πΏ Saint John Eudes, C.I.M.
Priest — Founder and Apostle of the Sacred Hearts
π️ Born: 14 November 1601
π Birthplace: Ri (Ri), Normandy, Kingdom of France
⚰️ Died: 19 August 1680 (aged 78)
π Place of Death: Caen, Normandy, Kingdom of France
π Venerated in: Catholic Church
π Beatified: 25 April 1909, Saint Peter's Basilica by Pope Pius X
π Canonized: 31 May 1925, Saint Peter's Basilica by Pope Pius XI
π Feast Day: 19 August
✨ Attributes: Priest's attire, devotion to the Sacred Heart
πΏ Patronage: Eudists; Order of Our Lady of Charity; Diocese of Baie-Comeau; Missionaries
“A priest consumed by the love of the Sacred Hearts, devoted to formation and missions.”
Born on November 14, 1601, on a farm near the village of Ri in Normandy, France, Jean Eudes was the eldest son of Isaac Eudes, a surgeon, and Martha Corbin. The couple raised seven children—four daughters and three sons, including Jean and his younger brother, the noted historian FranΓ§ois Eudes de MΓ©zeray (1610–1683). Growing up in a devout Catholic household, Jean was immersed in a faith-filled environment that shaped his spiritual destiny. At the age of 12, he made his First Communion on Pentecost, May 26, 1613, a moment that deepened his devotion. By 14, he took a private vow of chastity, signaling an early commitment to a life dedicated to God.
Jean’s education began under the Jesuits at Caen, where his intellectual gifts and piety flourished. The Jesuits’ rigorous academic and spiritual formation prepared him for his future calling. At 22, he made a pivotal decision to join the Oratory of Jesus, a French congregation founded by Pierre de BΓ©rulle, known for its Christocentric spirituality. On March 25, 1623, Jean entered the Oratorians, drawn to their emphasis on adoration and a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Under the guidance of BΓ©rulle and the ascetic Charles de Condren, Jean embraced the French School of Spirituality, which prioritized devotion to the Incarnate Word and the Holy Spirit. His formation culminated in his ordination to the subdiaconate on December 21, 1624, by Bishop Jacques Camus de PontcarrΓ©, setting the stage for his priestly ministry.
Priesthood and Early Ministry: Serving Amid Crisis
Ordained a priest on December 20, 1625, Jean celebrated his first Mass on Christmas Day, a fitting start for a man who would dedicate his life to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Shortly after, he fell gravely ill, remaining bedridden until 1626. After recovering, he completed his theological studies in Aubervilliers and returned to SΓ©ez in 1627. His early priesthood was marked by extraordinary courage during the plagues of 1627 and 1631, which ravaged Normandy. Volunteering to minister to the afflicted, Jean administered sacraments and ensured proper burials for the dead, living in a cask in a field to avoid infecting his Oratorian confreres. His selfless service during these crises earned him respect and admiration.
From 1633, Jean embarked on a prolific preaching career, delivering over 100 parish missions across France, including Normandy, Γle-de-France, Burgundy, and Brittany. His missions, lasting from weeks to months, were renowned for their evangelical fervor, earning him the title “the prodigy of his age” from Jean-Jacques Olier, founder of the Sulpicians. Jean preached to diverse audiences, including the royal court of Anne of Austria and at Versailles, though his Gallican critics, including King Louis XIV, suspected him of opposing their policies. As a confessor, he facilitated countless conversions, his gentle yet firm approach drawing souls closer to Christ. Recognizing the need for better priestly formation, he established seminaries in Caen, Coutances, Lisieux, Rouen, Γvreux, and Rennes, addressing the deficiencies he observed in clerical education.
Founding Religious Congregations: A Mission of Mercy
Jean Eudes’s apostolic zeal led him to found two religious congregations, both rooted in his devotion to the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. In 1641, disturbed by the plight of prostitutes seeking to reform their lives, he responded to a challenge from Madeleine Lamy, a laywoman caring for such women. On November 25, 1641, he established the Order of Our Lady of Charity of the Refuge in Caen, providing a safe haven for women seeking penance. With the aid of three Visitation nuns, he opened a house in 1644, which received diocesan approval from the Bishop of Bayeux on February 8, 1651, and papal approval from Pope Alexander VII on January 2, 1666. This congregation later inspired the founding of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd by Mary Euphrasia Pelletier in 1829.
In 1643, seeking greater freedom to pursue his mission of priestly formation and parish evangelization, Jean left the Oratorians with the support of Cardinal Richelieu and several bishops. On March 25, 1643, he founded the Congregation of Jesus and Mary, known as the Eudists, in Caen. The Eudists focused on training priests through seminaries and conducting parish missions, addressing the spiritual needs of both clergy and laity. Jean also established the Society of the Most Admirable Mother, a Third Order that included laywomen like Jeanne Jugan, founder of the Little Sisters of the Poor, and Amelie Fristel, reflecting his inclusive vision of holiness.
Devotion to the Sacred Hearts: A Liturgical Legacy
Jean Eudes is best known as the “Author of the Liturgical Worship of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary.” Influenced by the French School, St. Francis de Sales, and the revelations of Sts. Gertrude the Great and Mechtilde, he transformed private devotion to the Sacred Hearts into a universal practice for the Church. He composed the propers for the Mass and Divine Office for both the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, with the first celebrations occurring on February 8, 1648 (Immaculate Heart) and October 20, 1672 (Sacred Heart), each as a double feast with an octave. These liturgies, approved by several bishops, spread widely and were later adopted universally.
His seminal work, Le CΕur Admirable de la TrΓ¨s Sainte MΓ¨re de Dieu (The Admirable Heart of the Most Holy Mother of God), was the first book dedicated to the devotion to the Sacred Hearts, emphasizing their mystical unity: “You must never separate what God has so perfectly united.” Despite opposition from Jansenists, who criticized his focus on divine love, Jean’s writings, including prayers, rosaries, and devotional works, deepened the Church’s understanding of Christ’s and Mary’s hearts as centers of love and mercy. In 1674, Pope Clement X granted six papal bulls of indulgences for confraternities and seminaries dedicated to the Sacred Hearts, affirming Jean’s mission.
