With appeals for reparation for sin and the ongoing sanctification of priests, Most Rev. Nicholas DiMarzio consecrated the Diocese of Brooklyn to the Sacred Heart of Jesus on Friday, June 19.

The consecration was made during the Chrism Mass of the diocese, which was postponed from Holy Thursday because of COVID-19 concerns. The consecration, which was made in the Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph, also coincided with the 100th anniversary year of the canonization of Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque, to whom the Sacred Heart appeared.

(Photos courtesy of NET TV)

Bishop DiMarzio said in his homily,

“The consecration to the Sacred Heart reminds us that we know the love of God, that the Father has given us in Jesus, his Son. The Son who died and rose for us. We also recognize that we must still make reparation for our sins and the sins of others because God’s love is offended by sin, when we turn away from God.”

Our Will Taken Up By His

Quoting Saint Margaret Mary, the apostle of the Sacred Heart, to whom Jesus revealed himself, he said,

“There must be no longer anything of ourselves, but this divine Heart of Jesus must take the place of our own so completely that our Lord alone will live and act within us. Our own will must be taken up by His, that He may be able to act in us without any resistance whatsoever.”

The bishop continued,

“Tonight, as we consecrate the Diocese of Brooklyn, here in Queens and Brooklyn, and ourselves to the Sacred Heart, we ask for that grace, that Jesus take us over, that our will become His own. And that is our special request tonight.”

Referring to the pandemic, the bishop said,

“I don’t think people have prayed more at home than during this time. The spirit of prayer and devotion entered into each home in a different way. Perhaps it is the Sacred Heart of Jesus who asked to be honored in every home with his picture to remind us that His love should be the centerpiece of each Catholic family, the domestic Church.”

Most Sweet Jesus

Bishop DiMarzio led the priests in a renewal of their vows, and then after Mass led the other six bishops as well as clergy, religious and laity in the prayer of consecration. A portion of the prayer was thus:

“Most sweet Jesus, Redeemer of the human race, look down upon us. Humbly we pray kneeling before You in the Blessed Sacrament. We are Yours and Yours we wish to be, more surely united with You.

“Behold, each one of us freely consecrates our entire person to You, to Your Sacred Heart. Oh Jesus Incarnate, Divine Mercy of the Heavenly Father … New York City and our world, so devastatingly bruised by sickness, poverty, and particularly our dioceses here in Kings and Queens counties, where there was so much pain, sorrow and anxiety.”

The prayer concluded with,

“Humbly and fittingly, a shepherd of the sheep commanded to my care, I humbly entrust and consecrate to Your most Sacred Heart, all the faithful of the Diocese of Brooklyn. May its laity, religious, and clergy be protected by Your most august presence and continually avail themselves in the cloak of Your divine love.”

Diocesan Consecrations Not Common

There have been only a few dioceses in the United States which have been consecrated to the Sacred Heart. Besides Brooklyn, the Diocese of Marquette, MI was consecrated in 2015.

Jesus Christ appeared to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, a French Visitation nun and mystic, in 1673. Jesus spoke these words,

“Behold the Heart which has so loved men that it has spared nothing, even to exhausting and consuming Itself, in order to testify Its love; and in return, I receive from the greater part only ingratitude, by their irreverence and sacrilege…”

St. Margaret Mary Alacoque was officially canonized on May 13, 1920 by Pope Benedict XV. In 1928, Pope Pius XI upheld the Church’s position regarding the credibility behind her visions of Jesus Christ. He stated Jesus “manifested Himself” to Margaret and the chief features of devotion to the Sacred Heart are “reception of Holy Communion on the first Friday of each month, Eucharistic adoration during a ‘Holy hour’ on Thursdays, and the celebration of the Feast of the Sacred Heart.”