By Bishop James Conley
As I write this column, I am preparing for two very important consecrations this week.
On June 11, as part of the lead-up to 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.
We—approximately 250 bishops from around the United States—will be gathered in Orlando, Florida, from June 10-12 for our annual Spring Assembly. On Thursday, June 11, we will travel by bus to the nearby shrine of Mary, Queen of the Universe. There we will celebrate an evening Mass followed by the consecration.
Leading up to the consecration of the United States of America to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, parishes around the country were encouraged to join the bishops in celebrating the consecration of our nation to the Sacred Heart. We published the official novena to the Sacred Heart in the Southern Nebraska Register, along with information from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). We also sent the novena, day by day, to those who receive our diocesan Flocknote emails.
A question one might ask is, “what does a consecration to the Sacred Heart mean and why are we consecrating our country to the Sacred Heart?” My good friend, Bishop Kevin Rhoades, Bishop of Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend, former chair of the U.S. Bishops’ Committee on Religious Liberty, of which I am currently a member, and secretary of the US Bishops’ Conference, explains the meaning and purpose of this historic event very well.
Bishop Rhoades writes in a column for “Franciscan at Home” of the Franciscan Center for Evangelization and Renewal at Franciscan University of Steubenville:
“In consecrating our nation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus during the semiquincentennial anniversary, we will be entrusting our nation to the love and care of Jesus, the Redeemer of the World. At the same time, the consecration will be a reminder to Catholics of our task to serve our nation by ‘perfecting the temporal order with the spirit of the Gospel,’ as taught by the Second Vatican Council.”
Bishop Rhoades goes on to write:
“In his fourth and last encyclical, Dilexit Nos (DN), Pope Francis brought devotion to the Sacred Heart to the forefront of Catholic life as the ultimate symbol of ‘the human and divine love’ of the Heart of Jesus. And in his first apostolic exhortation, Dilexi Te, Pope Leo XIV invites us to contemplate Christ’s love, which moves us to mission in our suffering world today. Pope Leo’s predecessor and namesake, Pope Leo XIII, had taught that ‘there is in the Sacred Heart a symbol and a sensible image of the infinite love of Jesus Christ which moves us to love one another.’ He encouraged individuals to make an act of consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus when he consecrated the whole world to the Sacred Heart in 1899. Leo XIII reminded all that ‘whatever honor, veneration and love is given to this divine Heart is really and truly given to Christ Himself.’ Drawing on the teaching of Pope Leo XIII, Pope Pius XI referred to the ‘pious custom’ of consecrating the nation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus as a way to recognize the kingship of Christ.
“The consecration of our nation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus in 2026 is an opportunity to promote devotion to the Sacred Heart in our families, parishes, schools, and other institutions. This devotion has profound spiritual and theological depth. The Heart of Jesus expresses the very core of Christianity, the Good News of God’s passionate love for humanity revealed in the Incarnation of his Son and in his redemption of humanity by loving us ‘to the end’ (Jn 13:1).
The Heart of Jesus, pierced by the soldier’s spear, became the fountain of life and holiness communicated to us in baptism and the Eucharist, ‘the two fundamental sacraments by which the Church lives.’ In Dilexit Nos, Pope Francis proposed to the whole Church ‘renewed reflection on the love of Christ represented in his Sacred Heart. For there we find the whole Gospel, a synthesis of the truths of our faith, all that we adore and seek in faith, all that responds to our deepest needs’ (89).”
With these thoughts in our hearts and minds, please join me in commending our beloved nation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Locally, the Sacred Heart will also serve as a guiding “North Star” for the Diocese of Lincoln in the coming years. The Sacred Heart of Jesus has played an important role in the formation of our recently released One Heart in Christ pastoral plan, as well as in my own spiritual growth.
Our Lord appeared to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque in Paray-le-Monial, France, several times between December 1673 and June 1675, revealing to her his Sacred Heart. When I was a new Catholic and discerning my vocation, I visited Paray-le-Monial and my experience there gave me the peace and the inspiration to continue my discernment.
As we put together our One Heart in Christ pastoral plan to guide the diocese for the next five years, the decision was made to use the Sacred Heart in our image representing the plan. We also pray the Sacred Heart of Jesus will guide us as we work to bring all in the Diocese of Lincoln closer to Christ through the principles and priorities we have identified.
With that in mind, I invite you to join me for a very special holy hour Friday, June 12, at 7 p.m. at the Cathedral of the Risen Christ in Lincoln. We will pray and reflect, and I will consecrate our diocese to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. If you are unable to attend in person, I invite you to pray with me on Friday evening, from your own home, or whenever you have an opportunity, and I invite you in the coming weeks to spend some quiet time in prayer for our diocese. Here is a link to some of the prayers you may want to use: www.usccb.org/consecration-united-states-sacred-heart-jesus.
May the mercy, love and peace of the Sacred Heart of Jesus bless our country and our diocese in a marvelous way as we prepare to celebrate the 250th anniversary of these beloved United States.
