St. Joan of Arc

06/11/2026

Today, June 11, 2026, join in prayer as the Catholic bishops of the United States consecrate our nation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus as part of the celebration of America’s 250th anniversary.

Watch the livestream at 4 p.m. (ET) from the bishops’ Spring Plenary Assembly in Orlando. During this historic Mass, Catholics across the country are invited to unite in prayer as our nation is entrusted to the loving Heart of Christ.

May the Sacred Heart of Jesus pour out His mercy, peace, and grace upon our nation.

Learn more and watch at usccb.org/consecration-united-states-sacred-heart-jesus.

06/11/2026

Novena Day 9 - Consecration of the United States to the Sacred Heart of Jesus



Pray

Today, we consecrate the United States of America to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Parishes and individuals around the country are encouraged to join the U.S. Catholic bishops in this historic occasion, beginning with this Prayer to the Sacred Heart of Jesus written for the consecration.

O Most Sacred Heart of Jesus:
You know the longings of our hearts,
and you desire that we enjoy friendship with you.
From your pierced side, you have poured out the wellspring of life,
for which we thirst.
Your heart burns with a love for all people
to return to a right relationship with you.
We celebrate the abundant gifts you have given this nation, founded on the self-evident truths that our Creator has endowed all people with the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
We make reparation for the offenses against you and against human dignity that have taken place in this nation.
May our hearts be united to yours, so that our families and communities enjoy peace and happiness; may broken relationships be reconciled, injustices repaired, and the wounds of our land be healed.
May your holy Catholic Church serve as a sign,
pointing all people to your infinite love.
O Desire of Nations and Center of History,
we ask you to bless these United States of America.
Who live and reign with God the Father
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever .
Amen.
Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us!
Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us!


Learn

Why do we consecrate to the Sacred Heart of Jesus? In the first such act in 1899, when Pope Leo XIII consecrated the world to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, he writes in his encyclical, Annum Sacrum : “Since there is in the Sacred Heart a symbol and the express image of the infinite love of Jesus Christ that moves us to love one another, it is fit and proper that we should consecrate ourselves to his most Sacred Heart – an act that is nothing else than an offering and a binding of oneself to Jesus Christ.”

Likewise, in Saint John Paul II’s Message for the Centenary of the Consecration of the Human Race to the Divine Heart of Jesus , he reflected on the need for a missionary spirit of the Church that flows from consecration to the Sacred Heart: “Consecration thus understood is to be joined to the missionary activity of the Church herself, because it answers the desire of Jesus' Heart to propagate in the world, through the members of his Body, his total dedication to the kingdom, and to unite the Church ever more closely to his offering to the Father and his being for others.”

In addition to drawing us into deeper unity with Christ, consecration to the Sacred Heart also reveals a message that Saint John Paul II called “necessary for humanity today”: Only in Christ’s love can we discover the gentleness and forgiveness needed to heal the conflicts that wound our world ( Angelus 2002).


Act

As we conclude this Novena to the Sacred Heart, we reflect with Pope Francis in Dilexit Nos. “There are moments when [Jesus] speaks to us inwardly, calls us and leads us to a better place. That better place is his heart. There he invites us to find fresh strength and peace: ‘Come to me, all who are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest’ ( Mt 11:28)” (no. 43).

Let us go forth with this renewed sense of strength and peace, consoled by the great love that Jesus has for us and transformed by the missionary fire of his Sacred Heart.

Copyright United States Catholic Conference of Bishops

Learn more about the Consecration of the USA to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

We Hold These Truths - Celebrating Catholic Contributions to the United States of America on the Semiquincentennial Anniversary with the USCCB

https://youtu.be/j1WyC4TSeoo

The Livestream of the Mass of Consecration of the United States of America to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus is scheduled for Thursday, June 11 at 4:00 PM EST.

The U.S. bishops consecrate the United States to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, as part of the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Live from the USCCB Spring Plenary Assembly in Orlando, this historic Mass invites parishes and Catholics around the country to join the bishops in consecrating our nation to the Sacred Heart.

https://app.flocknote.com/note/37228789

06/11/2026

Happy Birthday Bishop Daniel E. Thomas🎉

Please join us in praying for Bishop Daniel E. Thomas on his birthday today, especially as he joins the other US Bishops to consecrate the nation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus!

