Enthronement of the Sacred Heart

WHAT IS IT?
The Sacred Heart is King of the individual, the family and the human race.
The Enthronement of the Sacred Heart in the home is the recognition of the
Sacred Heart as King of the family. He is King of the home by divine
appointment, conquest and excellence, but He desires to be such by OUR
OWN PERSONAL CHOICE. The Enthronement is more than a mere
blessing of Sacred Heart picture or the mere dedication of a family to the
Divine Heart, it is a WAY OF LIFE. It is the recognition of the Royal
Power of Jesus Christ over the family which pledges to live in union with
the Sacred Heart by love, grace and obedience to His Commandments. In
this way the Enthronement brings countless graces and blessings on the
family, sanctifies it and through the family, society.

WHERE IS THE ENTHRONEMENT TO TAKE PLACE?
It is intended for homes, schools, convents, institutions, parishes, dioceses,
cities, states, and nations. We especially invite newlyweds and those
contemplating marriage to place their homes in the Heart of Christ in this
manner, thereby assuring themselves of special graces in their everyday
problems and difficulties.

WHY IS IT SO VITAL?
It stabilizes the family, the foundation of the Church and state; whoever
rules the family rules society. It sanctifies the family, creates in the home
the Catholic atmosphere and the spirit of piety, fosters vocations to the
higher life, brings back the wayward members, helps and consoles the
members in time of trial, mourning, etc. In short, it makes the home
thoroughly Christian.

HOW IS IT CARRIED OUT?
The family makes arrangement with a priest as to date, time, etc. If possible
Holy Mass is offered that morning for the reign of the Sacred Heart in the
home and as an act of love and reparation. The family should try to receive
Holy Communion. A beautiful statue or picture of the Sacred Heart is
procured and a place of honor or “throne” is prepared, preferably in the
living room, and decorated with flowers, candles, etc. The steps in the
ceremony are the following:

THE PROMISES OF OUR LORD to Saint Margaret Mary for Souls
Devoted to His Sacred Heart
l. I will give them all the graces necessary in their state of life.
2. I will establish peace in their houses.
3. I will comfort them in all their afflictions.
4. I will be their refuge during life, and above all in death.
5. I will bestow a large blessing upon all their undertakings.
6. Sinners shall find in My Heart the source and the infinite ocean of
mercy.
7. Tepid souls shall grow fervent.
8. Fervent souls shall quickly mount to high perfection.
9. I will bless every place where a picture of My Heart shall be set up and
honored.
10. I will give to priests the gift of touching the most hardened hearts.
11. Those who shall promote this devotion shall have their names written
in My Heart, never to be blotted out.
12. I promise in the excessive mercy of My Heart that My all-powerful love
will grant to all those who communicate on the First Friday in nine
consecutive months the grace of final penitence; they shall not die in My
disgrace nor without receiving their Sacraments; My Divine Heart shall be
their safe refuge in this last moment.
With Ecclesiastical Approbation

ENTHRONEMENT RITUAL (if priest is not present)
All: Our Family Enthrones the Sacred Heart of Jesus As Our King, Provider
and Friend. (All are seated while the father-or in his absence, mother -
explains what is about to take place.)
Father: You know, I think this might well be one of the most important
gatherings of our life. The reason I say this is because I’m convinced from
what we have been told and what I’ve read about the Enthronement, it
brings terrific blessings to families. And the good Lord knows we need
them.
Actually what we are doing today is to invite Jesus to come into our home
and to give Him a free hand. And we don’t have to worry about what He
does because He is the only One Who knows what He is doing and
whatever He does is for our good, for He is the only One Who loves us and
is our loyal and powerful Friend.
By the Enthronement, we are told, we enthrone Jesus as our King Who
rules over us through love - more like a Father than a ruler. He takes charge
of all our affairs, big and small. He becomes our generous provider, our
Family Friend, our spiritual Physician, our financial advisor, our life
insurer, our heavenly banker, our constant Companion, the unseen Guest at
every meal.
And we want Him to be all these things because each and everyone of us
need His help. It isn’t easy to be good. We can’t do it alone, but with Jesus
help we can make it.
Isn’t it wonderful to think that Jesus will be a real member of our family
from now on? He comes into our home, not because we are better than
anyone else, but because He knows how much we need Him. But if we
expect Jesus to bless us, we have to promise to try harder to be good - to
God, to each other and to those we meet outside of our home.
We hope that by what we are going to do today, and by the way we think of
Jesus and talk with Him and trust Him in the future, that we will make up
for so many families and so many people who don’t love Jesus and are
offending Him.