Later Years and Death
By 1671, Jean’s health began to decline, prompting him to draft his will in April of that year. Rumors circulated that he might be appointed coadjutor bishop of Γvreux, with support from King Louis XIV, but his focus remained on his congregations and devotions. He continued to lead the Eudists and the Order of Our Lady of Charity, overseeing their growth and ensuring their fidelity to his vision. On August 19, 1680, Jean Eudes died in Caen at the age of 78, leaving behind a legacy of spiritual renewal. His remains were exhumed and transferred in 1810 and again on March 6, 1884, to preserve them for veneration.
Veneration and Path to Doctor of the Church
The cause for Jean Eudes’s canonization began in the Diocese of SΓ©ez on August 19, 1868, with the formal introduction under Pope Pius IX on February 7, 1874, naming him a Servant of God. On January 6, 1903, Pope Leo XIII declared his heroic virtues, titling him Venerable and recognizing him as the “Author of the Liturgical Worship of the Sacred Heart.” Two miracles attributed to his intercession led to his beatification by Pope Pius X on April 25, 1909, in St. Peter’s Basilica. Two additional miracles paved the way for his canonization by Pope Pius XI on May 31, 1925. A statue of Jean, crafted by Silvio Silva in 1932, stands in the right nave of St. Peter’s Basilica, a testament to his enduring legacy.
Since World War II, supporters, including the Eudists and the Sisters of the Good Shepherd, have advocated for Jean Eudes to be named a Doctor of the Church, citing his contributions to liturgical worship and priestly formation. The French Episcopal Conference and bishops from Mexico, Venezuela, Ecuador, Benin, Honduras, and Colombia endorsed the proposal in 2014–2015. On December 3, 2016, the Eudist Superior General, Camilo Bernal Hadad, and Bishop Luc CrΓ©py met with Pope Francis to discuss the cause. A Positio dossier, detailing Jean’s spiritual writings and contributions, was submitted to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints in April 2017, and the process remains under evaluation.
Literary Contributions
Jean Eudes was a prolific writer, producing works that remain influential in Catholic spirituality. His principal works include:
La Vie et le Royaume de JΓ©sus (The Life and Kingdom of Jesus, 1637): A guide to living a Christ-centered life.
Le contrat de l'homme avec Dieu par le Saint BaptΓͺme (Contract of Man with God Through Holy Baptism, 1654): On the significance of baptism.
Le Bon Confesseur (The Good Confessor, 1666): A manual for priests in the ministry of confession.
Le MΓ©morial de la vie EcclΓ©siastique: Reflections on the spiritual life of clergy.
Le PrΓ©dicateur Apostolique: Guidance for preaching and evangelization.
Le CΕur Admirable de la TrΓ¨s Sainte MΓ¨re de Dieu: The first book on the devotion to the Sacred Hearts, emphasizing their unity.
Legacy and Call to Holiness
St. John Eudes’s life is a testament to the power of devotion, evangelization, and service. His establishment of the Eudists and the Order of Our Lady of Charity addressed critical needs in the Church—priestly formation and the rehabilitation of marginalized women. His promotion of the Sacred Hearts transformed Catholic spirituality, offering a path to intimacy with Christ and Mary. Pope Benedict XVI, in a 2009 audience, praised Jean as a “tireless apostle of the devotion of the Sacred Hearts” and a model for priests, highlighting his apostolic zeal and evangelistic witness.
Jean’s legacy endures through the Eudist seminaries, the global mission of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd, and the universal celebration of the Sacred Heart feasts. His call to see Jesus and Mary as inseparable inspires the faithful to cultivate a personal relationship with Christ through Mary’s intercession. Let us pray to St. John Eudes for the grace to live with apostolic zeal, to embrace the love of the Sacred Hearts, and to aspire to eternal life through faithful service to God and neighbor.
Decree of Beatification of Blessed John Eudes, by Pope Saint Pius X:
The Divine Master, Who protects for ever the Church that He purchased with His Blood, has called ministers of religion the salt of the earth; and He never allows them to be wanting when, by their help, men are to be rescued from the corruption of sin. He has therefore in His mercy raised up from time to time holy men to provide, with ampler fruit, for the eternal salvation of souls by devoting all their energies to restore ecclesiastical discipline when weakened by the wickedness of the times. Amongst these must assuredly be numbered the venerable servant of God, John Eudes, the illustrious founder of the priests of the Congregation of Jesus and Mary, a man truly sent by God, who with heroic virtue laboured to heal as far as possible the injuries done to Religion in France during the seventeenth century.
He was born on the 14th of November, 1601, in the village of Ri, in the diocese of SΓ©ez. His pious and respectable parents, Isaac Eudes and Martha Corbin, had promised that, if they had a son, they would make a pilgrimage to Notre-Dame de la Recouvrance and there consecrate him to God. Having gained their desire, they took care that their child should be immediately baptized, giving him the name John. Having entered into life so auspiciously, he from his earliest years reproduced perfectly the examples of virtue received from his parents; for he advanced marvellously in piety, and in that chief guardian of the soul, modesty. This was shown in a remarkable incident which occurred when he was scarcely ten years old: one of his comrades gave him a blow on the cheek. John immediately fell on his knees, and obeyed the Gospel precept literally by offering the other cheek. For his education his father entrusted him to a very pious priest, who trained him not only in learning, but especially in religion, with results that his after sanctity showed. Yearning to embrace the meek and humble Jesus whom he so earnestly copied, and to be sweetly nourished by His immaculate flesh, he was filled with joy when in his twelfth year he made his First Communion and was sealed with the holy chrism. So many and so great were his emotions on that memorable day that he seemed like an angel in a divine rapture; and so marvellous was his union with Christ that soon after he bound himself by a vow of perpetual chastity, and determined to devote himself entirely to God.
He was next admitted into the college which the Fathers of the Society of Jesus (nurse of holy men) directed at Caen. Here his piety was not only maintained but increased: he received Holy Communion so frequently and so fervently, and he showed to our Blessed Lady so tender a love, that he was called by everyone “the devout Eudes.”
When his course of philosophy was finished he returned home. His parents pressed him to settle down in the world; but he explained to them the purpose that he had formed, and earnestly entreated them to allow him to devote himself entirely to God and the Blessed Virgin. Accordingly he returned again to Caen, and applied himself to the study of theology; but loathing more and more all profane and perishable things, he began to think of the Oratory of Father de BΓ©rulle, in which he might better exercise the sacred ministry. Again his father opposed his desires; but John, thinking it wiser to hear the voice of God rather than the voice of nature, pleaded his cause so earnestly that he won at last his father’s consent to his entering this Congregation.
