The Jesuits and the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Now that I've digested Leo XIII, Annum Sacrum and Pius XII, Haurietis Aquas, I read the letter Pope Benedict XVI wrote on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the encyclical Haurietis Aquas. This letter reaffirms that this particular devotion hold importance in the lives of Christians. 

What interested me was that this letter was addressed to the Superior General of the Jesuits.  Why?  There are religious orders that arose to honor this particular devotion. The Fathers of the Sacred Heart, for one.  There are others.  Why was this letter addressed to the Jesuits?

After some google research, I learned that the Jesuits have been the historical custodians of the devotion to the Sacred Heart.  Also, in one of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque's visions, she mentions the Jesuits in particular, to spread the devotion.  Of course, Jesus' Sacred Heart is for all.

Today we need to draw closer to His Heart.  There are Divine treasures of grace bestowed on those who unite themselves to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Sacred Heart of Jesus, come into our hearts!

Where did Sacred Heart Come From

In reading Annum Sacrum, I learned where the devotion to the Sacred Heart came from.  I know that St. Margaret Mary Alocoque had visions and promoted devotion to the Sacred Heart.  But many people have visions and Catholics are not required to believe them.

In the encyclical, Annum Sacrum, however, Pope Leo XIII, in paragraph 14 states:

...We ordain that on the ninth, tenth, and eleventh of the coming month of June, in the principal church of every town and village, certain prayers be said, and on each of these days, there be added to the other prayers the Litany of the Sacred Heart approved by Our authority. On the last day, the form of consecration shall be recited which, Venerable Brethren, We sent to you with these letters.

 I posted about the Litany a few days ago.

Discarding God

In these later times, especially, a policy has been followed which has resulted in a sort of wall being raised between the Church and civil society.  In the constitution and administration of States the authority of sacred and divine law is utterly disregarded, with a view to the exclusion of religion from having any constant part in public life.  This policy almost tends to the removal of the Christian faith from our midst, and, if that were possible, of the banishment of God Himself from the earth.

Take a guess as to when these words were written.

Today?

The answer is 1899  This is from paragraph 10 in the encyclical Annum Sacrum, written by Pope Leo XIII.

I don't know whether to gather some hope, thinking that this description must always fit all times.  Maybe since the beginning of time, people have worried about the decline of faith in God.

Or, maybe Pope Leo XIII saw the beginning of the decline and was warning humanity of it.

Sadly, it is sobering.