06/10/2026

Novena Day 8 - Jesus, gentle and humble of heart



Pray

Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, “the Little Flower,” profoundly understood the gentle and humble heart of Jesus. In contemplating how to be transformed by Christ's love, she reflected that “What pleases [Jesus] is that he sees me loving my littleness and my poverty, the blind hope that I have in his mercy… the weaker one is, without desires or virtues, the more suited one is for the workings of this consuming and transforming Love” (Letter 197 to Sister Marie of the Sacred Heart, September 17, 1896). Let us join with Saint Thérèse in praying for our hearts to be humble like Jesus.

O Jesus! When You were a Pilgrim on earth, You said: “Learn of Me for I am gentle and humble of heart and you will find rest for your souls.” O Mighty Monarch of Heaven, my soul finds rest in seeing You, clothed in the form and nature of a slave, humbling Yourself to wash the feet of Your apostles... I beg You, my Divine Jesus, to send me a humiliation whenever I try to set myself above others. I know that You humble the proud soul but to the one who humbles one’s self . You give an eternity of glory... To obtain this grace of Your infinite mercy I will very often repeat: “O Jesus, gentle and humble of heart, make my heart like Yours!”


Learn

Saint John Paul II notes that only once in Scripture does Jesus refer to his own heart, when he instructs us to learn from his humility and gentleness in Matthew 11. The Holy Father concludes that our Lord stresses these features “as if to say that only in this way does he wish to win us to himself” (Catechesis, June 20, 1979).

The saints, facing the challenges of their age, looked to the heart of Christ as a model to respond with humility and grace. Saint Claude de La Colombière reflected on the attitude of Christ’s heart in his greatest hours of suffering: how during his passion, his heart remained firmly directed to God, and despite the betrayal of Judas and the abandonment of his apostles, Christ did not respond with hatred or indignation – but forgiveness. Saint Claude resolved to “present myself anew to this heart free of anger, free of bitterness, filled instead with genuine compassion towards its enemies” ( Spiritual Exercises in Lyon , October-November 1674, ibid., p. 45).


Act

Devotion to the Sacred Heart allows us to put aside our pride and respond to the challenges of life. Saint Vincent de Paul teaches us: “We should remember that [Christ] himself said that by gentleness we inherit the earth. If we act on this, we will win people over so that they will turn to the Lord. That will not happen if we treat people harshly or sharply” (Saint Vincent de Paul, Common Rules of the Congregation of the Mission, May 17, 1658, c. 2, 6).

Use this Examination of Conscience in Light of Catholic Social Teaching to reflect on how you are acting on Christ’s teachings to love humbly and gently. Then, conclude with Saint Thérèse of Lisieux’s prayer: “O Jesus, gentle and humble of heart, make my heart like Yours!”

Copyright United States Catholic Conference of Bishops

Learn more about the Consecration of the United States to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

We Hold These Truths - Celebrating Catholic Contributions to the United States of America on the Semiquincentennial Anniversary with the USCCB

https://app.flocknote.com/note/37228777

06/09/2026

🚎 Final Week to Register for Our Mini Pilgrimage 🚎



This is the final week to sign up for our Mini Pilgrimage to the Solanus Casey Center for the Year of St. Francis on Saturday, June 20, 2026.

As the Church celebrates the Year of St. Francis, proclaimed by Pope Leo XIV, we have a unique opportunity to deepen our faith through pilgrimage, prayer, and fellowship. We invite you to join us as we travel to the Solanus Casey Center in Detroit to encounter the life and witness of Blessed Solanus Casey, a humble Capuchin Franciscan friar whose love for Christ and His Church continues to inspire people around the world.

⚠️ Registration closes Sunday, June 14 ⚠️


If you have been considering joining us, now is the time to reserve your spot. We would love to have you make this journey with us as we walk in the spirit of St. Francis and Blessed Solanus Casey.

For more information or needing help registering, please contact Tyler Pakka at (419) 866 6181 ext. 123 or [email protected].

“Blessed be God in all His designs.” - Blessed Solanus Casey

https://app.flocknote.com/note/37309168

06/09/2026

Novena Day 7 - Heart of Jesus, source of all consolation



Pray

In Dilexit Nos , Pope Francis describes the consoling nature of devotion to the Sacred Heart as “flesh and blood in the Church’s pilgrimage through history;” a mutual sharing of suffering between Christ and us (no. 157). Because Christ bore our sin in the wounds of his passion and death on the cross, we console him for our affronts. Because we also raise up our suffering to Christ, we ask him to console us.