He was received at Paris into the Oratory, the object of which was to give missions and to train young men in piety and learning in ecclesiastical seminaries. It may easily be conjectured with what zeal the venerable servant of God applied himself to the salvation of his own soul and of other souls. Indeed, his virtues of all kinds, crowned by the most profound humility, shone forth so brightly from the first that the duty of preaching was imposed upon him before he had received Holy Orders, and those first beginnings led all who heard him to form the highest expectations of his future.
At length, at the end of the year 1625, came the long-desired day when the holy man was ordained priest at Paris, and offered up his first Mass with such devotion that greater there could not be. When nine months a priest, broken down either by the austerity of his life or by the toils he had gone through, he fell into a sickness from which he slowly recovered in complete retirement, making use of his enforced leisure to study spiritual books and Holy Scripture.
But his life was soon exposed to still greater peril; for when a letter from his father informed him that cholera was ravaging his native place, he at once flew thither and laboured night and day for the cure of the bodies and especially of the souls of the poor victims of the plague. He induced the inhabitants of Argentan to address their petitions with great public solemnity to the Blessed Virgin Mary, entreating her to drive away the calamity that hung over them. They at once experienced her protection, and were wonderfully saved from the horrible scourge.
In this same field of glory the virtue of the venerable servant of God shone forth a second time; for, four years later, Caen was attacked by this dreadful plague. Father Eudes went at once to its relief, and gave again splendid proofs of his zeal and charity. Fearing only that others might catch the pestilence from him, he would not lodge in any house, but passed the night in a barrel in an open field, called ever afterwards the Saint s Meadow. These toils nearly cost him his life. He fell sick again, but happily recovered; and at once he undertook with incredible alacrity the apostolic ministry, preaching incessantly in villages, towns, and cities. In this manner, during very many years up to extreme old age, he exhorted to a Christian life the people who were then sunk in vice; and for the joyful fruits of penance that he fathered everywhere he was likened to Saint Vincent Ferrer. The bishops, relying not more on the power of his sermons than upon his sanctity, vied with one another in summoning John to their aid, feeling assured, each prelate for the faithful of his own diocese, that mighty multitudes of them would flock to hear the herald of God and would be converted by the words and the example of so great a man. It is well to remember that John was so pre-eminent among the preachers of that time that M. Olier, the founder of the Society of Saint Sulpice, who invited him to Paris to preach in his church, called him the prodigy of the age, and the Queen of France, as well as the learned Bossuet, looked upon him as one to be proposed as a model to all sacred orators.
The venerable servant of God, who had been appointed Rector of the Oratory at Caen, having sought in vain for leave to establish a seminary according to the Institute, began to see with no little pain that this Institute had failed entirely in its principal office: therefore, after imploring the divine help by prayers and fasts, and after seeking counsel from many, he at length, with great reluctance, separated from his brethren with whom he had been associated for twenty years. March 25th, 1643, he and five of his priests began a new congregation of priests to which he gave the most holy names of Jesus and Mary, and opened at Caen the first seminary, which in the following year was duly confirmed by the authority of the Bishop of Bayeux.
It is incredible what bitter envy, to which saints are not unaccustomed, was from this time excited against the venerable servant of God, especially by the Jansenists, on account of his unswerving loyalty to the Roman See; but admirable likewise were the humility and the fortitude with which John suffered all patiently, calling his enemies brothers and offering up prayers for them. That first seminary, which John as interpreter and heir of Cardinal de BΓ©rulle’s plans and purposes, erected according to the prescriptions of the Council of Trent, was soon, at the desire of various Bishops, followed by many others, in which full provision was made for the training of the young clergy in learning and piety; and thus the Eudist Congregation, like the mustard seed, grew up into a great tree and soon spread out its branches far and wide.
Another work of this venerable servant of God was to institute a Congregation of Daughters of Our Lady of Charity, adding to the three vows of religion a fourth vow about recalling fallen women to a virtuous life. This community was in the lifetime of its Founder raised by our predecessor, Alexander the Seventh, into a religious Order, which is now established everywhere. Father Eudes founded also a sodality, still existing, which takes its name from the Admirable Heart of the Mother of God; and he inaugurated other works of piety and charity, suited to the sex, age, and condition of the faithful, wherein he provided, in every way that he could, for the good of souls.
But his services to the Church received a vast increase when, burning with a singular love for the most holy Hearts of Jesus and Mary, he was the first to think, not without some divine inspiration, of offering to them liturgical worship. Of this most sweet exercise of piety, therefore, he is to be considered the father, since from the beginning of his congregation of priests he provided that the feasts of those sacred Hearts should be celebrated among them; the doctor also, for he composed special offices and masses in their honour; and finally the apostle, for he strove with all his might to spread everywhere this most salutary devotion.
In the midst of all these labours he never ceased to preach the Word of God to the people and to compose many excellent writings redolent of a singular piety. The most eminent men in France esteemed him highly, and were eager to consult with him; and Saint Vincent de Paul himself was full of admiration for the fruits derived from his missions.
When this illustrious man, worn out by labours rather than by years, saw that the end of his life was at hand, he desired more and more to be dissolved and to be with Christ. But before laying his frail body on the bed from which he was never to rise, he visited the Daughters of Our Lady of Charity and bade them a last farewell, praying that the dew of heavenly joy might be poured out upon them. Then, giving himself up entirely to the disposal of the divine will, he showed the most perfect patience in his bodily sufferings, and seemed to enjoy the tranquillity of the blessed. His malady grew worse; and so, fortified by all the sacred rites of religion and surrounded by his sons, to whom, as they wept beside his bed, he addressed the words of eternal life, repeating very often the sweet names of Jesus and Mary, he slept most peacefully in the Lord, on the nineteenth day of August, 1680.
Devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, by an Oblate of Mary Immaculate
The seventeenth century may be fitly described as the golden age of the devotion to the Pure Heart of Mary. Until that time, it was practised exclusively by a few chosen souls, and spread only by degrees throughout the Church. Ascetical writers and learned theologians began to treat more frequently of this devotion. Great men, such as Louis de Granada, Cardinal de Berulle, Canisius, and Suarez, worked with energy and zeal to make this devotion better known.
