Consecrated Together: Living the Sacred Heart in Family Life

Sister Margaret Kerry offers ideas for families preparing to celebrate our nation's upcoming Consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

We are witnesses to a remarkable moment in United States history: On June 11, 2026, as part of the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. bishops will consecrate the United States of America to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

The founder of my Pauline Religious Family, Blessed James Alberione, recognized that devotion to the heart of Christ was found in the church as early as the first century. To illustrate this Alberione designed the communion rail at the Temple of St. Paul in Alba, Italy with two unique gates opening to the sanctuary. The design on one gate is the heart of Paul and on the other is the heart of Christ. The words, written in Latin, are entwined within an image of the vine and branches: “The heart of Paul is the heart of Christ.” In his letters, Paul reminds us we are called to have a heart that pulses with the heart of Christ (Galatians 2:20).

What Happens When We Are Consecrated to the Sacred Heart

When we consecrate ourselves to Jesus’ Sacred Heart, we are committing to a lifelong process of becoming Christ. Consecration is a renewal of our Baptism, the primary, indelible consecration of a Christian set apart to belong to God. Consecration is an act of awakening: a conscious, loving return to the grace already dwelling within us. Consecration is not a single moment but an ongoing, lifelong journey of conversion and transformation into the image of Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18). We choose, again and again, to allow Christ to be Lord of every corner of our lives.

When a pope consecrates the world or when the bishops consecrate a nation to Christ, we are not bystanders. Each of us exercises our priesthood in a special way on these occasions. This priestly offering is made concrete in the Morning Offering and similar practices; in our daily prayers we offer the joys and sorrows that come. These have purpose united to Christ our Savior –— to sanctify the world healing and transforming of all creation through Christ.

The first official consecration of the world to the Sacred Heart was decreed by Pope Leo XIII in his encyclical letter Annum Sacrum (1899). He wrote: “We must have recourse to Him who is the Way, the Truth and the Life.”

Pope Pius XI presented his encyclical On Reparation to the Sacred Heart in 1928. In it, he reminds us of Jesus’ promise that those who give honor to the Sacred Heart will receive an abundance of heavenly graces.

On the 100th anniversary of the Feast of the Sacred Heart (1956), Pope Pius XII presented You Will Draw Water (Haurietis aquas). His encyclical invites the Church to recognize devotion to Jesus’ Sacred Heart as an important dimension of Christian spirituality.

In his 1999 letter for the Centenary of the Consecration of the Human Race to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Pope John Paul II wrote:

In facing the challenge of the new evangelization, the Christian who looks upon the Heart of Christ and consecrates himself as well as his brothers and sisters to him, rediscovers that he is the bearer of his light.” Christians “in love with Christ the Good Shepherd, will pattern their own hearts on his and be ready to go out into the highways of the world to proclaim to all that he is the Way, the Truth and the Life.

Most recently Pope Francis, with his encyclical, Dilexit Nos, brought devotion to the Sacred Heart to the forefront of contemporary Catholic life and culture:

In contemplating the pierced heart of the Lord, who ‘took our infirmities and bore our diseases,’ we too are inspired to be more attentive to the sufferings and needs of others and confirmed in our efforts to share in his work of liberation as instruments for the spread of his love.

Bringing the Consecration Home

Next week, the bishops of the United States ask us to consider how we might foster truth, justice, and charity in American life. What might this look like in your family devotion to Jesus’ Heart? How do you instill a heart that pulses with the Heart of Christ? How do you help your family bring Christ’s heart into everyday moments?

Here are practical suggestions for joining your life and the life of your family to the one Sacrifice that renews the world.

• Add one of these acts of Consecration to the Sacred Heart to your morning prayer offering:

"I give and consecrate to the Heart of Our Lord Jesus Christ, my whole life, all my actions, my trials, my sufferings, devoting every portion of my being to loving, honoring, and glorifying Him." (Saint Margaret Mary)

"O Sacred Heart of Jesus, fountain of eternal life, Your Heart is a glowing furnace of Love. You are my refuge and my sanctuary ... Pour down on my soul those graces which flow from Your love." (Saint Gertrude the Great)

• Hold a device-free family gathering once a week. A prompt for conversation may be, “What was your heart grateful for this week?” “How did your heart pulse with the heart of Christ?” Get to know each other’s hearts.
• Practice staying in the present moment. Focus as best you can as you stop and listen to your spouse or child. Allow yourself to feel the impulse to continue with your own plans, then choose to stay, breathe, and pause. Be the heart of Jesus for another.
• Make a Sacred Heart kite and let it fly as the fireworks light up the sky for our nation’s 250th anniversary.
• Create paper Sacred Hearts with prayer intentions on them to pull out of a bowl before a mealtime prayer.

Share your ideas with us!

Sacred Heart of Jesus, I trust in You.

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Copyright 2026 Sister Margaret Kerry, FSP
Images: (top, center) iStockPhoto.com, licensed for use by Holy Cross Family Ministries; (bottom) copyright 2026 Sister Margaret Kerry, FSP, all rights reserved