Since my conversion, the one devotion I feel drawn to over and over again is the Sacred Heart. While my thoughts on the devotion as a whole are a topic of a totally different post, today I want to consider how we are to share the Sacred Heart with children.
As a baby Catholic, I was so confounded by this devotion and what it all meant.
Overtime, I learned devotion to the Sacred Heart means contemplating the heart of Jesus- His burning love for us, His sufferings and Passion, and His sadness at humanity’s sin and distrust.
Remembering Jesus’ heart as I behold a crucifix reminds me that no matter where life takes me or how I fail, I must always turn to Jesus. My failure and your failure to love and trust Him wounds His heart so deeply.
It is an extremely consoling thought to envision the heart of Jesus burning with love for me.
As we approach the feast of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque (October 16th), I searched in vain for a simple printable that I could share with my children to teach them this devotion. So, of course, like any good blogger I created one!
You can access it in the Subscriber Printable Library. If you aren’t already a subscriber, you can sign up at the bottom of every post or in the sidebar!
Grab that printable and let’s consider how we go about sharing this beautiful devotion to the Sacred Heart with children.
5 Ways to Share the Sacred Heart with Children
Read St. Margaret Mary and the Secrets of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Windeatt never dumbs down our beautifully rich Catholic faith and writes such engaging stories of the saints. Every Windeatt saint book we’ve read has become a new family read aloud favorite!
I’ve read this story myself a month ago (don’t judge!) and plan on reading it to the children soon!
Share the symbolism
As a convert, I take extra pains to share the meaning and reasons behind our faith and devotional practices. Grab that printable up there and share with your children what all the symbols of the Sacred Heart mean!
Of course, this will have further meaning if you continue to point out these symbols as you come across Sacred Heart images (in church, in friends’ homes, etc.) or even as you look at a crucifix together.
Display an image of the Sacred Heart
Recently I created a couple images (one of the Immaculate Heart, one of the Sacred Heart) to display on our feast table. I have the prayer to the Sacred Heart right there so the children (and I!) can learn it!
Of course, you could go a step further and enthrone your image– something on my Catholic bucket list!
Learn the Sacred Heart Prayer with Children
I find this prayer so beautiful! It is something that could easily become incorporated into a family prayer time or homeschool morning basket.
” O most holy Heart of Jesus, fountain of every blessing, I adore you, I love you and will a lively sorrow for my sins. I offer you this poor heart of mine. Make me humble, patient, pure, and wholly obedient to your will. Grant, good Jesus, that I may live in you and for you. Protect me in the midst of danger; comfort me in my afflictions; give me health of body, assistance in my temporal needs,
your blessings on all that I do, and the grace of a holy death. Within your heart I place my every care. In every need let me come to you with humble trust saying, Heart of Jesus, help me. Amen. “
OR you can always encourage shorter prayers said throughout your day like:
“Sacred Heart of Jesus, burning with love of us, inclame our hearts with love of Thee.”
Encourage your Children to always to turn to Jesus
This is the crux of this devotion, in my very humble opinion. We must always love and turn to Jesus no.matter.what.
The devil hasn’t changed his tactics much. Just like he did in the garden, he continues to whisper that God doesn’t love us.
We must constantly turn to Jesus ourselves and encourage these virtues of perseverance and trust in our children.
Celebrate Liturgically
Of course, the Church continues to teach us and our children so much just by living the liturgical year. There are at least two feasts with association to the Sacred Heart.
The Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (19 days after Pentecost, on a Friday- yep! that’s why you need a Catholic planner!)
St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, October 16th (who helped promulgate this devotion)
The Sacred Heart can be shaped out of nearly any sort of food. Above is a Sacred Heart pizza. The same general idea can be done with fruit, veggies and hummus, cake, or nearly anything you put your hand to!
I’d love to know your experiences with this devotion and how you’ve passed the love for Jesus and His Sacred Heart down to your children – comment below!
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I love the Sacred Heart image you showed on your table! Where can I find a copy? Thank you! AMDG!
I would love to point you in the direction of this piece, but I ended up making it and don’t have the copyright to the image I used as the Sacred Heart. I struggled for a long time trying to find a non-cheesy Sacred Heart image and ended up creating this prayer and Sacred Heart combo on my own. Here is the image I used: https://www.etsy.com/listing/202514006/bleeding-heart-religious-symbol-old-clip?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=black+and+white+sacred+heart&ref=sr_gallery-1-20&organic_search_click=1
That is very helpful! Thank you!
I’m glad you found it helpful, Elizabeth! God bless!