St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

In seventeenth-century France the faith of the people had been badly shaken; there was rebellion against the Church and neglect of its teachings; the rise of Protestantism and the spread of the heresy of Jansenism, both had a part in the weakening of the structure built up through the ages. It was in this culture that St. Margaret Mary was called upon to promote devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

St. Margaret Mary was born in 1647 at Janots, a small town of Burgundy, the fifth of seven children of Claude and Philiberte Alacoque. Her father was a prosperous notary; the family owned a country house and farmland and had some aristocratic connections. Her father died of pneumonia when Margaret was about eight which was a severe shock to the little girl. Margaret was sent to school with the Urbanist Sisters at Charolles. She loved the peace and order of the convent life, and the nuns were so impressed by her devotion that she was allowed to make her First Communion at the age of nine.

Her mother expressed a hope that Margaret would marry. At the age of twenty, inspired by a vision, she put aside all such thoughts and resolved to enter a convent. While awaiting admission, she tried to help and teach certain neglected children of the village. At twenty-two she made her profession at the convent of the Visitation at Paray-le-Monial. The nuns of the Order of the Visitation, founded in the early years of the seventeenth century by St. Francis de Sales, were famed for their humility and selflessness. As a novice Margaret excelled in these virtues. When she made her profession, the name of Mary was added, and she was called Margaret Mary.

Some years passed quietly in the convent, and then Margaret Mary began to experience visions of Christ. The first of these occurred on December 27, 1673, when she was kneeling at the grille in the chapel. The Lord told her that the love of His heart must spread and manifest itself to men, and He would reveal its graces through her. This was the beginning of a series of revelations covering a period of eighteen months. When Margaret Mary went to the Superior, Mother de Saumaise, with an account of these mystical experiences, claiming that she, a humble nun, had been chosen as the transmitter of a new devotion to the Sacred Heart, she was reprimanded for her presumption. Seriously overwrought, Margaret Mary suffered a collapse, and became so ill that her life was despaired of. The Mother Superior reflected that she might have erred in scorning the nun's story and vowed that if her life were spared, she would take it as a sign that the visions and messages were truly from God. When Margaret Mary recovered, the Superior invited some theologians who happened to be in the town -they included a Jesuit and a Benedictine-to hear the story. These priests listened and judged the young nun to be a victim of delusions. Their examination had been a sheer torture to Margaret Mary. Later a Jesuit, Father Claude de la Columbiere, talked to her and was completely convinced of the genuineness of the revelations. He was to write of the nun and to inaugurate this devotion.

For many years the nun suffered from despair. Opposition ceased-or at least was restrained-after an account of Margaret Mary's visions was read aloud in the refectory from the writings left by Father Claude, who had taken it upon himself to make known to the world the nun's remarkable experiences. When she was forty-three Margaret Mary fell ill. Sinking rapidly, she received the Last Sacraments, saying, "I need nothing but God, and to lose myself in the heart of Jesus."

Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus has for centuries been one of the most widely practiced devotions. Symbolically, the literal heart of Jesus represents the compassion of the heart that Christ feels for mankind, and it is invoked in any number of Catholic prayers and novenas.

From: EWTN and Thoughtco.com