Saint margaret mary a la coque church

She later became Novice Mistress, saw the convent observe the feast of the Sacred Heart privately beginning inand two years later, a chapel was built at the Paray-le-Monial to honor the Sacred Heart; soon observation of the feast of the Sacred Heart spread to other Visitation convents. Margaret Mary died at the Paray-le-Monial on October 17, and was canonized in She, St.

He reproached her for her saint margaret mary a la coque church of him; yet he also reassured her by demonstrating that his heart was filled with love for her, because of the childhood promise she had made to his Blessed Mother. As a result, she determined to fulfill her vow and entered, when almost 24 years of age, the Visitation Convent at Paray-le-Monial on 25 Mayintending to become a nun.

Alacoque was subjected to many trials to prove the genuineness of her vocation. She was admitted to wearing the religious habit on 25 Augustbut was not allowed to make her religious profession on the same date of the following year, which would have been the usual course. It is said that she was assigned to the infirmary and was not very skillful at her tasks.

At the monastery, Alacoque reportedly received several apparitions and private revelations of Jesus Christ between 27 December and June Among other things, these visions revealed to her different forms of devotion to the Sacred Heart. On 27 Decemberthe feast of St. John, Margaret Mary said that Jesus had permitted her to rest her head upon his heart, and then disclosed to her the wonders of his love, telling her that he desired to make them known to all mankind and to diffuse the treasures of his goodness, and that he had chosen her for this work.

Between andother apparitions followed and revealed practices for the devotion to the Sacred Heart. The First Fridays Devotionwhich is the reception of Holy Communion on nine first Fridays of each month as an act of reparation, was asked to Margaret Mary and a "Great Promise" was given to those who accomplish it: "I promise you in the excessive mercy of My Heart that My all-powerful love will grant to all those who shall receive communion on the First Friday in nine consecutive months the grace of final penance; they shall not die in My disgrace nor without receiving their sacraments; My Divine Heart shall be their safe refuge in this last moment.

Between 13 and 20 Juneshe had a vision of Jesus in which he asked her "that the first Friday after the octave of the Blessed Sacrament be dedicated to a particular feast to honor my heart, by receiving communion on that day and making reparation to it by honorable amends On 16 JuneAlacoque reported three specific requests for France, directly from her spiritual talks.

Initially discouraged in her efforts to follow the instruction she had received in her visions, Alacoque was eventually able to convince her superior, Mother de Saumaise, of the authenticity of her visions. She was unable, however, to convince a Benedictine and a Jesuit, whom Saumaise had consulted. Nor was she any more successful with many of the members of her own community.

Sometime aroundAlacoque felt compelled to write a personal testament, passionately donating her life completely to Jesus with her own blood. With the permission of her superior she used a pocket knife to carve the name of Jesus into her breast and used the blood to sign the document. The following account recalls this event:. She herself wrote out the donation, and signed this humble formula: ' Sister Peronne-Rosalie Greyfie, at present Superioress, and for whom Sister Margaret Mary daily asks conversion with the grace of final penitence.

The Mother having assented, Sister Margaret Mary went to her cell, bared her breast, and, imitating her illustrious and saintly foundress, cut with a knife the name of Jesus above her heart. From the blood that flowed from the wound she signed the act in these words: ' Sister Margaret Mary, Disciple of the Divine Heart of the Adorable Jesus ' [ 14 ].

Upset by the fact that the wounds which she had cut into her breast were beginning to fade, she attempted to reopen the original wounds on more than one occasion using a knife. But, having failed to open them to her liking, she decided to burn her chest with fire. This incident placed her in the infirmary: "Trembling and humbled, she went to acknowledge her fault.

Mother Greyfie, true to her custom, apparently paid little attention to what Margaret said, but ordered her in a few dry words to go to the infirmary and show her wound to Sister Augustine Marest, who would dress it. Inopposition in the community ended when Mother Melin was elected Superior and named Margaret Mary her assistant. She later became Novice Mistress[ 4 ] and saw the monastery observe the Feast of the Sacred Heart privately, beginning in Two years later, a chapel was built at Paray-le-Monial to honor the Sacred Heart.

Observation of the feast of the Sacred Heart spread to other Visitation convents. After Alacoque's death, the devotion to the Sacred Heart was fostered by the Jesuits even as it remained controversial within the Catholic Church. During her entire life Margaret mourned over two faults committed at this time—the wearing of some superfluous ornaments and a mask at the carnival to please her brothers.

On 25 May,she entered the Visitation Convent at Paray, where she was subjected to many trials to prove her vocation, and in November,pronounced her final vows. She had a delicate constitution, but was gifted with intelligence and good judgement, and in the cloister she chose for herself what was most repugnant to her nature, making her life one of inconceivable sufferings, which were often relieved or instantly cured by our Lord, Who acted as her Director, appeared to her frequently and conversed with her, confiding to her the mission to establish the devotion to His Sacred Heart.

These extraordinary occurrences drew upon her the adverse criticism of the community, who treated her as a visionary, and her superior commanded her to live the common life. Margaret Mary was inspired by Christ to establish the Holy Hour and to pray lying prostrate with her face to the ground from eleven till midnight on the eve of the first Friday of each month, to share in the mortal sadness He endured when abandoned by His Apostles in His Agony, and to receive holy Communion on the first Friday of every month.

In the first great revelation, He made known to her His ardent desire to be loved by men and His design of manifesting His Heart with all Its treasures of love and mercy, of sanctification and salvation. He appointed the Friday after the octave of the feast of Corpus Christi as the feast of the Sacred Heart; He called her "the Beloved Disciple of the Sacred Heart", and the heiress of all Its treasures.

The love of the Sacred Heart was the fire which consumed her, and devotion to the Sacred Heart is the refrain of all her writings. In her last illness she refused all alleviation, repeating frequently: "What have I in heaven and what do desire on earth, but Thee alone, O my God", and died pronouncing the Holy Name of Jesus. Her father, Claude, passed away when she was 8 years old.

Saint margaret mary a la coque church

From ages 9 to 13 she suffered a paralyzing illness. However, it was during her time suffering with the illness that she made the promise to enter religious life. For some time during her adolescence, however, Margaret forgot about her vow and lived an ordinary life. Margaret had a vision of Christ being scourged. She believed this meant that she had betrayed Jesus by living a worldly life instead of a religious one.