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Sacred Heart Miscellania: Vintage Holy Cards, T-Shirt, Consecration Prayer

Today being the Feast of the Sacred Heart, one of the things I absolutely love is coming across vintage holy cards from the good old days of Catholicism. Among the very best of these images are those dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

I had a folder full of these images on my computer, and for the life of me I can’t find it. I had planned, if I ever got around to it, to reproducing some of these at a printing company. A few of my favorites are below. The art and the words just — to my mind at least — speak to a devotion we’ve somehow lost track of.

Feel free to post your own favorites in the comments.

Speaking of things I never got around to, I’ve had intentions for quite a while now to apply my design skills to creating some Catholic merchandise — t-shirts in particular — that don’t look silly or kitschy.

It appears my friend Matt Swaim, who works as the Communications Coordinator of The Coming Home Network (and was the first Catholic radio host to interview me way back when), has beaten me too it. His new site, Nerdy Catholic Tees, has just released a Sacred Heart T-Shirt based on the Vendee’s resistance materials during the French Revolution that I think looks pretty sharp. 

Finally, since I can’t remember if I’ve ever posted it before, I wanted to include a prayer of consecration of the world to the Sacred Heart that is a part of my daily routine. It’s got some language in it that would send ecumenical/interfaith prelates at the Vatican into a tailspin, which is part of the reason I like it so much. No pulling punches. Wanna save people? They’ve got to convert to the True Faith, full stop.

ACT OF CONSECRATION OF THE HUMAN RACE TO THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS

Most sweet Jesus, Redeemer of the human race, look down upon us humbly prostrate before Thine altar. We are Thine, and Thine we wish to be; but, to be more surely united with Thee, behold each one of us freely consecrates himself today to Thy most Sacred Heart.

Many indeed have never known Thee; many too, despising Thy precepts, have rejected Thee. Have mercy on them all, most merciful Jesus, and draw them to Thy Sacred Heart. Be Thou King, O Lord, not only of the faithful who have never forsaken Thee, but also of the prodigal children who have abandoned Thee; grant that they may quickly return to Thy Father’s house lest they die of wretchedness and hunger.

Be Thou King of those who are deceived by erroneous opinions, or whom discord keeps aloof, and call them back to the harbor of truth and unity of faith, so that there may be but one flock and one Shepherd.

Be Thou King of all those who are still involved in the darkness of idolatry or of Islamism, and refuse not to draw them into the light and kingdom of God. Turn Thine eyes of mercy towards the children of the race, once Thy chosen people: of old they called down upon themselves the Blood of the Savior; may it now descend upon them a laver of redemption and of life.

Grant, O Lord, to Thy Church assurance of freedom and immunity from harm; give peace and order to all nations, and make the earth resound from pole to pole with one cry: “Praise be to the divine Heart that wrought our salvation; to it be glory and honor for ever.” Amen.

35 thoughts on “Sacred Heart Miscellania: Vintage Holy Cards, T-Shirt, Consecration Prayer”

  1. Pray for France for the return of the Bourbon monarch and the restoraton of the Kingdom of the Sacred Heart.

    Reply
      • It is this future French king that will restore Christendom and extend it globally and we must pray for his arrival. Whether his ancestor consecrated France finally to the Sacred Heart is debated somewhat in historical circles. Many saints said he will come and I trust the saints, they can’t have all been incorrect about the same subject. They were all in different countries and spoke different languages over the centuries, there was no internet for them to share ideas and thoughts, 🙂
        “The good people will triumph when the return of the king is announced” St. John Marie Vianney

        Reply
  2. The Sacred Heart devotion was replaced by the Divine Mercy devotion.
    My house is consecrated to the Sacred Heart. Nothing else will do.

    Reply
      • Every time you say a “divine mercy” chaplet you don’t pray a rosary.
        Our Lady said little St. Francisco Marto would get to heaven but he would have to say MANY rosaries.
        I’m an adult man in the modern world and unfortunately I have sinned far far worse than that little peasant boy in Portugal could ever possibly have sinned.
        How many rosaries will I have to say? This weighs on my mind.
        Pray the rosary!

