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"Practical Guide To Home Enthronement To the Sacred Heart" by Emily Jaminet (CatholicMom.com) Copyright 2018 Emily Jaminet. All rights reserved.[/caption]
“Behold this Heart, which has loved so much but has received nothing but coldness, indifference, and ingratitude in return.”
It is hard to believe that these words were declared back in the 17th century, not just yesterday, by Jesus in a vision to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque. We live in a culture where people are cold, indifferent and lack gratitude for our Lord and the many blessings He provides us every day. The Sacred Heart devotion is about one thing -- learning to love and honor our Lord’s most precious Heart. One way to honor our Lord is by Enthroning the Sacred Heart in your own heart, home, school, parish, place of employment or organization. This beautiful Christian ceremony is a means by which we can attain many graces! This devotion is still relevant today and is a lifeline of grace! When we serve the Lord and honor Jesus’ most Sacred Heart, we enter into a fraternity of love, a network of hope and a fellowship of friendship. Jesus wants to not only develop a meaningful relationship with us but teach us how to love His heart and serve Him more perfectly by placing Him as Lord of our lives. WHAT IS AN ENTHRONEMENT TO THE SACRED HEART? The Sacred Heart Enthronement is a Christian ceremony where Christ is officially invited to enter as a brother, friend, and king to your home, school, business or organization. When we honor the heart of Christ we seek to live out an authentic relationship with Christ and provide Him a new way to bless us with graces. The Sacred Heart Enthronement was a direct request from Christ as revealed to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque in the Ninth Promise to those who venerate the Sacred Heart.
“I will bless the homes in which the Image of My Sacred Heart shall be exposed and honored.”
We are called to not only hang a picture in our house but also learn how to honor our Lord through loving Him and welcoming Him into our daily life. This promise was one of twelve powerful incentives for those who take time to live out a true faith in Christ. This devotion is a way to be transformed by Christ’s love and allow Him to transform you and your life. WHY ENTHRONE YOUR HOME TO THE SACRED HEART?
“The Enthronement of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in your home is an act of adoration that publicly declares Jesus as ‘Lord of the House’. Christ is promising to bless families and individuals who honor Him with the installation of a blessed image of His Sacred Heart.” (Sacred Heart Enthronement Network Manual)  
Our God is a God of love, and we need to remember that He wants to be invited into our lives. 
“And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” (Luke 11:9-10)
Our Lord stands at the door of our heart and home waiting to be invited in; it is up to us to answer and open the door.
  • We Must Prepare Our Hearts for Christ to Enter:
A wonderful aspect of this devotion is the preparation stage for an Enthronement to the Sacred Heart. Whenever you plan to have a guest over you clean up, go to the store, prepare food, set the table, and plan the evening based on the needs and expectations of the guest that is planning to visit. This is also true with the need to spiritually prepare for the Enthronement to the Sacred Heart. We are called to a time of preparation as a way to make room for Christ to be active in our lives. Every worthy guest is honored through proper preparation, this is true as we prepare for a Sacred Heart Enthronement. The family or individual is called to spend some time in preparation for this significant event in their life.  
  • Invoking The Blessed Mother’s Help:
Mary brings us to Jesus. We implore Mary’s assistance and intercession throughout this stage of spiritual preparation for the Enthronement to the Sacred Heart. Mary is our mother who desires for our families to be renewed, restored and blessed by Christ. During this time of preparation, we offer prayers to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, pray the Rosary, recite the Litany of the Sacred Heart, and close in prayer. Mary brings us to Jesus and teaches us how to pray much like she did for the young children of Fatima. If a missionary of the Sacred Heart helps with your Enthronement they will typically leave behind with the family a beautiful traveling statue of Our Lady of Fatima to help prepare the family for the Enthronement of the Sacred Heart. The Men of the Sacred Hearts in Detroit, Michigan, use a 3-foot-tall statue of the Blessed Mother and believe that the traveling image serves as a physical reminder that the Blessed Mother wants to help us, her children.
  • Enthronement Day: A Day of New Beginning for our family 
