On June 11, 2026, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) will consecrate the United States to the Sacred Heart of Jesus on the occasion of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. As we approach this great anniversary, we are also called to reflect upon the devotion of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and this consecration which brings to the forefront the Kingship of Christ. The devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, like many other devotions is at times set aside, and considered by some to be out of fashion, yet it is powerful when understood and lived, not only worshipped.
Pope Leo XIII wrote in his encyclical Annum Sacrum on Consecration to the Sacred Heart: “…there is in the Sacred Heart a symbol and a sensible image of the infinite love of Jesus Christ which moves us to love one another, therefore is it fit and proper that we should consecrate ourselves to His most Sacred Heart – an act which is nothing else than an offering and a binding of oneself to Jesus Christ, seeing that whatever honor, veneration and love is given to this divine Heart is really and truly given to Christ Himself.” In binding ourselves to Christ we seek to take on the nature of this new man, of which Jesus Christ is the firstborn. A Christian is thus one who lives a new dynamic of faith exemplified by Christ, one that balances two seemingly opposite attitudes, simultaneously rooted and in motion, contemplative and missionary.
Christ himself, though having an eternal home at the right hand of the Father, descended into our humanity, and here on earth journeyed from city to city, town to town, preaching, healing and ultimately dying and rising. The Church, as Christ’s body, mirrors this nature in its members. In its contemplative wing, monks and nuns remain in cloister, devoted to obedience and prayer; while in its missionary arm, priests and laypeople spread the Gospel to every corner of the world. Therefore, each believer is also called to manifest this same nature, for true discipleship requires both rootedness and outreach. Through Baptism, every Christian shares in Christ’s identity as Priest, Prophet, and King — a calling that takes specific form in the vocation each person receives. The married couple embodies it in permanence and openness to life; the ordained priest, in obedience and the relentless search for the lost.
For the Christian, living this new nature means the definitive decisions of our lives – work, marriage, vocation, forgiveness, conversion – are made while keeping our heart fixed on the crucified Christ. The Gospel of John proclaims, “They will look on Him whom they thrust through,” urging us to live out the Gospel by fixing our gaze on the pierced heart of Jesus, our guiding star for all generations.
Why is this gaze essential? Indeed, the pierced heart reveals Jesus’ identity, His love, and His purpose. The blood that flows from his side symbolizes His life — a life that conquers death and is offered to us. The water that gushes from his side represents the Holy Spirit, the living gift that enables us to participate in Christ’s deepest mysteries. Together, they both call us to respond with faith, repentance, and love.
We are invited to look upon the Heart of Jesus as the apostle John did — seeing, touching, and believing. John’s experience at the foot of the cross became a model for all believers: he saw the blood and water, he believed, and he bore witness so that we too might believe. By gazing upon the Sacred Heart of Jesus with faith, we join along with the disciple whom Jesus loved, in sharing in the revelation of the Spirit and the love of Christ.
Saint Pope John Paul II, in his letter on the 100th anniversary of the consecration of the Human Race to the Divine Heart of Jesus says “Consecration thus understood is to be joined to the missionary activity of the Church herself, because it answers the desire of Jesus’ Heart to propagate in the world, through the members of his Body, his total dedication to the kingdom, and to unite the Church ever more closely to his offering to the Father and his being for others.“
Thus, the Sacred Heart is not a distant symbol but a living call. It invites us to move — toward God, toward others, toward deeper conversion — while remaining rooted in the love of Christ. In doing so, we ourselves embody the Church’s dual nature: contemplative yet missionary, stable yet mobile, with the eyes of our hearts always fixed on the pierced heart that offers us life, grace, and the promise of resurrection.”
✠ Most Reverend Peter Baldacchino, Bishop of Las Cruces