It was reserved for Saint John Eudes to be the apostle and chief organiser of this special devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. We must remark here, however, that in this holy man’s mind, the two Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary were ever inseparable. For almost thirty years before the revelations of Saint Margaret Mary took place, Saint John had been an apostle of the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. By word and work, he had laboured to spread that devotion throughout the Church of France. Hence, in the decree of January 6th, 1903, on the heroicity of Saint John Eudes’ virtues, the Church herself styles him “the author of the liturgical cult of the Holy Hearts of Jesus and Mary.” As, in the divine plan, Mary prepares the way for Jesus, so also in the Church of God, devotion to the Heart of Mary prepared the way for devotion to the Sacred Heart. In Saint John’s view, the ultimate object of all devotion and love is the adorable Heart of our Saviour, but, the best means of attaining that object is the Immaculate Heart of His Mother. Wherefore, he first set to work to preach and organise devotion to the Heart of Mary. And of that devotion he is the apostle par excellence, for when he began in 1641 it was scarcely known, but when he died (1680), it existed in a flourishing condition in most of the dioceses of France. A few words, then, on Saint John Eudes and his work.
Born in 1601, at Ri, in the Department of Orne (France), John Eudes possessed from his tenderest years a profound love for, and a filial devotion to, the Immaculate Mother of God. After a brilliant course of studies in the Jesuit College at Caen, he decided to enter the Congregation of the Oratory, founded by Cardinal de Berulle, and did so on March 25th, 1623. Ordained priest in 1625, Father Eudes began his sacerdotal ministry in the town of Caen. From the very beginning of his priestly career, he zealously applied himself to the important work of preaching missions, and in this, he was very successful.
It was not until 1641, however, that he devoted his attention to the propagation of devotion to the Heart of Mary. In that year he made the acquaintance, of a holy soul, Marie Desvallees, whom he ever afterwards regarded as a saint, favoured with divine communications and extraordinary graces. Probably, this saintly woman made known to Father Eudes the will of God with regard to the part he was to play in spreading devotion to the Pure Heart of Mary. This holy man looked upon his mission as divine, and considered himself an instrument in God’s hands for the formation of a new and distinctive devotion, and from the year 1641 the apostle of Mary’s Immaculate Heart gave himself unreservedly to the furtherance of this great project. Saint John Eudes was a Founder of religious institutes, a zealous and eloquent missionary, and a great spiritual writer. In each of these capacities, he applied all his energy and talents to his great lifework – the establishment among the faithful of France of a special devotion to the Most Pure Heart of Mary.
Saint John Eudes was, first of all, a Founder of religious congregations. His first foundation on December 8th, 1641, was that of the Society of Our Lady of Charity – a Society much similar in end and constitutions to the Congregation of the Good Shepherd, of our day, to provide a refuge for prostitutes who wished to do penance. Everything in that Society breathed devotion to the Pure Heart of Mary. Its very existence, in the holy Founder’s view, was due to the virginal Heart of Mary, who loved, with one and the same love, both Mary Magdalen and the Apostle, Saint John. From its inception, this institute was dedicated to the chaste Heart of Our Lady. Its Founder always loved to call its members “the daughters of the Heart of Mary,” and continually invited them to seek in that Heart their rule of life, and especially their model of Christian charity. For them, moreover, he instituted the first liturgical feast of the Most Pure Heart of Mary, which was celebrated on February 8th of each year.
The Society of Jesus and Mary (the Eudists) was founded by Saint John Eudes at Caen in 1643. He first conceived the idea of this new Society in 1641, when he was yet a member of the Oratory. In fact, it appears that he quitted this latter Congregation in order to establish the Society which now bears his name. In his intention, the Eudists were to be apostles and promoters of devotion to the Heart of Mary. He never ceased to inculcate this devotion amongst his priests, reminding them that “the Congregation is dedicated in an especial manner to the Holy Hearts of Jesus and Mary, and that they must love and honour these Hearts as their principal Patrons.” In his numerous letters to them, he frequently alluded to the same subject, and earnestly besought them to spread his cherished devotion among the people.
The Saint’s third foundation is not a religious congregation, nor even a “Third Order” properly so called, but only an Association of holy women living in the world and practising perfect chastity. It bears the beautiful name, of the “Society of the Heart of the Mother Most Admirable.” His saintly friend, Marie Desvallees, was the first associate of this new Society. It is still in existence, and now numbers about 25,000 associates. Probably no Society established by Saint John Eudes did so much as this one for the propagation of devotion to the Heart of Mary.
But Saint John was not content with spreading this devotion among his own children. He preached it also in his missions everywhere he went. From diocese to diocese, from parish to parish, this saintly priest passed, sowing, as he went, the seeds of a lasting devotion in the souls of his hearers. In the confessional as in the pulpit, the apostle of the Heart of Mary spent himself in the work of establishing his beloved devotion. To souls willing to advance in the path of perfection, he proposed the Immaculate Heart of Mary as the Model of all the virtues. To the weak and to sinners, he held it up as the sure means of salvation and perseverance. Despite Jansenistic outcries, he continued to inculcate this devotion, and eventually preached no mission or retreat without making the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary known and loved. His sermons everywhere were crowned with success, for, as a result of his apostolic labours, confraternities in honour of the Most Pure Heart of Mary were established in many parishes.
At length, in 1648, he had the happiness of seeing the desire of his heart fulfilled, for the feast of the Heart of Mary was for the first time publicly celebrated at Autun. That town is remarkable not only as the place where the feast of the Most Pure Heart of Mary first appeared in the Church’s public liturgy, but also as the spot where, thirty years later, the devotion to the Sacred Heart flourished in all its perfection. Here, again, Mary prepared the way for her Son.
The hour of Providence came when Saint John preached a mission in Autun, and profited by the occasion to establish a public feast in honour of Mary’s Immaculate Heart. The Mass and Office composed by himself for the feast were first approved by the Bishop of Autun, Monsignor Claude de Ragny. On February 8th, the saint celebrated the solemn Mass of the feast in the cathedral. The crowds, which thronged the sacred edifice, seemed to be set on fire with love of the Immaculate Heart of their dear Mother. Everybody united in celebrating that beautiful feast in a befitting manner, and we are told that the day was marked by a religious enthusiasm scarcely ever surpassed in that diocese.
Having established the feast at Autun, he set out to establish it in other parishes and dioceses of France. The ardent missionary let no occasion pass without obtaining for the feast and its office the approval of Bishops and theologians. In July, 1648, he preached a magnificent mission in Fere-en-Tardenois. The Pastor of that diocese, Monsignor Simon Ledgers, came in person to witness the wonderful success of the apostolic preacher, and afterwards approved the Office and Mass of the Most Pure Heart of Mary. Other Bishops followed his example, and by their sanction gave a great impetus to the devotion. By these approbations, the feast gradually made its place secure in the liturgy, and served as a potent means of spreading the new devotion among the faithful.
