Enemies of the Sacred Heart

I’ve never encountered Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque before her name came up for me today on Jen Fulwiler’s Saint Generator.  It looks like she is best known for her devotion to Christ’s Sacred Heart (and for pioneering that devotion before it was general Catholic practice).  But, when I looked over her saint’s page, I was most struck by this line:

Received a revelation from Our Lord in 1675, which included 12 promises to her and to those who practiced a true to devotion to His Sacred Heart, whose crown of thorns represent his sacrifices. The devotion encountered violent opposition, especially in Jansenist areas, but has become widespread and popular.

I was intrigued enough to click through on the reference to Jansenist (which it turns out I had mistaken for Jainism) and learned that Jansenism is a heresy that teaches:

• Human nature has been radically corrupted by original sin
• Man, not free to resist either the delectations of grace, or concupiscence, does good or evil irresistibly, though voluntarily, according as he is dominated by grace or by concupiscence
• Christ did not die for all, but only for those who are predestined to salvation
• The sacraments can be received only after long and severe preparation
• Communion is looked upon as a reward rather than a remedy
• God should be addressed always with fear and trembling

It’s interesting for me to try to study the Sacred Heart by looking at whom it frightened and repulsed.  The overflowing love that St. Margaret Mary received ran counter to the quasi-meritocratic perspective of the Jansenists.  They must have been additionally put off by the very premise of the monastic order she belonged to: the Order of the Visitation.

I had to look them up, too, and that’s how I found out that this order was “founded for people who felt a call to religious life but were too physically infirm to enter an austere order.”  That does sound counter to the long and severe preparation that Jansenism called for.

While the heresy might teach that those incapable of extreme penance were simply not members of the elect, the Visitations nuns knew that Christ acts to sustain and save all people, and Sister Margaret Mary Alacoque identified one additional channel of the grace that is offered to everyone.  Over the course of this month, I’ll try to be more attentive to offering and receiving undeserved mercies.

You can check out other Saint of the Month posts here.

I’m on day 5 of a Norbertine novena, in honor of my friend Michael Hannon, who just entered the abbey.  Please feel free to pray along.