THE ENTHRONEMENT CEREMONY
Father: Now let us all stand while in your name I enthrone the Sacred Heart
as the Head of our Family. (All gather around the father, who takes the
Sacred Heart image and slowly walks over to the place prepared for it and
enthrones it, that is, puts it on the "Throne.")
All: Jesus, You are the King and Friend of our family. We accept Your
loving rule over us. Stay with us as our Friend. We need You.
Father: Now we are going to say the Apostles’ Creed to make up for a lot of
people we know who do not believe or practice what Jesus taught.

The Apostles’ Creed
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and earth; and in
Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord; Who was conceived by the Holy
Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was
crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell; the third day He
rose from the dead. He ascended into Heaven, sits at the right hand of God,
the Father Almighty; from there He shall come to judge the living and the
dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church, the
communion of Saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body
and life everlasting. Amen
Father: Today we are going to turn our family over to the Sacred Heart of
Jesus. When we were baptized we were dedicated to God. That is what we
are going to do now- renew our dedication to God by consecrating
ourselves to His loving Heart.
Act of Consecration
Almighty and Eternal Father,/ we the ( Smith ) family,/ (then each member
of the family says his first name beginning with the father) consecrate
ourselves and our home to the Sacred Heart of Your Only Begotten Son.,/
Who loves us with a tender and everlasting love./ May we return this love
as He comes into the midst of our family / to live and share our life in a
special way from this day on.
We accept You, Divine Heart of Jesus/ as a living member of this family./
Stay with us, Lord,/ Sanctify our joys and comfort us in all our sorrows./
May Your Holy Spirit inspire each of us so/ that we may be continually
aware of Your special Presence among us,/ especially in one another./ Help
us through this consecration to have a deep and loving respect for one
another,/ so that we may daily live this consecration in our family life.
Let our love go beyond our home into this world/ so that we may do our
part/ to win other families to your Sacred Heart,/ thus helping to form a real
community/ among the families of this parish/ and of the whole world.
All: Sacred Heart of Jesus we love You. Sacred Heart of Jesus Thy
Kingdom come! Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us. Glory to the
Sacred Heart of Jesus forever and ever! Amen
Short Prayer of Intercession...
Father: That the Sacred Heart of Jesus may be known and loved and served
in a special way, in our home, in our neighborhood and in our parish, we
pray to the Lord. Lord, hear our prayer!
Mother: That Mary, Our Mother through her Immaculate Heart, help us
keep the spirit of Our Enthronement by bringing us together daily to pray in
the Name of Jesus, let us pray to the Lord. Lord, hear our prayer!
Children: (or parents): For all the members of our family who are not with
us today, both living and dead, let us pray to the Lord. Lord, hear our
prayer!
All: That God may bless our family with vocations to the priesthood and
religious life, let us pray to the Lord. Lord, hear our prayer! Personal
requests may be added, if desired.
Litany of Thanksgiving
Father: Just as we thank God our heavenly Father, through Jesus, His Son,
during the Mass, so also now we thank the Sacred Heart of Jesus through
the Heart of His mother.
Mother: For giving us our children.
Children: For giving us our parents.
Father: For coming to our home.
Mother: For giving us Mary, Your Mother, as our Mother.
Children: For Our Holy Father the Pope, our Bishop, our priests, our sisters
and teachers.
Father: Now if there is anything special we would like to thank Jesus for,
now is the time to say it...

LITANY OF THE SACRED HEART

Lord, have mercy on us.

Christ, have mercy on us.

