Ship of Fools: Feast of the Sacred Heart=Divine Compassion

Thread: Feast of the Sacred Heart=Divine Compassion Board: Oblivion / Ship of Fools.

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Posted by malik3000 (# 11437) on :

I know the solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (Friday after the 1st Sunday after Trinity/2nd Sunday aster Pentecost) is a major solemnity in the Roman calendar (although since not shifted to the following Sunday how many people actually come to the celebration?). I know it is not on either the US Episcopal Church calendar or the CofE calendar.

But there are a few high-up-the-candle ECUSA places the celebrate it under the name Feast of the Divine Compassion. The one USA parish that I know celebates it is St Mary the Virgin (NYC) -- no surprise there. And perhaps it is celebrated more in England? -- since I see that the Feast of the Divine Compassion is in my copy of the Daily Office SSF (the Franciscan version of CW: Daily Prayer).

I'm just curious to hear from knowledgeble shipmates about the extent of the celebration -- particularly in the Anglican milieu since I hadn't been aware of it til recently. But also how big it is in the RCC these days? Back in the day it was a big devotion, then it seemed to slack off a bit -- has it made a comeback?

And one further question, particularly pertaining to RC observances, in reality how different conceptually (lectionary readings aside) is what is being celebrated on the "Feast of Divine Mercy" from the "Feast of the Sacred Heart"?

Basically I'm just curious.

Posted by Oblatus (# 6278) on :

quote:
Originally posted by malik3000:
Basically I'm just curious.

Our parish kalendar has it as The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, and there's an extra Mass at 6:20 p.m., as we normally do on Major Feasts, so we do observe the day on the same level as feasts of apostles, etc.

This is at Ascension, Chicago.

Posted by Angloid (# 159) on :

It doesn't seem to be widely celebrated in the C of E (even the very traditional anglo-catholic church I know well doesn't do it). Which I think is a pity: it is very biblical in essence, it allows emotion and affection to warm the often dessicated intellectualism of Anglican worship. I can imagine the Wesleys and Methodists generally taking to it. Is it because the 'good taste' liberal-catholic Anglicans who until recently have dominated the liturgical commission have been put off by kitsch statues?

I've printed out the lectionary references from CCP and inserted them in my copy of CW:Daily Prayer. Maybe we should campaign for it to be officially included.

Posted by Liturgylover (# 15711) on :

As Angloid says it doesn't seem to be widely celebrated. I am not aware of even many RC parishes having a solemn mass - the Oratory has Solemn Benediction.

But you can always rely on St Silas, Kentish Town which will have a Solemn Mass at 7.30pm on Friday.

Posted by dj_ordinaire (# 4643) on :

I think Angloid has it about right - the ' show us your operation' statues pit people off what is a rather lovely devotion. Well, that and the explicit link to the gaining of Indulgences which even the spikier realms of the AC firmament seem a bit leary of...

[ 04. June 2013, 00:18: Message edited by: dj_ordinaire ]

Posted by leo (# 1458) on :

We affirming catholics here are having a celebration in Bristol Cathedral on the eve of the feast.

Posted by Ceremoniar (# 13596) on :

The feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is in the Anglican Missal, as well as the English and American Missal. It is also mentioned in the Anglican Service Book in the USA. Those parishes who might still follow any of these resources would be most likely to observe the feast, even if only by a simple daily Mass.

In the RCC devotion to the Sacred Heart continues to be practiced by many. It is particularly popular in more traditional-minded or ethnic parishes, but one usually finds a core group of devotees in every parish, including the middle class suburbs. One could almost say that devotion in the form of novenas and the litany of the Sacred Heart are more likely to be found, both year-round and this week, than a Solemn Mass on the feast day itself. It depends on the pastor's devotion to the Sacred Heart

The Divine Mercy is obviously a much newer devotion, and it is indeed related to the Sacred Heart. Divine Mercy devotion has grown so much since the later years of Blessed John Paul II's pontificate, that I have often said that it is approaching the Sacred Heart in terms of its popularity. The Sacred Heart focuses on Our Lord's love for us, focused on the image of His Heart. It is a very personal devotion, in the sense that one draws very close to the Divine and human Person of Jesus. (Related to it is the lesser feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, watching her Son suffer.) Divine Mercy focuses on the Lord's desire to make His mercy available to all of us, including the most desperate and wretched of souls.

Both use the imagery of Our Lord's Passion; Sacred Heart focuses more on the physical pain and anguish that Our Lord suffered on our behalf duirng the Sacred Triduum, while Divine Mercy includes a more comprehensive view of His lifelong suffering, as well as focusing on how our own sufferings on this earth can be joined with His on the Via Crucis. We can do this on our own behalf, or for the souls of others, as last opportunities to avail humanity of His Divine Mercy.

St. Margaret Mary and St. Faustina, both greats models for us all.

Posted by Percy B (# 17238) on :

Why doesn't the R C C transfer it to a Sunday in some places. I thought was allowed for solemnities of Our Lord?
(Sorry a tangent I know....but ...)

