It has been our wish, Venerable Brothers, to explain to you and all Christians, in summary fashion, the real nature of Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the endless riches which flow from it, as they have been made known in Divine Revelation, as in a primary source.
    We think that our statements, confirmed by the teaching of theGospel, have made it clear that essentially this Devotion is nothing else than Devotion to the human and divine Love of the Incarnate Word and to the Love which the heavenly Father and the Holy Ghost have for sinful men.

LOVE: FIRST CAUSE OF OUR REDEMPTION
    For, as the Angelic Doctor teaches, the Love of the august Trinity is the first cause of man's Redemption in that, pouring forth abundantly into the human will of Jesus Christ and into His adorable Heart, it led Him, moved by that selfsame Love, to the shedding of His Blood to redeem us from the captivity of sin. (Cf. Summa Theologica III, q. 48, a. 5; ed. Leon. tom. 11, 1903, p. 467.)  "I have a Baptism to be Baptized with; and how distressed I am until it is accomplished!" (Luke, 12:50.)
    We know, therefore, that the devotion whereby we pay homage to the Love of God and Jesus Christ for men through the august Sign of the wounded Heart of the Redeemer nailed to the Cross has never been entirely unknown to Christian piety.  In more recent times, however, this Devotion has become better known and wondrously spread throughout the Church, particularly after the Lord Himself privately revealed this divine Secret to some of His children, richly endowed with an abundance of heavenly Gifts, and chose them as the messengers and heralds of this Devotion.
    Indeed, there always have been souls especially dedicated to God, who, imitating the example of the Holy Mother of God, the Apostles and the illustrious Fathers of the Church, have adored, thanked and loved Christ's most sacred human nature, especially the Wounds inflicted on His Body during His salutary Passion.

CONFESSION OF THOMAS THE APOSTLE
    Furthermore, do not these very words, "My Lord and my God," (Jn. 20:28.)  spoken by the Apostle Thomas and which signified that he had been changed from an unbeliever into a faithful follower, contain a clear Profession of Faith, adoration and love rising from the wounded humanity of the Lord to the majesty of the divine Person?

GRADUAL GROWTH OF THE DEVOTION
    But if men were always strongly moved by the wounded Heart of the Redeemer to venerate the infinite Love with which He Loves the human race, since the words of the Prophet Zacharias, applies by St. John the Evangelist to Christ on the Cross, "They shall look upon Him whom they have pierced," (Jn. 19:37; cf. Za. 12:10.)  were addressed to the faithful of all ages, we must nevertheless admit that only gradually and by degrees was the homage of special Devotion paid to His Heart as the Image of the human and divine Love dwelling in the Incarnate Word.

A DEVOTION FOSTERED BY GOD'S SAINTS
    If we wish to sketch the significant stages, as it were, in the progress of this Devotion in the history of piety, there immediately come to mind the names of some who have gained special renown in this respect and who are to be considered the standard-bearers of this Devotion which gradually gained momemtum privately in Religious Communities.
    We mention, by way of example, the names of those who achieved special distinction in establishing and promoting Devotion to the most Sacred Heart of Jesus: St. Bonaventure, St. Albert the Great, St. Gertrude, St. Catherine of Siena, Blessed Henry Suso, St. Peter Canisius, St. Francis de Sales and St. John Eudes, author of the first Liturgical Office to be celebrated in honor of the most Sacred Heart of Jesus.
    With the approval of many Bishops of France, this Solemn Feast was celebrated for the first time on October 20, 1672.

ST. MARGARET MARY
    Among those who have promoted this most excellent Devotion, St. Margaret Mary Alacoque occupies the chief place of honor.  Inflamed with great zeal and with the aid of her spiritual director, Blessed Claude de la Colombiere, she succeeded in her efforts, to the great wonder of the faithful, to have this Devotion, rich in spiritual blessings, established and clearly distinguished from other forms of Christian piety by the special nature of its acts of Love and Reparation. (Cf. Enc. Miserentissimus Redemptor: Acta Apostolicae Sedis 20, 1928, pp. 167-168.)

NOT BECAUSE PRIVATELY REVEALED
    A review of the history of the period in which this Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus developed is enough to increase our clear understanding that its marvelous progress is due the fact that this Devotion is in perfect accord with the nature of the Christian Religion, which is indeed a Religion of Love.
    Therefore, we must not say that this Devotion began because it was privately revealed by God or that it suddenly came into existence in the Church, but rather that it is the spontaneous flowering of a living Faith and fervent piety by which men filled with supernatural Gifts were led to adore the Redeemer and His glorious Wounds as Symbols of His boundless Love which stirred their souls to the very depths.