Saint John Eudes’ missionary work was the mainspring of all this progress. If to these approbations and to the numerous feasts celebrated in many dioceses of France we add the confraternities established, the many altars, chapels, and churches erected, the offices, litanies and prayers composed in honour of Mary’s Immaculate Heart, we shall have a more complete idea of what the saint accomplished for this devotion.
In spite of his wonderful zeal, the apostle of the Heart of Mary was not destined to obtain complete success. The greatest desire of his heart was to obtain Papal approbation for the Feast and office that were already approved by the Bishops of France. By this means, he hoped to make his cherished devotion known not only in his own country, but also throughout the entire Church. In 1668, he obtained the approbation of the Papal Legate in France, Cardinal de Vondome. Encouraged by this success, he endeavoured to procure the Sanction of the Congregation of Rites for the devotion. Rome, however, was slow to act, and in 1669, the answer “non expedit” (“it is not expedient”) was given. Nevertheless, he succeeded in obtaining from the reigning Pontiff, Clement IX, many privileges and indulgences for the confraternities instituted by him in honour of Mary’s Immaculate Heart. It was only in later times that this devotion obtained the proud position it now enjoys in the Catholic Church.
The third means he adopted to spread devotion to the Heart of Mary was the apostolate of the Press. A missionary and man of work, he was also one of the most remarkable of ascetical writers of the 17th century. In his letters to his spiritual sons and daughters, in his publications concerning the Mass and Office of the Heart of Mary, in his published works on that same Heart, he is once again the great apostle of this devotion. His literary endeavours contributed in no small degree to the making of this new devotion public and universal. In 1648, he wrote that ‘beautiful book’, “Devotion to the Most Pure Heart and to the Holy Name of the Virgin Mary.” His principal work, begun in 1663, and completed only some weeks before his death, is entitled, “The Amiable Heart of the Mother of God.” Few works, indeed, have been written on this subject; but of those that are written, none surpasses, in sublimity of thought and beauty of sentiment, this last mentioned book. In it, the numerous perfections and virtues of Mary’s spotless Heart are explained and glorified. In it, also, the history, theory, and practice of devotion to that Heart are clearly and solidly expounded.
We see, then, that Saint John Eudes, by the societies he founded, the missions he preached, and the spiritual books he wrote, is truly “the author, doctor, and apostle of the devotion to the Pure Heart of Mary.” That title was bestowed on him by the Vicar of Christ himself, and his it shall remain for all time. After a life of merits and good works, this holy priest died in the odour of sanctity on August 19th, 1680. The fifty-five years of his sacred ministry were spent in the propagation of the devotion to the Immaculate Heart of his Dear Mother. On January 6th, 1903, his virtues were declared heroic by the great Pope Leo XIII, and on April 11th, 1909, [Saint] Pius X decreed his beatification. On earth he loved and served the Heart of his immaculate Queen; now in heaven he loves, and will love for ever, that same spotless Heart. The day came when Blessed Father Eudes was raised to the altars of the Church. He was solemnly canonized on the 31st day of May, 1925, by Pius XI, and has been proclaimed Father, Doctor, and Apostle of the Devotion to the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary.
At Father Eudes’ death in 1680, devotion to the Heart of Mary flourished in many of the dioceses of France. Like the grain of mustard seed, it grew and spread throughout that country until it became an important part of the liturgy. France, the eldest daughter of the Church, is certainly a land favoured by Heaven. There, the Sacred Heart of Jesus appeared in radiance and glory, asking His faithful children to make amends by their love, for the ingratitude of mankind. There, also, the Immaculate Virgin Mary revealed herself, not at Lourdes alone, but in many places and at different times. The numerous sanctuaries of Our Lady, served by the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, from the first days of the Congregation, give testimony to the many favours and blessings conferred on France by the Blessed Virgin herself. Jesus and Mary have been good to France. She was then one of the most Catholic of nations, her people loved and honoured the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of His own Divine Mother. This twofold devotion brought down on the faithful innumerable graces and blessings. Nowhere, perhaps, have these two devotions been practised with greater fervour and intensity than at Paray-le-Monial, a place rendered famous for all time by the apparitions of the Sacred Heart to Saint Margaret Mary.
Born near Autun in 1647, this Saint had from her early childhood a tender love for the Immaculate Heart of Mary. When she entered the Visitandine convent at Paray-le-Monial, this devotion formed a large part of the spiritual life of the community, and the feast of the Heart of Mary, established in Autun by the Blessed Saint, Father Eudes, was annually celebrated there. The members of that community emulated one another in paying homage to that Heart, but Saint Margaret Mary outshone them all in the intensity of her love and devotion.
In the year 1688, the Saint beheld a wonderful vision. One day, as she knelt before the tabernacle, she saw two Hearts – the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Mary – and between them a smaller one representing her own. While she gazed with wonder upon those objects, she heard Our Lord’s voice saying to her: “It is thus that My Divine love unites those three Hearts for ever.” From that day, the holy servant of God understood that her divine Master wished her to include in her love of His Sacred Heart the love of His Mother’s spotless Heart also; that these two Hearts must be ever inseparable in her homage and devotion. That this implied wish of our loving Saviour was always carried out during her lifetime we know with certainty from the writings of her biographers. Father Gallifet S.J., for instance, writes thus: – “Sister Margaret Mary always united devotion to the Heart of Mary to her devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. From her, no doubt, Father de la ColombiΓ¨re, [canonized in 1992] learned this former devotion, for he also ever united these two Hearts in his homage and love.” There were two practices, especially, by which the Saint honoured the Most Pure Heart of Mary – the frequent recitation of a litany composed by herself in honour of that Heart, and of an act of consecration which she often made at the foot of Mary’s altar. For her, as for Saint John Eudes, this devotion was an infallible and powerful means of winning the love of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Himself. To both, the motto “Ad Cor Jesu per Cor Mariae” (‘To the Heart of Jesus through the Heart of Mary,’) was dear and expressive, for they applied it to their devotion and made it the guiding principle of their lives.
After Saint Margaret Mary, we find a great number of devout clients of the Sacred Heart who practised and propagated devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Holy priests, such as the above mentioned [Saint] Father de la Colombière, Father Gallifet, Fathers Cróiset, Bouzonie and others, spent themselves, by word and work, in spreading this devotion. The Franciscans and the Jesuits of France vied with one another in making the Heart of Mary known and loved, and in endeavouring to obtain from Rome official sanction for a universal feast and office of that Most Pure Heart.