Lord, have mercy on us,

Christ, hear us. Christ graciously hear us.
God, the Father of heaven,
God, the Son, Redeemer of the world,
God the Holy Spirit,
Holy Trinity, one God,
Heart of Jesus, Son of the Eternal Father,
Heart of Jesus, formed by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin
Mother,
Heart of Jesus, substantially united tothe Word of God,
Heart of Jesus of infinite majesty,
Heart of Jesus, sacred temple of God,
Heart of Jesus, tabernacle of the Most High,
Heart of Jesus, house of God and gate ofheaven,
Heart of Jesus, burning furnace of charity,
Heart of Jesus, abode of justice and love,
Heart of Jesus, full of goodness and love,
Heart of Jesus, abyss of all virtues,
Heart of Jesus, most worthy of all praise,
Heart of Jesus, king and center of all hearts,
Heart of Jesus, in whom are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge,
Heart of Jesus, in whom dwells the fullness of divinity,
Heart of Jesus, in whom the Father was well pleased, Heart of Jesus, of
whose fullness we have all received,
Heart of Jesus, desire of the everlasting hills,
Heart of Jesus, patient and most merciful,
Heart of Jesus, enriching all who invoke thee,
Heart of Jesus, fountain of life and holiness,
Heart of Jesus, propitiation of our sins,
Heart of Jesus, loaded down with opprobrium,
Heart of Jesus, bruised for our offenses,
Heart of Jesus, obedient unto death,
Heart of Jesus, pierced with a lance,
Heart of Jesus, source of all consolation,
Heart of Jesus, our life and resurrection,
Heart of Jesus, our peace and reconciliation,
Heart of Jesus, victim of sin,
Heart of Jesus, salvation of those who trust in thee,
Heart of Jesus, hope of those who die in thee,
Heart of Jesus, delight of all the saints,
Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world,
Spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world,
Graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world,
Have mercy on us.
V. Jesus, meek and humble of Heart
R. Make our hearts like unto Thine.
Hail Holy Queen
Father: Jesus is our King, Mary, His Mother is our Queen. Many Catholics,
by their deeds, their bad talk their immodesty, offend the Immaculate Heart
of our Queen. Let us make up for this and at the same time promise our
Mother that we will try not to offend her.
Hail, Holy Queen, our life, our sweetness and our hope, to you do we cry,
poor banished children of Eve; to you do we send up our cries, mourning
and weeping in this valley of tears. Turn then, most gracious advocate, your
eyes of mercy toward us, and after this exile, show us the Fruit of your
womb, Jesus, O Clement, O Loving, O sweet Virgin Mary! Pray for us, O
holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of
Christ.
All sign the Enthronement “Covenant” (certificate), first, the father, then
the mother and then the children. It is to be framed and hung near the
Enthronement Shrine.
Parents now give their children the parental blessing. the children kneel
before the parents. First the father, then the mother, make a Sign of the
cross on the forehead of each child, saying: “I bless you, my child, in the
Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” The child
answers, Amen.

DAILY RENEWAL OF OUR PLEDGE
Dear Sacred Heart of Jesus, we renew our pledge of love and loyalty to
You. Keep us always close to Your loving Heart, and to the most pure
Heart of Your Mother. May we love one another more and more each day,
forgiving each other’s faults as You forgive us our sins. Teach us to see
You in the members of our family and those we meet outside our home,
loving them as You love them, especially the poor and the oppressed, that
we may be instrumental in bringing about justice and peace.
Please help us to carry our cross daily out of love for You, and to strengthen
this love by frequent Mass and Communion.
Thank You, dear Jesus, King and Friend of our family, for all the blessings
of this day. Protect us and all families during this night. Help us so to live
that we may all get to Heaven.
Immaculate Heart of Mary,                      Pray for us!
St. Joseph, Protector of the Christian,     Pray for us!
Our Guardian Angels and Patron Saints,     Pray for us!

THE MEMORARE
Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that
anyone who fled to thy protection, implored by thy help, or sought thy
intercession, was left unaided. Inspired with this confidence, I fly unto thee,
O Virgin of virgins, my Mother. To thee I come; before thee I stand, sinful
and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions;
but in thy mercy hear and answer me. Amen.