As we celebrate the solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, in a month dedicated to this holy devotion, we find this feast of Our Lord followed by one of Our Lady, honouring on the next day, a Saturday, Mary’s Most Immaculate Heart. In placing these two feasts next to one another the Church gives us opportunity to meditate upon what St John Paul II described as the “alliance of the Hearts of the Son and the Mother” (Angelus address, 15th September 1985). St John Paul II’s expression was rooted in the words of Pope Pius XII who had stated: “In order that favours in greater abundance may flow on all Christians, nay, on the whole human race, from the devotion to the most Sacred Heart of Jesus, let the faithful see to it that to this devotion the Immaculate Heart of the Mother of God is closely joined. For, by God’s Will, in carrying out the work of human Redemption the Blessed Virgin Mary was inseparably linked with Christ in such a manner that our salvation sprang from the love and the sufferings of Jesus Christ to which the love and sorrows of His Mother were intimately united.” (Haurietis Aquas, On Devotion to the Sacred Heart, May 15th 1956) For this reason, it is also true, as St John Paul stated on another occasion, that “by dedicating ourselves to the heart of Mary we discover a sure way to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, symbol of the merciful love of our Saviour.” (John Paul II, “Address to the Participants of the Study Week of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences,” 26 September 1986) United thus with the loving Heart of Our Blessed Mother, we are drawn into a deeper love for the Heart of her son, “putting into practice the ancient spiritual maxim: ‘To Jesus through Mary’.” (John Paul II, “Meeting with Young People: Greetings of John Paul II,” Cuatro Vientos Air Base, Madrid, 3 May 2003)