It is not astonishing, however, that during the revolutionary years of the 18th century, this devotion waned and languished in the hearts of the French people; but even in those troubled times, Divine Providence watched over it with tender care and solicitude, for pious congregations, destined to preserve and augment the devotion, were firmly established in the Church.
Father Picot de Cloriviere (1820) was the founder of the Society of the Daughters of the Heart of Mary, a society whose end was, as its holy founder put it, “to make reparation to the Most Pure Heart of Mary for the many homages of which she was deprived by the suppression of religious orders, whose glory it was to have Mary as their Patroness and Mother.” Father Coudrin also founded the congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, whose mission was to – awaken in the souls of the faithful the devotion so universally and so fervently practised in pre-revolutionary days. [This congregation is known as the Picpus Fathers and Sisters.] In many of the Societies founded in the 18th and 19th centuries, a “Guard of Honour” was formed to make reparation to the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary for the many sins and crimes of ungrateful men. The number of such Societies is too great to mention them individually, – but suffice it to say that each and every one gave glory to, and increased the honour of, the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
In 1830, a miraculous event, which gave a great impetus to the devotion of which we write, took place in Paris. In that year, Our Blessed Lady appeared in a vision to a French Sister of Charity, Saint Catherine Laboure, and showed her, as a token of grace and mercy to mankind, the model of the miraculous Medal. On one side of the tableau presented to her view, the Sister saw Our Lady standing on a globe and, with out-stretched hands, pouring down graces on all mankind. On the other side, she beheld a large letter M, surmounted by a cross, and beneath it two Hearts – one, the Sacred Heart of Jesus, crowned with a circle of thorns, the other, the Pure Heart Of Mary, pierced through and through with a sword of sorrow. The Heart of the Mother and that of the Son were bound together in the closest bonds of mutual, inexpressible sorrow; both bore the symbols of the awful suffering inflicted upon them by the sins of men. Surely, this vision was a clear manifestation of Our Lady’s will. She wished thereby to convey to her loving children a two-fold message. First, that their love and devotion should include the united Hearts of the Mother and the Son; secondly, that their love should be a love of reparation; their devotion, a devotion of atonement for the sins of the world.
Six years later, in 1836, God’s desire to glorify the Immaculate Heart of Mary was manifested in a yet more striking manner. In that year a complete religious transformation took place in the parish of Our Lady of Victories in Paris, and following this, the erection of a large confraternity in honour of the Heart of Mary for the conversion of poor sinners. For a long time preceding this wonderful event, the saintly parish priest, Monsignor Charles Desgenettes, deplored the pitiable condition of his parish. It counted no less than 25,000 souls yet of that vast number, very few indeed attended their religious duties. The sacraments were neglected, the church was practically abandoned and religion was at a very low ebb. Such a sad state of affairs must surely have caused many a pang to the heart of the saintly pastor. Yet he did not despair. Using every means in his power to bring back his erring children to God, he continued to pray to the Blessed Virgin for the conversion of his flock.
One day, in December, 1836, while he was making his thanksgiving after Mass, he distinctly heard these words pronounced, “Consecrate your church and your parish to the Most Holy and Immaculate Heart of Mary.” No sooner had the voice ceased, than he consecrated himself, his parish, and his people to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, promising at the same time, that if Mary heard his prayer, he would establish in his church a confraternity in her honour. He then set to work to draw the statutes of the proposed confraternity, and on the following Sunday announced at Mass that the first meeting would take place that very evening. How great was his surprise when, on entering the church that evening, he found it almost full! Having read and explained to the people the rules of the confraternity, he proposed to establish, he began to chant with them the Litany of Our Lady. When he came to the invocation, “Refuge of sinners, pray for us,” an extraordinary emotion took possession of the whole assembly. Instinctively, all those in the church fell on their knees, repeating with wonderful fervour that touching invocation.
On that day, the parish was saved, the confraternity of Our Lady, Refuge of Sinners, firmly established, and God’s grace reigned in the place of sin and wickedness. A complete transformation was produced in the hearts of all – a transformation which was due to the mighty power and the clement mercy of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The Confraternity, established in such an extraordinary fashion, was instrumental in consolidating the good work begun by Our Blessed Lady herself, and in 1838, it was erected into an Archconfraternity by Pope Gregory XVI. Today it counts hundreds of thousands of associates; and hundreds of sodalities affiliated to it. Truly, as Monsignor Desgenettes himself said: “The common Father of the faithful wishes that the Heart of His immaculate Mother be everywhere invoked in favour of poor abandoned sinners.”
Gradually, but steadily, the devotion to Mary’s Heart began to spread throughout the Church of God. In 1885, the Roman Congregation of Rites approved, but not without some modifications, the Office and Mass of the Most Pure Heart of Mary, originally composed by Saint John Eudes.
Before the religious reform of 1911, many dioceses and congregations celebrated that feast but on different days. In April, 1914, the Congregation of Rites definitely fixed the feast on the Saturday following the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. To our mind, this fact again clearly shows the inseparable union that ought to exist between these two devotions. Such is the expressed wish of the Sacred Heart Himself; such also is the desire of Our Blessed Lady and of the Church of Christ, our infallible guide upon earth.
In his encyclical letter of June, 1912, Pius X requested the faithful to dedicate in an especial manner the first Saturday of every month to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. He wished that day to be a day of reparation to Mary’s Heart for the blasphemies and crimes committed against her Holy Name, and for those sins in particular against the glorious privilege of her Immaculate Conception. The first Saturday of every month is, in the Pope’s intention, an exact parallel to the first Friday, a day of reparation and atonement to the Sacred Heart of Our Lord. To Mary’s Heart, as to that of Jesus, he asks us to return love for love; reparation for personal sins, and atonement for the sins of men. On that day, also, he has been gloriously pleased to grant a plenary indulgence to all those who recite special prayers in honour of the Immaculate Conception of Our Lady, and pray for the Pope’s intentions. From the 12th century onwards, devotion to Mary’s Immaculate Heart has certainly made wonderful progress. And in our day, two very desirable events have taken place – Papal sanction for a universal feast of the Heart of Mary and the consecration of the whole human race to that spotless Heart. The Sacred Heart of Jesus now reigns supreme in the Church, for to Him these two homages have been rendered.