CHRIST'S WISH AND CALL
    Consequently, as is obvious, the Revelations made to Saint Margaret Mary added nothing new to Catholic Doctrine.  The significance of these Revelations lies in this, that Christ the Lord -- showing His Sacred Heart -- willed in an extraordinary and special way to call the minds of men to the contemplation and veneration of the mystery of God's most merciful Love for the human race.
    And so in this special manifestation, in repeated and clear words, Christ pointed to His Heart as the Symbol by which men are drawn to recognize and acknowledge His Love, and at the same time constituted it as the Sign and Pledge of His Mercy and His Grace for the needs of the Church in our time.

THE LITURGICAL FEAST
    Moreover, the fact that this Devotion stems from the Principles of Christian Doctrine is clearly demonstrated by the fact that the Apostolic See approved the Liturgical Feast before it approved the writings of St. Margaret Mary.  For, not strictly basing their action on any private divine Revelation, but graciously granting the petitions of the Faithful, the Sacred Congregation of Rites in a Decree of January 25, 1765, approved by our predecessor,  Clement XIII, on February 6 of the same year, granted the Celebration of a Liturgical Feast to the Bishops of Poland and to the Roman Archconfraternity of the Sacred Heart.
    The Apostlic See granted this petition to extend an already existing and flourishing Devotion, whose purpose was "symbolically to renew the memory of that divine Love" (Cf. A. Gardellini, Decreta Authentica, 1857, n. 4579, tom. 3, p. 174.)  by which our Redeemer was impelled to offer Himself as a propitiatory Victim for the crimes of men.
    This first approbation was granted in the form of privilege and was restricted to definite regions.  After almost a century, another approbation followed of far greater importance, and phrased in more solemn Words.  We are referring, as we previously mentioned, to the Decree of the Sacred Congregation of Rites issued August 23, 1856.  By it our predecessor of immortal memory, Pius IX, acceding to the petitions of the Bishops of France and of almost the whole Catholic world, ordered the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus to be extended to the entire Church and to be duly celebrated. (Cf. Decr. S.C. Rit. apud N. Nilles De rationibus festorum Sacratissimi Cordis Jesu et purissimi Cordis Mariae, 5th edition, Innsbruck, 1885, tom. 1, p. 167.)  The faithful should always remember this Decree, for, as we read in the Liturgy of this Feast, "since that time Devotion to the most Sacred Heart, gushing forth like a mighty stream, has spread throughout the world, washing away every obstacle in its course."
    From the explanations which we have thus far given, Venerable Brothers, it is perfectly clear that the faithful must trace Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, back to Sacred Scripture, Tradition and the Liturgy, as to a clear and deep Fountain.  If they wish to  understand its real meaning and, through pious meditation, receive food to nourish and increase their Religious fervor.

THE ACME OF CHRISTIAN LIFE
    If this Devotion is constantly practiced with this knowledge and understanding, the souls of the faithful cannot but attain to the sweet knowledge of the Love of Christ which produces the height of Christian life, as the Apostle, who knew this from personal experience, teaches:  "For this reason I bend my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.... that He may grant you from His glorious riches to be strengthened with power through His Spirit unto the progress of the inner man; and to have Christ dwelling through faith in your hearts: so that, being rooted and grounded in Love, you may be able... to know Christ's Love which surpasses knowledge, in order that you may be filled unto all the fullness of God." (Eph. 3:14, 16-19.)

THE GOODNESS AND KINDNESS OF GOD
    The Heart of Christ is the clearest Image of this fullness of God embracing all things.  By this we mean the fullness of Mercy which is the special characteristic of the New Testament, in which "the goodness and kindness of God our Savior appeared." (Ti. 3:4.)  "For God did not send His Son into the world in order to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him." (Jn. 3:17.)

POISON OF MATERIALISM AND SUPERSTITION
    From the very day on which she issued the first Decree concerning Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Church, the Teacher of mankind, has always been certain that the essential characteristics of this Devotion -- that is, acts of Love and reparation by which God's infinite Love for mankind is venerated -- are in no way infected with the poison of materialism or superstition.
    On the contrary, the Church holds that this Devotion is a form of piety by which is accomplished a Religious worship pertaining to the Spirit and perfectly true, which the Savior Himself foretold in His conversation with the Samaritan woman: "But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth.  For the Father also seeks such to worship Him.  God is spirit, and they who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth." (Jn. 4:23-24.)

A FALSE MYSTICISM
    It is therefore wrong to say that contemplation of the physical Heart of Jesus is a hindrance to attaining intimate Love of God, and that it impedes the soul in its progress to the highest virtues.
    The Church completely condemns this false mysticism, just as she did when she spoke through our predecessor of happy memory, Innocent XI, who condemned the errors of those who idly maintained: "Nor must they [souls of the interior way] elicit acts of love for the Blessed Virgin, or the Saints or the humanity of Christ for, since these are sensible objects, love for them is of the same nature.  No creature, neither the Blessed Virgin nor the Saints, must have a place in our heart, because God wishes to occupy and possess it." (Innocent XI, Constit. Ap. Coelestis Pastor, November 19, 1687; Bullarium Romanum, Rome, 1734, tom. 8, p. 443.)

