Brandon Scott
In response to Pope Francis’ new encyclical on the Sacred Heart, Dilexit Nos, three priests have welcomed the Pope’s re-exploration of the devotion and its “radical” message, with members of the Pioneer Association, an organisation that specifically devotes itself to the message of Sacred Heart, hailing its ability to help people overcome addiction and foster faith in a world where “belief has sunken”.
Fr Robert McCabe, a priest based in St Mary’s Parish Navan and Spiritual Director of the Pioneer Association, an organisation that encourages devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus as an aid to overcoming alcohol addiction, said that this encyclical reaffirms the works of the Pioneers and the people committed to its mission, particularly those attempting to remain sober.
“The Pioneer Offering which we pray every morning and evening speaks of ‘good example, self-denial and reparation’,” he said. “It’s a prayer which people have suggested that I should change as the concepts of ‘self-denial and reparation’ seem obsolete. Dilexit Nos is a letter which reaffirms the value of good example, self-denial and reparation.
“Pioneers continue to wear an emblem of the Sacred Heart so that anyone who is living with addiction can approach them and ask for their prayers. Many people take a short-term Pioneer pledge to assist a friend who is undergoing treatment for alcohol addiction. In the past year I’ve met one man who took the pledge because he wanted to give the best of attention to his new-born baby.”
Fr John Hogan OCDS, a priest from the Diocese of Meath, encouraged Catholics to rediscover the “radical” message of the devotion which will help “buck” some of the trends that have become prevalent in society, particularly if the devotion’s edge isn’t “taken off”.
“It would be wonderful if Catholics in Ireland were to rediscover the devotion and place the image in their homes,” he said. “Devotion to the Sacred Heart is radical and challenges our humanity – a challenge that can buck the trend in society.
“What we’ve done in recent times with devotion to the Sacred Heart is take the edge off of it and that’s not good because when you begin to take the edge off Christianity, you begin to dilute the Gospel and you refit it according to whatever particular ideology you like.”
Former Spiritual Director of the Pioneers Fr Barney McGuckian SJ, described the document as “marvellous” and said that the Pope’s idea is to present an “attractive concept of the Lord” in the hope of inspiring people to turn to the divinity amid periods of strife.
“It’s marvellous,” he said. “The document is very much in line what the Pioneers have always taught. It hasn’t been given much focus in recent years, that concept of reparation. I think the pope is hoping to talk to the world again about that concept.
“When the Pioneers started, people believed. Now we’re dealing with a world where belief has sunken. Today the problem is that people don’t believe, they don’t even turn to the divinity for help. I think that the Pope’s idea is to present an attractive concept of the Lord.”