Preface

The contents of this little book deal with the sublime devotion to the Sacred Heart and its practical application and fruitfulness in the Catholic home. This is an age when the sanctity of home is threatened in many ways, its paramount interests attacked by evil influences, and its holy atmosphere profaned by many insidious forms of indifference and worldliness. As an antidote for this worldliness and as a means of warming the frozen charity of these latter days, our Lord revealed to St. Margaret Mary the riches of the devotion to His Sacred Heart.

Who can doubt but that the Lover of mankind, in giving this sublime devotion to the world, had in mind especially the protection and saving of the Catholic home from the dangers and evils which He saw approaching? It is surely a safeguard and protection to the Catholic family from the advancing tides of worldliness and irreligion, and the dangerous distractions and subtle allurements of modern times, which are proving so deeply inimical to the holiness and unity of the home.

It is with a view to promoting this desire of the Sacred Heart, and of calling attention to the riches to be found in this devotion for the sanctifying of Catholic homes, that these pages are offered to the reader in honor of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Most of these chapters have appeared in the pages of the Messenger of the Sacred Heart and due acknowledgments are made for the editor’s kind consent to reprint them here. Some suggestions are made in the introductory chapter for the use of these reflections during the devotion of the Holy Hour. The Feast of Christ the King, recently established by the Holy Father, has as one of its great purposes the true and effective reign of Jesus Christ in every Catholic home. We trust this book may have a little share in fulfilling this great purpose. Finally, a little prayer is asked for the writer of these pages and for all who may read them devoutly.