Let us ask the Sacred Heart of Jesus for strength and increased faith with this prayer by Blessed Miguel Pro, S.J.

I believe, O Lord, but strengthen my faith...
Heart of Jesus, I love Thee; but increase my love.
Heart of Jesus, I trust in Thee; but give greater vigor to my confidence.
Heart of Jesus, I give my heart to Thee; but so enclose it in Thee that it may never be separated from Thee.
Heart of Jesus, I am all Thine; but take care of my promise so that I may be able to put it in practice even unto the complete sacrifice of my life. Amen.


Learn

The heart of Christ has always been a source of consolation for the Church. We hear Jesus’ great love for us in Scripture, as when he reassures us of the Father's care in the Sermon on the Mount. We are consoled with God’s intimate love when we are told how we are “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14) and “even the hairs of your head are all counted” (Matthew 10:30).

Saint Francis de Sales teaches that all our names are written on the heart of God: “Surely it is a source of profound consolation to know that we are loved so deeply by our Lord, who constantly carries us in his heart” ( Sermon for the Second Sunday of Lent , February 20, 1622).

Pope Francis tells us that when we contemplate the heart of Christ and his self-surrender even to death, we are consoled in Christ’s love for us: “The grief that we feel in our hearts gives way to complete trust and, in the end, what endures is gratitude, tenderness, peace; what endures is Christ’s love reigning in our lives” ( Dilexit Nos , no. 161).


Act

Just as we find consolation in the Sacred Heart of Jesus, so too should we pray for others so that they might also encounter the consoling love of Christ. Every day, Padre Pio would pray the Efficacious Novena to the Sacred Heart of Jesus for the intentions of all who asked him to pray for them, ending each intention with “Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in you.” Consider entrusting your intentions to the Sacred Heart as Padre Pio did.

Copyright United States Catholic Conference of Bishops

Learn more about the Consecration of the United States to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

We Hold These Truths - Celebrating Catholic Contributions to the United States of America on the Semiquincentennial Anniversary with the USCCB

https://app.flocknote.com/note/37228772

06/08/2026

Novena Day 6 - Heart of Jesus, atonement for our sins



Pray

As we consider the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Christ’s great love for humanity, we reflect on how we have fallen short of his love and the need to atone for our sins. We also take this moment to repent as a nation for the sins of our country’s past. Let us pray for forgiveness and healing from the harms caused by our nation’s original sins of slavery and racism. A central element of devotion to the Sacred Heart is reparation – the practice of making amends for the wrongs we have done, asking Christ to forgive our sins and convert our hearts to love as he loves. Let us pray with St. Alphonsus Liguori, founder of the Redemptorists, as we atone for our sins and consecrate ourselves to the heart of Jesus:

My Jesus, I love You with my whole heart. I am sorry for having so many times offended Your infinite goodness. With the help of Your grace, I purpose never to offend You again. And now, unworthy though I am, I consecrate myself to You without reserve. I renounce and give entirely to You my will, my affection, my desires, and all that I possess.


Learn

While reflections on the heart of Jesus date to the earliest writings of Christianity, the modern deIn Pope Pius XI’s encyclical, Miserentissimus Redemptor (on reparation to the Sacred Heart), the Holy Father connects our love for Christ with the realization that the wounds we inflict on others are the same wounds inflicted on Our Lord on the cross. He states, “Anyone possessed of great love for God, and who looks back to the past, can dwell in meditation on Christ, and see him laboring for man, sorrowing, suffering the greatest hardships, ‘for us men and for our salvation’... The more the faithful ponder all these things the more clearly they see that the sins of mankind, whenever they were committed, were the reason why Christ was delivered up to death” (no. 13).

The image of the pierced heart of Christ has its meaning in our sinfulness, and when we devote ourselves to the Sacred Heart, we are compelled to repair the damage we have done. In a reflection about seeking authentic reparation, Bishop Joseph Perry explores how the Sacred Heart can lead us to reconcile our human hearts to one another. He says, “In the Catholic tradition, reparation is not a transaction, but a sacred offering —one that involves not only words, but gestures. Just as the Sacrament of Penance invites physical expressions of contrition—making the sign of the cross, performing a penance, offering restitution—so too do acts of reparation in communal life require gestures of sincerity, and concrete actions.”


