Theological references to the devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary focus on Mary, the mother of Jesus. She dedicated her innermost being, mind, memory, will, and capacity for love to God and mankind. Mary submitted herself to the saving work of her Son.
St. John Eudes, a 17th-century French priest, popularized the devotion. He wrote “Le Cœur admirable de la très Sainte Mère de Dieu” and had a deep love for the Blessed Mother. His spirituality inspired many. In 1643, he introduced the devotion into the liturgy through the ‘Congregation of Jesus and Mary’ (Eudists), which he founded.
The Feast in the Church’s Liturgy
On 21 July 1855, Pope Pius IX introduced a votive mass, an office, and a special feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Furthermore, official devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary received an impetus in 1917 through the Marian apparitions in Fatima. This gave rise to the devotions to the Immaculate Heart of Mary and the so-called Saturdays of Atonement. On 31 October 1942 and again on 8 December 1942, Pope Pius XII consecrated the Church and humanity to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. He made the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary binding for the whole Church on 4 May 1944. In the general calendar of Rome following the Second Vatican Council, the memorial is set for the day after the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Why a Devotion in Honor of Mary’s Immaculate Heart?
Mary offers the Church and humankind a motherly figure and a pattern of devotion to Jesus and to God. We learn from her to be always faithful and to trust that God’s Word will be fulfilled. We also learn that nothing is impossible with God. When we honor the Immaculate Heart, we give ultimate honor to Jesus. St. John Paul II said, “From Mary we learn to surrender to God’s Will in all things. From Mary we learn to trust even when all hope seems gone. From Mary we learn to love Christ her Son and the Son of God!” As we honor the Mother, we honor the Son.
In addition, the Blessed Virgin is our mother as well (Revelation 12:17), and her mother’s heart is incomparable. St. Louis de Montfort said, “If you put all the love of all the mothers into one heart, it still would not equal the love of the heart of Mary for her children.”
A reflection on EWTN says the following about the feast. “Mary’s Immaculate Heart, therefore, points us to her profound interior life, where she experienced both joys and sorrows, yet remained faithful, as we, too, are called to do. Twice in St. Luke’s Gospel, we hear about Mary’s heart. After Jesus was born, Luke 2:19 says, But Mary kept all these things, pondering them in her heart.” And then after Mary and St. Joseph found Jesus in the Temple after He was missing for three days, Luke 2:51 says, His mother kept all these things in her heart.” Both of these references point to Mary’s interior life in which she meditated on the Mysteries surrounding her Son.”
Prayer
I conclude with the “Prayer of Petition and Exaltation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary”
Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, in this tragic hour of the world’s history, we entrust and consecrate ourselves to your Immaculate Heart, our only refuge, our hope, our salvation. Have pity on this world, torn by the most terrible conflicts, burning with the fires of hate, victim of its own sins. May your Heart be moved at the sight of so much ruin, pain, and sorrow.
We consecrate to your maternal heart our persons, our families, our country–the whole of humanity. Protect and save us!
O Heart of Mary, source of true love, fill our selfish hearts with divine charity and with that true brotherly love without which there can never be peace. Grant that men and nations may understand and fulfill the precept of your Divine Son, LOVE ONE ANOTHER, in order that true peace may be firmly established in the Justice and Truth of Christ. –Pope Pius XII from the book The Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
May Mary, the Immaculate, pray for us. Amen.
[Readings: 2 Tm 4:1-8; Lk 2:41-51]
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