THE WORSHIP PAID TO IMAGES
    It is evident that those who hold such opinions think that the Image of the Heart of Christ represents nothing nobler than His sensible Love and that this Image is not of such a nature as to be a new basis for adoration [cultus latriae], which is given only to that which is by its nature Divine.
    There is no one who does not see that this interpretation of Sacred Images is entirely false since it confines their meaning, which is much broader, within too narrow limits.  Catholic theologians hold and teach a contrary Doctrine, and among them St. Thomas has this to say: "The worship of Religion is paid to Images not as considered in themselves, nor as things, but as Images leading us to God Incarnate.  Now, movement to an Image does not stop at the Image, but goes on to the thing it represents.  Hence, neither latria nor the virtue of Religion is differentiated by the fact that Religious Worship is paid to the Images of Christ." (Sum. Theol. II-II, q. 81, a. 3 ad 3m: ed. Leon. tom. 9, 1897, p. 180.)

FROM THE SYMBOL TO THE SYMBOLIZED
    The veneration paid to His Images, the excellence of which must be determined by what is venerated, or to Relics of the bitter sufferings which our Savior endured for us, or to the picture of the pierced Heart of Christ hanging on the Cross, which surpasses everything in force and meaning, is paid to the very Person of the Incarnate Word as its final object.
    Therefore, from the physical thing which the Heart of Jesus Christ is, and from its natural Symbolism, it is right and proper that, supported by Christian Faith, we not only rise to contemplate His Love which is perceived through the senses, but go even higher to consider and adore the sublime infused love, and finally, by some sweet and sublime ascent of the Spirit, rise to meditate on and adore the divine Love of the Incarnate Word.

PHYSICAL HEART AND SPIRITUAL LOVE
    For by Faith, through which we believe that the human and the divine Nature were united in the Person of Christ, we can see the closest bonds between the sensible Love of the physical Heart of Jesus and the twofold spiritual Love, namely, human and Divine.
    We must say not only that these Loves were simultaneously present in the adorable Person of the divine Redeemer, but also that they were joined by a natural bond so that the human and sensible Loves are subject to the divine and bear Its analogical resemblance.  We do not, however, maintain that the Heart of Jesus is to be understood in such a way that in It we have and adore a formal Image, as it is called, or a perfect and absolute Sign of His divine Love, since the essence of this Love can in no way be adequately expressed by any created image whatsoever.
    But the Christian, in honoring the Heart of Jesus, adores, together with the Church, the sign and manifestation of divine Love, which went so far as to Love through the Heart of the Incarnate Word the human race defiled with countless sins.

BASIS: THE HYPOSTATIC UNION
    It is therefore necessary, at this centtal point of a teaching which is so important and profound, that everyone bear in mind that the truth of the natural Symbol by which the physical Heart of Jesus is referred to the Person of the Word rests completely on the fundamental Doctrine of the Hypostatic Union.
    If anyone were to deny that this Doctrine is true, he would renew false teachings which deny that there is one Person in Christ with two distinct and complete natures; these teachings have been repeatedly condemned by the Church.
    With this fundamental truth firmly established, we understand that the Heart of Jesus is the Heart of a divine Person, that is, of the Incarnate Word, and that by It all the Love with which He Loved, and even now continues to Love us, is represented and, so to speak, placed before our very eyes.

A PERFECT PROFESSION OF THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION
    Therefore, devotion to the Sacred Heart is so important that it may be considered, so far as practice is concerned, a perfect profession of the Christian Religion.
    For this is the Religion of Jesus, which rests entirely on a Mediator who is man and God, so that no one can come to the Heart of God except through the Heart of Christ, as He Himself says: "I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life.  No one comes to the Father but through Me." (Jn. 14:6.)

ADORATION, THANKSGIVING, IMITATION
    Since this is true, we readily understand that Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is essentially Devotion to the Love with which God Loved us through Jesus and is at the same time an enlivening of our love for God and man.  Or, to put it in other words, this Devotion is directed to God's Love for us in order to adore Him, to thank Him and to spend our lives imitating Him.

THE NEW COMANDMENT
    It looks toward this as its goal, that we bring the love by which we are bound to God and our fellow men to perfection, by daily observing more eagerly the new Comandment which the Divine Master gave to His Disciples as a sacred inheritance when He said: "A new Comandment I give you, that you love one another as I have Loved you.... This is My Commandment, that you love one another as I have Loved you." (Jn. 13:34; 15:12.)
    This Commandment is indeed new and Christ's very own.  As St. Thomas says, "The difference between the Old and New Testaments is told in a few words, for as Jeremias says, 'I will make a new Covenant with the house of Israel.' (Jn. 31:31.)  However, because the Commandment was in the Old Testament through fear and holy love, it related to the New Testament: hence this Commandment was in the Old Law not as something that belonged to it but as a preparation for the New Law." (Comment. in Evang. S. Joann. c. 13, lect. 7, 3: ed. Parmae, 1869, tom. 10, p. 541.)

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