateful to you for what you have endured for me in your agony. Sweet Lord Jesus Christ, I thank you that in your great anxiety, an angel came from heav’n above to comfort you. -by Briege O’Hare and Marie Cox

Together we pray: Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make our hearts like unto Thine.

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Can you please give at least $27 (in honor of the 27th of June …June 27th is the Feast of the Sacred Heart!) to help support our new Institute and Foundation? If you are able to give more we will be most grateful.  You can  enter a custom amount if you’d like. We welcome and are deeply grateful for every dollar, which makes such a difference.  We cannot do this without you!!! Please help us in our efforts to spread devotion to the Sacred Heart in Gethsemane and to realize powerful goals we have set out to achieve, which you can read more about here.

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