        Reply
        • Amen to THAT dear John!
          (And just f.y i: Ivan = John)
          And today is feast-day of him who is the greatest saint among those born of women, st John the Baptist, who is my first saint and my protector. I hope he is yours too. 🙂

          Reply
          • Wow, thanks Ivan, I’m off to confession soon and I appreciate this heads up. I never knew Ivan was John, thus my daily frequent daily prayer “pray for me a most ignorant sinner.”

    • When I learned of the devotion I was uneasy with certain aspects. It was obvious that in practice the Chaplet would end up replacing the Rosary. The image of ‘Jesus’ troubled me and struck me as an inferior occult depiction of the traditional picture used in the Enthronement of the Sacred Heart in homes. An elderly traditional Vincentian priest refused to enthrone that image and in a country farmhouse in the mid-1980s refused to celebrate Mass until the picture was removed from the room. He told me that the SSPX had the same policy. Later I learned that the
      devotion was popular in charismatic circles and, by contrast, disdained in SSPX chapels, thanks to their informed priests. Some of her diary messages were disturbing from an orthodox point of view and have attracted theological
      objections.

      ─ “and the host came out of the tabernacle and came to rest in my hands and I, with joy, placed it back in the tabernacle. This was repeated a second time, and I did the same thing. Despite this, it happened a third time…”
      ─ “For your sake I will withhold the hand which punishes; for your sake I will bless the Earth.”
      ─ “And know this, too, My daughter: All creatures, whether they know it or not, and whether they want to or not, always fulfill my will… My daughter, if you wish, I will this instant create a new world, more beautiful than this one, and you will live there for the rest of your life.”
      ─ “That is why I am uniting myself with you so intimately as with no other creature.”
      ─ “I see your love so pure, purer than that of the angels, and all the more so because you keep fighting. For your sake I bless the world.”
      ─ “I wept like a child that there was no saint in our midst. And I said to the Lord, ‘I know your generosity, and yet it seems to me that you are less generous towards us.’ And I began again to weep like a little child. And the Lord Jesus said to me, ‘Don’t cry. You are that saint.’”

      Pope Pius XII placed the devotion on the Index of Prohibited Books. Then, during John XXIII’s pontificate the devotion was condemned by the Holy Office on 19 Nov 1958, as having no supernatural nature, the Feast of Divine Mercy was prohibited and it was forbidden to divulge images and writings that propagate the devotion. On 6 Mar 1959, it was again condemned.

      Later, after Pope Paul VI abolished the Index on 14 June 1966, Pope John Paul II approved and promoted the devotion. Fr P Scott SSPX wrote: “for it is very much in line with his encyclical ‘Dives in Misericordia’. In fact, the Paschal Mystery theology that he taught pushed aside all consideration of the gravity of sin and the need for penance, for satisfaction to divine justice, and hence of the Mass as being an expiatory sacrifice, and likewise the need to gain indulgences and to do works of penance.” This replaces what the Sacred Heart asked of St Margaret Mary and is a prelude to today’s diabolical Francis Mercy.
      JMJ

      Reply
      • I could not continue the Divine Mercy devotion since I read those quotes some time ago. They are just over the top as they say, imho.

        Reply
      • One day of divine mercy/chaplet and all your sins AND punishment for them are taken away, straight to heaven no matter when you die after that point.
        Faust..Faustina..hmmm.

        Reply
  3. My sons and I used to pray that consecration after our Rosary on Fridays. I love the language. It is unafraid of the truth.

    Reply
  4. I THOUGHT that prayer looked familiar but I didn’t remember it mentioning Idolotry or Islam.
    It’s in the “Holy Hour of Reparation” booklet by CMJ Marian Publishers. The cut that entire paragraph.
    If you have Holy Cards made with this prayer and any of the pictures above, I will buy them in a heartbeat.

