Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (lat. Sollemnitas Sacratissimi Cordis Iesu is celebrated on Friday, the 19th day after Pentecost and, accordingly, the eighth day after the Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ. The theme of the holiday is the love of God, revealed to us in His heart, gratitude for it and bestowed salvation. It is Jesus who is the source of atonement and redemption for merciful and healing love, which helps us ourselves to grow in love for Christ, and through him in love for all our neighbors.
It should be noted that the biblical understanding of the word «heart» does not coincide with the generally accepted modern interpretation. In modern culture, the heart is a symbol of feelings, while in the Jewish language, and, accordingly, thinking, the heart means the deep essence of a person, as well as his intentions and decisions. God gave people a «heart to think» (Sire 17:6). The human heart — is the source of a conscious personality, thinking and free, the place of final decisions and the unwritten Law of God.
Before the advent of the cult of the Heart of Jesus, the love of God was especially personified in the image of Christ the Good Shepherd. In the Middle Ages, the wounds of Christ and the head topped with thorns were revered in a special way.
In the 16th century, especially through the Jesuit Order, the cult of the Heart of Jesus comes to a head. In 1672, John Ed celebrated, with the bishop's permission, the first holy Mass on the Heart of the Lord Jesus. John Ed was the confessor of Margaret Maria Alacoc, to whom Jesus' desire was revealed in a vision for people to honor His Heart in a special way.
The Apostolic Capital hesitated for a hundred years to officially establish a new holiday. The first permission was obtained by Polish bishops from Pope Clement XII in 1765, and in 1856 Pius IX introduced the liturgical celebration of the Blessed Heart of Jesus as mandatory for the entire Church. Leo XIII deepened the understanding of consecration to the Blessed Heart by illustrating the relationship between its veneration and the salvation of the world. He also classified the holiday as the highest — first — class in the hierarchy of church holidays. After the reforms initiated by the Second Vatican Council, the holiday retained its high status.
In the triumph of the Heart of Jesus after Communion, a prayer is recited in which a request is made that the Heart of Jesus, in which the world reveals the true nature of God, teach us to see Christ in brothers. The heart of Jesus was pierced on the cross and became the source of the Sacraments of the Church. Blood and water flowed out of him, pointing to Baptism and the Eucharist, without which it is impossible to lead a righteous life and communicate with God.