Posted by venbede (# 16669) on :

Because it isn't a holy day of obligation?

Posted by Ceremoniar (# 13596) on :

The Sacred Heart, while a solemnity (called first-class feast in the Extraordinary Form), is not a holy day of obligation in any country. Thus, it does not fall under the "Celebrate it on the day if it is a holy day of obligation, and transfer it to the following Sunday if it is not" maxim. Also, its association with the passion makes its observance on a Friday particularly poignant. Finally, there is permission (even in the EF) to "transfer the external solemnity" (in practice, this refers to the litany of the Sacred Heart and possibly a procession) to the following Sunday. But again, for reasons mentioned above, this has never been that widespread.

Posted by venbede (# 16669) on :

I thought so. Did you mean "celebrate it on the day if it is a public holiday?

I'm always amused to find references to the Sacred Heart in Middle of the Road Anglican hymn books.

But the element of reparation can be a bit off, can't it? I'm pissed off when churches don't reserve the Blessed Sacrament, but I imagine Jesus doesn't go all weepy and want to be consoled?

(I'm not knocking the devotion - I'm keeping it as part of Common Worship Daily Prayer.)

Posted by leo (# 1458) on :

quote:
Originally posted by leo:
We affirming catholics here are having a celebration in Bristol Cathedral on the eve of the feast.

It was nice but the celebrant wore red vestments.

i think she should have worn white.

Posted by Hart (# 4991) on :

I've just come back from a nice mass for it. Standard daily mass, but with a cantor, organist and hymns which we don't usually have. Attendance was probably up about 20% on a usual Friday, but things are so variable over the summer it's hard to tell if that was for the feast.

The Sacred Heart is the patronal feast of priests in my community, so we'll be having a festive dinner tonight.

Posted by Ceremoniar (# 13596) on :

quote:
Originally posted by venbede:
I thought so. Did you mean "celebrate it on the day if it is a public holiday?

I do not understand what this means.

quote:
Originally posted by venbede:
But the element of reparation can be a bit off, can't it? I'm pissed off when churches don't reserve the Blessed Sacrament, but I imagine Jesus doesn't go all weepy and want to be consoled?

Not exactly sure what this means, but Our Lord is certainly hurt whenever His Real Presence is not honored in churches, just as He is hurt whenever His Holy Name is taken in vain, or His Divine Mercy is not accepted, or His Blessed Mother is insulted, or He offers His people anything that they do not accept, etc.

Posted by venbede (# 16669) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Ceremoniar:
Thus, it does not fall under the "Celebrate it on the day if it is a holy day of obligation, and transfer it to the following Sunday if it is not" maxim.

I don't think this is logical. If it is not a holy day of obligation, it would not be moved.

The RCC in England and Wales moves some days of obligation to the Sunday (Ascension, Corpus Christi, Epiphany, and others, eg the Assumption, Peter and Paul, if they fall on Saturday or Monday).

My understanding is that the day tends to be moved in other countries (ie Italy, Belgium) if it is not a public holiday. Ascension is a public holiday in Belgium, so the procession of the Holy Blood in Bruges (what a wonderful thing it is) takes place on the day. Corpus Domini is not a public holiday in Italy, so the procession of the Blessed Sacrament in, ie Spello or Orvieto in Umbria, takes place the following Sunday.

Posted by Forthview (# 12376) on :

The Feast of the Sacred Heart has never been a Holyday of Obligation.It grew in popularity from the time of the visions of Margaret Mary Alacoque at Paray le Monial and was much supported by the Jesuit order including Claude de la Colombiere who worked at the Royal Court in London during the time that there were Catholic queens (royal consorts) in England.Pope Pius XI raised the feast to a high ranking and older Catholics will remember the devotion of 'Nine first Friday communions' in honour of the Sacred Heart which according to the visions of St Margaret Mary would guarantee enough devotion on the part of the participants to ensure their eventual eternal salvation.This devotion hsas not been so popular since Vatican2.
Although the feast is indeed a Solemnity it is not a Holyday of Obligation and one would be very unlikely to find in an RC context a Solemn Mass celebrated on that day.
As far as Holydays of Obligation are concerned in continental Europe the traditional day is observed liturgically if it is a public holiday in the country e.g. where Ascension Thursday is a public holiday as is the case in most countries it is a Holyday of Obligation for Catholics.If it is not a public holiday as is the case in Italy and Spain then the liturgical celebration is transferred to the following Sunday.
There is no country in Europe which has a public holiday on 29th June,so the Feast of Ss Peter and Paul is simply not a Holyday of Obligation.Strangely enough I think that the UK or certainly Scotland is one of the few countries which keeps this day as a Holyday of Obligation although it is certainly not a public holiday.
To take another example the 15th August is kept as a Holyday of Obligation only where it is a public holiday.This includes France,Belgium,Italy,Spain,Portugal,Austria and Poland.In Germany it is a public holiday only in Bavaria and then only in towns with a Catholic majority.