In 1856, Pope Pius IX established a universal feast of the Sacred Heart in His honour, to be held each year on the Friday following the octave of Corpus Christi. In 1899, moreover, Pope Leo XIII solemnly consecrated mankind to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
The Immaculate Heart of Mary now also reigns, as Queen of God’s kingdom, in the Church militant on earth. “Oportet illam regnare.” (‘It is proper that she must reign’.) Various movements to establish the reign of the Heart of Mary in the Church, and repeated requests to the Holy See from her devout clients have not been wanting in the past. In 1906, in the Church of Notre Dame, the then Archbishop of Paris, Cardinal Richard, consecrated repentant France to the Most Pure Heart of Mary, and put himself at the head of a movement to demand of the Pope the consecration of all the faithful to that same Heart. On the occasion of the Eucharistic Congress at Lourdes, held in July, 1914, a similar demand was submitted to His Holiness [Saint] Pius X. But the hour of Providence for the complete exaltation of Mary’s Immaculate Heart had not yet arrived. In answer to these fervent requests, the Holy Father judged it more suitable to reserve this final homage to Mary for some more favourable occasion. The Holy See has now procured for the Immaculate Heart of Mary this supreme glory. May that final triumph of the church, so long foretold, soon arrive!
Theology
“But Mary kept all these things pondering them in her Heart.” So little has been told us of the thoughts and words of our glorious Queen, that we prize every trace of her stay on earth, and dwell lovingly on what is preserved for us in the too brief record of the Gospels. Just as she had entered on her wonderful mission, just as she had shared the first joys and sorrows of the sacred human Heart of our God and Saviour, a revelation of her own most beautiful and holy heart allows us to penetrate into the secrets of that sanctuary during the long years to come.
The other worshippers at the manger, the other witnesses of those great mysteries (foretelling the greater mysteries to follow), went back into the busy world, where the supernatural impressions made on them might be more or less lost in the crowd of earthly cares and occupations. But the heart of the Mother treasured all “these things,” and her life henceforth was one unbroken contemplation of them, “pondering” them day by day, in deeper sympathy and deeper love.
And so, that pure, compassionate, devoted heart grew daily, holier, tenderer, more devoted still. Purer it could not be, for it was a stranger to the shadow of sin; but its holiness was heightened, its charity intensified, and its union with God perfected till all heaven gave praise to its Maker for the spiritual loveliness of the heart that was hidden in the humble cottage of Nazareth.
Not the least glorious of its gifts was the humility that saw nothing in itself that could attract the eyes of God, save the exceeding “lowliness of His Handmaid,” and not the least precious of its graces was the silence that guarded her constant meditation on the Life that was linked so closely to her own, – the Sacred Heart Whose earthly rest and consolation were so often found in the sinless heart of His Mother.
Would that she might impart to us her sweet power of comforting that divine Heart, saddened by the ingratitude of His creatures. Would that she might mould her children’s hearts into some faint resemblance to hers – in purity, charity, patience, and self-sacrifice. Would that she might teach us what strength and wisdom and happiness we would find if we, like her, “kept all these things, pondering them” in our hearts. Not merely acknowledging the beauty and truth of the mysteries that surrounded the Incarnate Word, not merely glancing over them, or making them the subject of occasional prayer, but steeping our souls as Mary did, in the contemplation of them, till we have learned to know our merciful Saviour so intimately that the thought is the dearest of our thoughts, the love of Him supreme in our hearts, as it was in the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
– from the booklet Devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, by an anonymous Oblate of Mary Immaculate, published in 1930 by the Catholic Truth Society of Ireland
Father Eudes, the Founder of the Eudistes, a Precursor of the Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, by Father Joseph Anton Keller
The devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus has had in the Church of God, like the coming of the Messias in the Old Law, its prophets and precursors. In the Middle Ages, Saint Mechtilde, Saint Gertrude, later on Canisius and others, among whom the great missionary of Normandy, Father John Eudes, must not be forgotten.
This devout client of our blessed Lady, like Saint Francis of Sales, who, when speaking of the devotion to the Sacred Heart, meant the love of Jesus, recognizes but one heart in the hearts of Jesus and Mary.
Although in the strictest sense of the word he cannot be called a precursor of the Blessed Margaret Mary, who, in the account of her life, written by herself in obedience to the orders of her superiors, declares it was Our Lord Himself who, from her very cradle, deigned to prepare her for her great mission, yet, as will be seen from what follows, we are as fully justified in calling him a precursor of this devotion, as we are in calling the Blessed Father de la Colombiere its first apostle. It was he who first introduced the devotion to the heart of Our Lady, which he calls the dawn from which the devotion to the Sacred Heart emanates.
The Heart of the Son, is, according to him, contained in the heart of the Mother, and whilst the Heart of Jesus is placed prominently before the eyes of the world, let us turn to the heart of Mary, and beg of it to open itself, in order to give us the Heart of her Son. Whenever this great lover of Our Lady speaks in his writings of the devotion to her sacred heart, he never fails to point out how, in honoring the heart of the Mother, we are compelled to honor the Heart of her divine Son; for, although on the one hand, these hearts are materially separated from one another, on the other hand they are spiritually so closely united to each other that this separation must be considered as only exterior and accidental.
Towards the close of his life (A.D. 1672), writing to his brethren, Father Eudes clearly explains this theory: “It has never been our intention for a moment to separate two things which God has so closely united together as the hearts of the Son of God and of His Blessed Mother.” In a letter to another person, in the same year, he again says: “The hearts of Jesus and His Blessed Mother form together one heart, full of the most perfect love.”
For this reason whatever Father Eudes and his sons have done in order to spread and encourage the devotion to the heart of Mary, must be considered as having also been done to promote the devotion to the Sacred Heart of her divine Son.
As far back as 1659 he composed a Mass and Hours in honor of the Sacred Heart, for which he obtained the required approbation and permission to publish it.
On October 20, 1672, the feast of the Sacred Heart was for the first time publicly observed in all the chapels, seminaries and churches of the Eudistes, with the consent of the bishops, and from that time was considered one of the chief feasts of the congregation. Till then no such public celebration had ever been held, even by those professing the greatest love for this devotion.
“O Lord, You have created me for Yourself, to love You and to enjoy You, infinite Good, ineffable Beauty; do not permit me to lose sight of this sublime end toward which I must tend; do not permit me to wander among the wretched satisfactions that vain, feeble creatures can offer me.
“O
my Lord, what poor use I have made of creatures! Pardon me, O Lord!