    Reply
  5. “Catholic merchandise — t-shirts in particular.” Are you sure “Catholic T-Shirt isn’t an oxymoron? Why? Unisex. Underwear. Many people know collars are used to designate profession: pink collar, blue collar, white collar etc. But no collar was an indicator of professional/formal vs. working class until 1950s “rebels” decided to wear their underwear in public (James Dean etc.). I never saw my father (b 1916-2006) wear a collarless shirt (i.e. a T shirt) except as underwear. Tradition in Action recently did a piece on men wearing suits: professional, adult etc. But it occurred to me also that priests wear a collar so collarless t-shirts could be an attack on them also (no hierarchy/class).

    https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/108569/is-wear-collar-and-tie-an-idiom

    A working man often wore his shirt without a collar informally, putting on the collar and tie for a more formal occasion, such as for Church, or going out with his wife. The idiom stems from the days when shirt collars were separate, and came in pairs, two to each shirt, which also saved on laundry, hence another idiom ‘be sure to wear a clean collar’.
    https://www.englishforums.com/English/WearACollarAndTie/gjvzz/post.htm

    just a quick question are priest required to wear their collar at all times?
    https://forums.catholic.com/showthread.php?t=536322

    http://www.traditioninaction.org/Cultural/C044_Tie.htm

    Reply
  6. We got this flag; it arrived yesterday in time for the feast today. Unfortunately, it’s raining. Pride flags are sprouting up everywhere around here like mushrooms. 🙁 The antidote to pride is humility, best represented by Our Lady and her son. https://www.amazon.com/QUEBEC-CARILLON-SACR%C3%89-COEUR-FLAG-pole-CANADIAN/dp/B00PSLTLLA/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1498252940&sr=8-3&keywords=Catholic+flags I would be delighted if our Catholic neighbors would fly this too. Viva Cristo Rey!!

    Reply
  7. Please don’t forget The Immaculate Heart of Mary which is a symbol of Mary’s virtues, moral purity, love for God and motherly love for all people. The feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary is celebrated the day after the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (which is today). The Heart of Mary is mentioned in Holy Scripture in several places, directly or indirectly, for example; when the old man Simon prophesied, how Mary’s Heart will be stabbed by the sword and will suffer great pain. Describing the events associated with Jesus’ birth the evangelist Luke recorded the deeply human and faithful reaction of his Mother: Mary kept all these events in their hearts and kept them in their hearts (Lk 2:19). It is precisely this mention of Mary’s heart in the Gospel of Luke that inspired the Christian mystics of the Middle Ages to incorporate it into his devotion.

    The devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary was intensely developed in the 17th century. Mostly by the work of St. John Eudes, who founded several religious societies that promoted this devotion. Before him, devotion was extended by St. Bernard, St. Gertrud, St. Thomas Beckett, Saint Bernardin of Siena, and Saint Francis of Sales. Mary’s Appearance in Fatima with the Immaculate Heart, contributed significantly to the spread of devotion. Pope Pius XII. consecrated in 1942. the whole world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and Pope John Paul II. restored this dedication in 1984. The Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary was officially established in 1855 for the whole Church, and Pope John Paul II. raised it in 1996 to the obligatory memorial.

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/048e92e3f9c8b93447c96e5889f8c84dbefa00a760e211faf7b9c1772b07f9d0.jpg

    Reply
  8. Obviously you will disagree as evidenced by the comments I’ve read but I love both devotions and pray both the Rosary and the Chaplet of Divine Mercy❤️

    Reply
  9. I just discovered this post. I have made 12 copies of the prayer to take with me this evening as we gather across the street from the socialists with all their banners and hatred of everything Trump. We can pray it after the rosary and the Golden Arrow prayer. Thanks for posting this, Steve.

    Reply
  10. Simply AWESOME ! How does one get hold of those wonderful pictures of THE SACRED HEARTS ? Advise please
    .ay God bless you always!!!

    Reply

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