Posted by venbede (# 16669) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Ceremoniar:
Our Lord is certainly hurt whenever His Real Presence is not honored in churches, just as He is hurt whenever His Holy Name is taken in vain, or His Divine Mercy is not accepted, or His Blessed Mother is insulted, or He offers His people anything that they do not accept, etc.

He is also hurt when the poor and vulnerable are exploited, when people are unfaithful to their partners, when they abuse their children, when they invade weak countries, when they violate others, and so on. But he bears our wounds and redeems us.

What he is not is whingy and manipulative, and that is the impression that some of the rhetoric associated with the Sacred Heart gives.

I'm not a Calvinist, and certainly we can do something in the way of reparation for our failings and the sin of the world, given we realise we are first accepted and forgiven by the love of God, shown forth in the Sacred Heart of his beloved Son.

Posted by venbede (# 16669) on :

PS. Thank you, forthview. That confirms what I had thought.

Mind you, a holy day of obligation doesn't mean the clergy have to put on a Sung Mass. It means the laity have to get to mass that day, whether or not they communicate.

Posted by LQ (# 11596) on :

I didn't have the energy to trek out to Scarborough, where the itinerant Latin Mass community of the archdiocese made its station on Friday. The Oratory did something but it was in English.

Posted by malik3000 (# 11437) on :

quote:
Originally posted by venbede:

quote:
Originally posted by Ceremoniar:
Our Lord is certainly hurt whenever His Real Presence is not honored in churches, just as He is hurt whenever His Holy Name is taken in vain, or His Divine Mercy is not accepted, or His Blessed Mother is insulted, or He offers His people anything that they do not accept, etc.
He is also hurt when the poor and vulnerable are exploited, when people are unfaithful to their partners, when they abuse their children, when they invade weak countries, when they violate others, and so on. But he bears our wounds and redeems us.

What he is not is whingy and manipulative, and that is the impression that some of the rhetoric associated with the Sacred Heart gives.

I'm not a Calvinist, and certainly we can do something in the way of reparation for our failings and the sin of the world, given we realise we are first accepted and forgiven by the love of God, shown forth in the Sacred Heart of his beloved Son.

Posted by Ceremoniar (# 13596) on :

quote:
Originally posted by venbede:

I'm not a Calvinist, and certainly we can do something in the way of reparation for our failings and the sin of the world, given we realise we are first accepted and forgiven by the love of God, shown forth in the Sacred Heart of his beloved Son.

Of course we are. That's a given and obviously no one here disputes that. But there is certainly much in the world in this and every age that offends Our Lord, and He is certainly moved by folks who love Him enough to want to do their part to help make reparation.

Posted by Pancho (# 13533) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Ceremoniar:
In the RCC devotion to the Sacred Heart continues to be practiced by many. It is particularly popular in more traditional-minded or ethnic parishes, but one usually finds a core group of devotees in every parish, including the middle class suburbs. One could almost say that devotion in the form of novenas and the litany of the Sacred Heart are more likely to be found, both year-round and this week, than a Solemn Mass on the feast day itself. It depends on the pastor's devotion to the Sacred Heart.

What Ceremoniar said.

In my parish attendance at daily Mass goes up noticeably up on First Fridays (the first Friday of a month is dedicated to the Sacred Heart and the first Saturday to the Immaculate Heart of Mary). A neighboring parish holds confessions on the day the day before a First Friday so that people can receive communion the next day. We have a big, prominent statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in our church and under previous pastors it would be dressed in a crown and a red velvet cape on the feast of Christ the King (a custom I hope will return).

The current form of the devotion took shape in the 17th century with saints like St. Margaret Mary Alacoque and St. John Eudes but it arose in the 11th and 12th centuries among Benedictines and Cistercians, at least partly out of devotion to the wound in Christ's side. It was originally developed and spread by monks, nuns, and other religious like the mystics St. Mechthild and St. Gertrude the Great. For June ( a month dedicated to the Sacred Heart) I read a devotional book based on the writings of St. Gertrude.

[ 18. July 2013, 21:21: Message edited by: Pancho ]

Posted by Mr. Rob (# 5823) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Angloid:

... It doesn't seem to be widely celebrated in the C of E (even the very traditional anglo-catholic church I know well doesn't do it). Which I think is a pity: it is very biblical in essence, it allows emotion and affection to warm the often dessicated intellectualism of Anglican worship. I can imagine the Wesleys and Methodists generally taking to it.

Mmm! Just imagine: Sacred Heart United Methodist Chruch; Sacred Heart Wesleyan Chapel; Sacred Heart Methodist Camp & Conference Center!

[Big Grin]

Posted by LQ (# 11596) on :

If there's anywhere that would happen, it's Quebec, where the streets themselves so often take their names from ecclesiastical dedications. Heck, there's a Sacred Heart Medical Clinic not far from me.

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