Like any big moment in your life, you prepare for it and then enjoy the moment! This is a day where you allow the Lord to work in your life in a new way. For many families, this is the moment where they can declare the words from Joshua 24:15, “As for Me and My House We Shall Serve the Lord.” We serve Christ and in return, he reigns over our lives and is there to help us! Consider inviting family, friends, neighbors or relatives over to enjoy the fruits of this big decision to give your life to Christ in a new way. We enthrone Christ and seek to love Him, in contrast to many families in this age who have dethroned Him and become indifferent to their Catholic faith. “Like Mary and Joseph, like the shepherds and the three kings, we want to give You a royal welcome as they did when they adored You in Your humble home of Bethlehem.” We desire to offer Christ a living throne in our hearts and homes.  The Enthronement to the Sacred Heart Manual is full of beautiful prayers, scripture, and declarations of love aimed at helping the family understand that today is a day of new beginnings!
The LORD sits enthroned above.” (Psalm 29:10)
On Enthronement Day the head of the family/organization carries the image of the Sacred Heart to a place of honor, the participants pray together and consecrates their group to our Lord, the covenant is signed and the celebration begins! Remember, we go to Christ because we want Him to help us.  Do not feel unworthy but rather grateful for what He offers. Bring your troubles to our Lord!
“We can talk to our children all day about how God is important and that they should pray, but it doesn’t always sink in. I would strongly recommend enthronement as a way to make a “sacred space” in the home, to invite the family to prayer. When the children see the parents pray, they will know it’s important and will follow. When they see the occasional loving gaze toward His image, they’ll know that God is loved in the home, and they know that God loves in return.” (Jeff Bernard of Columbus, Ohio, writing about enthroning the Sacred Heart in his home)
HOW CAN WE HONOR OUR LORD THROUGH THE DEVOTION TO THE SACRED HEART?  Finally, we are called to not only enthrone an image of Our Lord but to remember that we are called to live out this devotion through daily prayer and by learning to honor His Most Sacred Heart. First, get to know the promise offered to those who practice this devotion! These twelve promises are rooted in promises our Lord declared to those who have complete faith. He tells us by living out this devotion we are given graces for our state in life, peace in our families, consolation in our troubles, an increase in faith and much more. Click here for a complete list. Remember to pray each and every day! Attempt to frequently receive Our Lord in Holy Communion by attending Mass, and take time to use the Sacrament of Reconciliation as a means to be purified and forgiven! Read the daily readings, visit our Lord in Adoration or go before your image at home and pray. Celebrate special Solemnities or Feasts related to Christ: Corpus Christi, Sacred Heart, Immaculate Heart of Mary, Christ the King! Perform works of mercy out of your love for Christ. Pray that Mary will teach you how to love her Son by reciting the Rosary! Remember to pray the renewal prayer of your Enthronement Covenant at special family gatherings such as Feast Days, Christmas, Easter or whenever you need extra graces! Praying to the Sacred Heart is an essential element of this devotion.  "Practical Guide To Home Enthronement To the Sacred Heart" by Emily Jaminet (CatholicMom.com) Image created in Canva by Emily Jaminet. All rights reserved.[/caption] To learn more visit www.enthronements.com and allow your family to experience this powerful devotion right in your own home! Don’t be intimidated by this devotion; rather, look at it as a new beginning in your family and in your life. The key to this devotion is to know that we welcome Mary’s son, Jesus, into our home or institution to learn how to honor, love, and serve Him. This devotion is rooted in learning to love Christ in a more perfect way!

FINAL CLIFF-NOTES ON THE SACRED HEART ENTHRONEMENT: 

For those who already feel overwhelmed by their busy lives and are hesitant to take on yet another commitment, allow me to offer a few suggestions for practicing this beautiful devotion:
  • There are free videos led by the Sacred Heart Enthronement Network Spiritual Father, Fr. Stash Dailey, that can offer you spiritual support. You can stream it on YouTube or order the DVD and receive the gift of this devotion to help with the formation of the family. The Manual can be ordered at Enthronements.com
  • The Rosary can be prayed in less than 20 minutes and is well worth your time. Generations of Catholics have been spiritually fed by this prayer while meditating on five aspects of our Lord’s life. A wide variety of free resources exist that offer help with praying this powerful Christian prayer.  I like to listen to an audio version to help me focus while praying it.
  • Do Your Best! This isn’t about if you did this perfectly, rather it is about the transformation that is possible by welcoming Christ in the Enthronement! Do your best each day to learn how to honor our Lord’s most Sacred Heart and you will find a clarity of purpose in your life that will reduce your burdens, not add to them.

Copyright 2018 Emily Jaminet