Henceforth I do not want to use anything unless it is for Your glory and
according to Your holy will, as Your Son Jesus did. O my God, if in the
past I have turned aside from You who are my Beginning, my End, and my
supreme good; if I have turned toward myself and creatures, preferring
their will and mine to Yours, I here and now promise to renounce,
entirely and forever the world and myself, and to give myself wholly and
forever to You. O my God, I give myself to You as my Beginning; take
complete possession of me. May I always abide in You! Be the beginning
and end of all my actions. O my God, I give myself to You as my End, my
Center, my supreme Good. Draw me to You! Make me tend continually toward
You. Be my delight, my glory, my treasure, my all!”Rosary of the Admirable Heart of the Most Blessed Mother of God, by Saint John Eudes
For the Cross say,
The Creed.
For the first three Beads say,
Hail most Sacred Heart of the most Blessed Virgin Mary.
For each of the large Beads say,
Glory be to the Father, etc., etc.
For the first two Decades say,
Hail, most Sacred Heart of the most Blessed Virgin Mary.
For the third and fourth Decades say,
Through the most loving Heart of Thy most holy Mother, grant, O good Jesus, that our heart may become like to Thy Heart.
For the fifth and sixth Decades say,
Through the most loving Heart of Thy most holy Mother, graciously hear us, O Jesus.
Salutation to Jesus and Mary, by Saint John Eudes
Blessed for ever be the most loving Heart and the most sweet Name of our Lord Jesus Christ, and His most glorious Virgin Mother, Mary.
On us and all thy children evermore
Thy blessing, dearest Mother, we implore.
Amen.
Salutations to Saint Joseph, by Saint John Eudes
Hail, Joseph, image of God the Father.
Hail, Joseph, father of God the Son.Hail, Joseph, sanctuary of the Holy Ghost.
Hail, Joseph, beloved of the Holy Trinity.
Hail, Joseph, most faithful coadjutor of great counsel.
Bail, Joseph, most worthy spouse of the Virgin Mother.
Hail, Joseph, father of-all the faithful.
Hail, Joseph, guardian of holy virgins.
Hai1, Joseph, exact observer of holy silence.
Hail, Joseph, ardent lover of holy poverty.
Hail, Joseph, example of meekness and patience.
Hail, Joseph, mirror of humility and obedience.
Blessed art thou amongst all men.
Blessed are thy eyes, which saw what thou didst see.
Blessed are thy cars, which heard what then didst hear.
Blessed are thy hands, which handled the Word Incarnate.
Blessed are thy arms, which carried Him who upholdeth all things.
Blessed is thy bosom, on which the Son of God most sweetly rested.
Blessed is thy heart, inflamed with most ardent love of Him.
Blessed is the Eternal Father, who elected thee.
Blessed is the Son, who loved thee.
Blessed is the Holy Ghost, who sanctified thee.
Blessed is Mary, thy Spouse, who loved thee as spouse and brother.
Blessed is the Angel who was thy guardian.
Blessed for ever are all who bless thee and love thee.
Salutations to the Blessed Virgin, by Saint John Eudes
Hail Mary, Daughter of God the Father.
Hail Mary, Mother of God the Son.
Hail Mary, Spouse of God the Holy Ghost.
Hail Mary, Temple of the whole Divinity.
Hail Mary, fair Lily of the resplendent and ever serene Trinity.
Hail Mary, bright Rose of Heavenly beauty.
Hail Mary, Virgin of Virgins, Virgin most faithful, of whom the King of Heaven would be born, and by whose milk He would be nourished.
Hail Mary, Queen of Martyrs, whose soul was pierced with the sword of sorrow.
Hail Mary, Mistress of the World, to whom is given all power in heaven and on earth.
Hail Mary, Queen of my heart, my Mother, my Life, my Sweetness, and my dearest Hope.
Hail Mary, Mother most amiable.
Hail Mary, Mother most admirable.
Hail Mary, Mother of Mercy.
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou amongst women, and
Blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Blessed is thy spouse, Joseph.
Blessed is thy father, Joachim.
Blessed is thy mother, Anne.
Blessed is thy son, John.
Blessed is thy Angel, Gabriel.
Blessed is the Eternal Father, who made choice of thee.
Blessed is the Son, who loved thee.
Blessed is the Holy Ghost, who espoused thee.
Blessed for ever are all who bless thee, and love thee. Amen.
Hail Mary, Mother of God the Son.
Hail Mary, Spouse of God the Holy Ghost.
Hail Mary, Temple of the whole Divinity.
Hail Mary, fair Lily of the resplendent and ever serene Trinity.
Hail Mary, bright Rose of Heavenly beauty.
Hail Mary, Virgin of Virgins, Virgin most faithful, of whom the King of Heaven would be born, and by whose milk He would be nourished.
Hail Mary, Queen of Martyrs, whose soul was pierced with the sword of sorrow.
Hail Mary, Mistress of the World, to whom is given all power in heaven and on earth.
Hail Mary, Queen of my heart, my Mother, my Life, my Sweetness, and my dearest Hope.
Hail Mary, Mother most amiable.
Hail Mary, Mother most admirable.
Hail Mary, Mother of Mercy.
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou amongst women, and
Blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Blessed is thy spouse, Joseph.
Blessed is thy father, Joachim.
Blessed is thy mother, Anne.
Blessed is thy son, John.
Blessed is thy Angel, Gabriel.
Blessed is the Eternal Father, who made choice of thee.
Blessed is the Son, who loved thee.
Blessed is the Holy Ghost, who espoused thee.
Blessed for ever are all who bless thee, and love thee. Amen.
Salutations to the Sacred Heart, by Saint John Eudes
Hail, Heart most holy!
Hail, Heart most meek!
Hail, Heart most humble!
Hail, Heart most pure!
Hail, Heart most devoted!
Hail, Heart most wise!
Hail, Heart most patient!.
Hail, Heart most obedient!
Hail, Heart moat watchful!
Hail, Heart most faithful!
Hail, Heart moat blessed!
Hail, Heart moat merciful!
Hail, Heart most loving of Jesus, Son of Mary
We adore Thee,
We praise Thee,
We glorify Thee,
We give Thee thanks;
We love Thee
With all our heart,
With all our soul,
With all our strength;
To Thee our heart we offer,
We give,
We consecrate,
We immolate,
Accept and take possession of it entirely,
And purify it,
And enlighten it,
And sanctify it,
And live and reign in it, now and ever, for ages of age. Amen.
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