Dear Brother Knight, On Friday, June 16, Catholics around the world will celebrate God’s love for us on the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. It is a day to honor Christ’s humble gift of his very self, offered out of deep and abiding love for all of humanity.
Friday June 16, 2023, however, is also the day the Los Angeles Dodgers professional baseball team has chosen to celebrate a group of men who masquerade as Catholic nuns and mock the Virgin Mary, consecrated women, and Jesus Christ himself, through their shocking displays and vulgar behavior.
As noted by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), the decision of the Dodgers is not just offensive and painful to Christians everywhere; it is blasphemy.
In response, the USCCB has called on Catholics to pray the Litany of the Sacred Heart of Jesus on June 16th as an act of reparation for the blasphemies against our Lord we see in our culture today.
The Knights of Columbus urges its members to respond to our bishops’ call and stand for respect, decency, and our Catholic faith. Through prayer and by making reparation, we’ll draw ever closer to Christ’s Sacred Heart, which Pope Francis has said is the source of love and peace.
Link to a printer-friendly version of the Litany to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Litany To The Sacred Heart of Jesus
In 1899 Pope Leo XIII approved this Litany of the Sacred Heart of Jesus for public use. This litany is actually a synthesis of several other litanies dating back to the 17th century. Father Croiset composed a litany in 1691 from which 17 invocations were used by Venerable Anne Madeleine Remuzat when she composed her litany in 1718 at Marseille. She joined an additional 10 invocations to those of Father Croiset, for a total of 27 invocations. Six more invocations written by Sister Madeleine Joly of Dijon in 1686 were added by the Sacred Congregation for Rites when it was approved for public use in 1899. This makes a total of 33 invocations, one for each year of life of our Lord Jesus Christ. A partial indulgence is attached to this litany.
| Lord, have mercy | Lord, have mercy. |
| Christ, have mercy | Christ, have mercy. |
| Lord, have mercy | Lord, have mercy. |
| Christ, hear us | Christ, hear us. |
| Christ, graciously hear us. | Christ, graciously hear us. |
| God the Father of Heaven, | have mercy on us. |
| God the Son, Redeemer of the world, | have mercy on us. |
| God, the Holy Spirit, | have mercy on us. |
| Holy Trinity, One God, | have mercy on us. |
| Heart of Jesus, Son of the Eternal Father, | have mercy on us. |
| Heart of Jesus, formed by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mother, | have mercy on us. |
| Heart of Jesus, substantially united to the Word of God, | have mercy on us. |
| Heart of Jesus, of Infinite Majesty, | have mercy on us. |
| Heart of Jesus, Sacred Temple of God, | have mercy on us. |
| Heart of Jesus, Tabernacle of the Most High, | have mercy on us. |
| Heart of Jesus, House of God and Gate of Heaven, | have mercy on us. |
| Heart of Jesus, burning furnace of charity, | have mercy on us. |
| Heart of Jesus, abode of justice and love, | have mercy on us. |
| Heart of Jesus, full of goodness and love, | have mercy on us. |
| Heart of Jesus, abyss of all virtues, | have mercy on us. |
| Heart of Jesus, most worthy of all praise, | have mercy on us. |
| Heart of Jesus, king and center of all hearts, | have mercy on us. |
| Heart of Jesus, in whom are all treasures of wisdom and knowledge, | have mercy on us. |
| Heart of Jesus, in whom dwells the fullness of divinity, | have mercy on us. |
| Heart of Jesus, in whom the Father was well pleased, | have mercy on us. |
| Heart of Jesus, of whose fullness we have all received, | have mercy on us. |
| Heart of Jesus, desire of the everlasting hills, | have mercy on us. |
| Heart of Jesus, patient and most merciful, | have mercy on us. |
| Heart of Jesus, enriching all who invoke Thee, | have mercy on us. |
| Heart of Jesus, fountain of life and holiness, | have mercy on us. |
| Heart of Jesus, propitiation for our sins, | have mercy on us. |
| Heart of Jesus, loaded down with opprobrium, | have mercy on us. |
| Heart of Jesus, bruised for our offenses, | have mercy on us. |
| Heart of Jesus, obedient to death, | have mercy on us. |
| Heart of Jesus, pierced with a lance, | have mercy on us. |
| Heart of Jesus, source of all consolation, | have mercy on us. |
| Heart of Jesus, our life and resurrection, | have mercy on us. |
| Heart of Jesus, our peace and our reconciliation, | have mercy on us. |
| Heart of Jesus, victim for our sins | have mercy on us. |
| Heart of Jesus, salvation of those who trust in Thee, | have mercy on us. |
| Heart of Jesus, hope of those who die in Thee, | have mercy on us. |
| Heart of Jesus, delight of all the Saints, | have mercy on us. |
| Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world, | spare us, O Lord. |
| Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world, | graciously hear us, O Lord. |
| Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world, | have mercy on us, O Lord. |
| V. Jesus, meek and humble of heart. | R. Make our hearts like to Thine. |
Let us pray:
Almighty and eternal God, look upon the Heart of Thy most beloved Son and upon the praises and satisfaction which He offers Thee in the name of sinners; and to those who implore Thy mercy, in Thy great goodness, grant forgiveness in the name of the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who livest and reignest with Thee forever and ever. Amen.