Novena to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

The Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus was started and made popular by St. Margaret Mary Alacoque. She was inspired by visions of Jesus to spread this devotion.

This was a favorite prayer of St. Padre Pio and he prayed it every day.

Sacred Heart Novena Prayers

O my Jesus, you have said: “Truly I say to you, ask and you will receive, seek and you will find, knock and it will be opened to you.”
Behold I knock, I seek and ask for the grace of…
(Mention your Intention Here)
Our Father…
Hail Mary…
Glory Be to the Father…
Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in You.

O my Jesus, you have said: “Truly I say to you, if you ask anything of the Father in My Name, He will give it to you.” Behold, in your Name, I ask the Father for the grace of…
(Mention your Intention Here)
Our Father…
Hail Mary…
Glory Be to the Father…
Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in You.

O my Jesus, You have said: “Truly I say to you, heaven and earth will pass away but My Words will not pass away.” Encouraged by Your infallible Words I now ask for the grace of…
(Mention your Intention Here)
Our Father…
Hail Mary…
Glory Be to the Father…
Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in You.

O Sacred Heart of Jesus, for Whom it is impossible not to have compassion on the afflicted, have pity on us miserable sinners and grant us the grace which we ask of You, through the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary, Your tender Mother and ours.

Hail, holy Queen, Mother of mercy, our life, our sweetness and our hope.
To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve: to thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this vale of tears.
Turn then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us, and after this our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy 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.
St. Joseph, foster father of Jesus, pray for us.
Amen. — St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

More About the Sacred Heart Devotion

I once read that the whole purpose of the apostolate of Christians today was, “to demonstrate the charity of Christ in all phases of human life and thus bring individuals and society back to God.” (Dorothy Dohen)

To demonstrate this charity, we must conform our heart to Christ’s, unite ourselves to His heart — and ultimately, lose ourselves in Him.

That’s what the Novena to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is all about: uniting our hearts with His, and devoting ourselves to Him.

So when we pray this novena together, we are praying that we can transform ourselves to love as Jesus Christ does — as St. Margaret Mary Alacoque wrote, “Since love makes lovers one in likeness, if we love, let us model our lives on His.”

There are a couple of different versions of this novena, but the one we’re using is one that has been attributed to St. Margaret Mary — after Jesus appeared to her on many occasions, and explained to her the devotion to His Heart.

Jesus also made 12 specific promises to those who would honor His Sacred Heart:

I will give them all the graces necessary in their state of life.
I will give peace in their families and will unite families that are divided.
I will console them in all their troubles.
I will be their refuge during life and above all in death.
I will bestow the blessings of Heaven on all their enterprises.
Sinners shall find in my Heart the source and infinite ocean of mercy.
Tepid souls shall become fervent.
Fervent souls shall rise quickly to great perfection.
I will bless those places wherein the image of My Heart shall be exposed and honored and will imprint My love on the hearts of those who would wear this image on their person. I will also destroy in them all disordered movements.
I will give to priests who are animated by a tender devotion to my Divine Heart the gift of touching the most hardened hearts.
Those who promote this devotion shall have their names written in my Heart, never to be effaced.
I promise you 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 will not die in my disgrace, nor without receiving their Sacraments. My Divine Heart shall be their safe refuge in this last moment.

So our goal while praying this novena is to unite ourselves with Christ in all that we do — referring everything we do to His glory, and accepting all sufferings and difficulties as something to bring us even closer to the love He shares with us –with a real and physical heart, symbolizing his eternal and infinite charity.

To receive the promises Jesus made to St. Margaret Mary, there are a few requirements:

Receiving Communion Frequently
Going to Confession and receiving the Eucharist on the first Friday of each month, for nine consecutive months. (If it isn’t offered at your parish, you can go to Confession & offer your prayers for the Holy Father’s intentions).
Celebrating the Feast of the Sacred Heart.

The Feast of the Sacred Heart has also been established by Saint Pope John Paul II as the World Day of Prayer for the Sanctification of Priests.

So as we pray this novena together, let’s especially remember our Priests — and the challenge made to us all in Jesus’ message to St. Margaret Mary: to love everyone, faithfully, with the endless love of Jesus.