Act

There are many ways we can offer reparation to the Sacred Heart. When we go before Jesus in the Eucharist, Pope Pius XI recommends making a Communion of Reparation or a Holy Hour for the atoning of sins ( Miserentissimus Redempto r, no. 12). We also see a lack of fraternal love today, especially in our politics and conversations with one another. Read Pope Francis’ encyclical on fraternity and social friendship, Fratelli Tutti , and reflect on how to build a culture of encounter together.

Copyright United States Catholic Conference of Bishops

Learn more about the Consecration of the United States to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

We Hold These Truths - Celebrating Catholic Contributions to the United States of America on the Semiquincentennial Anniversary with the USCCB

https://app.flocknote.com/note/37228763

06/07/2026

Novena Day 5 - Heart of Jesus, fountain of life and holiness



Pray

The love poured out from the Sacred Heart of Jesus is a constant source of renewal for the missionary spirit of the Church and our call to universal holiness. Servant of God Fr. Jules Chevalier, who founded the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in 1854, recited this daily prayer to remain close to the Sacred Heart.

Lord Jesus,
Saviour of the world and source of holiness,
look with kindness
on all whom you have chosen
to be Missionaries of your loving Heart.
Ask your heavenly Father
to keep us in your love,
and sanctify us in the truth
so that you may be glorified in us
and we may reflect your goodness.
Ask your Father to keep us from evil
that we may always be united in bonds of love.
As you are one with your Father ,
so may we be one with each other
in your divine Heart,
whose sentiments shall forever be ours
and to which we consecrate ourselves
in time and for eternity. Amen.


Learn

The devotion of the wounds of Christ as the fountain of life and holiness dates to the earliest Christians. The Church Fathers interpreted the blood and water flowing from Christ’s side as a profound mystery, fulfilling His promise to provide living water (John 4:13–14; 7:37), which symbolized the Holy Spirit’s outpouring on the Church and the cleansing waters of baptism. We see an early correlation to the heart of Jesus in the words of Origen of Alexandria, who said, “Out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water” ( In Num. homil. 12, 1: PG 12, 657).

In the 13th century, Saint Bonaventure connected the salvation that flows from the pierced heart of Christ to the sacramental life of the Church, reflecting that the price of our salvation flows “from the hidden wellspring of his heart, enabling the Church’s sacraments to confer the life of grace” ( Lignum Vitae. De mysterio passionis , 30).

Pope Francis encouraged the devotion of the pierced heart of Christ as the fountain of life for the Church’s mission. The Holy Father taught that “in contemplating the pierced heart of the Lord, who ‘took our infirmities and bore our diseases’ (Mt 8:17), 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” ( Dilexit Nos, no. 171).


Act

When Jesus revealed his heart to Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque, he imparted 12 promises to all who venerate his Sacred Heart. One promise is that Jesus will “bless the home in which the image of my Sacred Heart shall be exposed and honored.” When we place the image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in a prominent place in our homes, we signify that Jesus is king and the center and source of love for all. Consider enthroning the Sacred Heart in your home with this enthronement ceremony resource from the Knights of Columbus.

Copyright United States Catholic Conference of Bishops

Learn more about the Consecration of the United States to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

We Hold These Truths - Celebrating Catholic Contributions to the United States of America on the Semiquincentennial Anniversary with the USCCB

https://app.flocknote.com/note/37228756

06/07/2026

What is the Feast of Corpus Christi? (June 7)



What is the feast of Corpus Christi?

Corpus Christi (also known as the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ) is a celebration of Jesus Christ truly present in the Eucharist. Every Mass is a participation in and celebration of this sacrifice, but the feast of Corpus Christi is a time to be especially aware of the gift of the Eucharist.

As Catholics, it can sometimes be hard to truly believe that the Holy Communion we receive at Mass is actually Jesus' body. This year on Corpus Christi, ask Jesus to help you fully understand the mystery of his real presence in the Eucharist. A simple prayer you can say is, "Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief."

The Eucharist

“If angels could be jealous of men, they would be so for one reason: Holy Communion.”
St. Maximilian Kolbe

https://app.flocknote.com/note/37228846