By Jean Gonzalez | OSV News
A sea of white robes and zucchettos of pink and magenta in the pews. A statue of Jesus welcoming the faithful with his exposed Sacred Heart upon the foot of the altar.
A setting fit for a June 11 Mass that united U.S. bishops gathered for their spring plenary June 10-12. After concluding the second of two days of public sessions, they left the Omni Resort in ChampionsGate for a half-hour drive up Interstate 4 for the spiritual refuge that is the Basilica of the National Shrine of Mary, Queen of the Universe in Orlando.
And the Mass was a momentous one as it served to formally 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.
Archbishop Paul S. Coakley of Oklahoma City incensed the altar after processing in from the thick humidity and cloudy skies of a typical Orlando afternoon outside the shrine. The president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops was joined on the altar by bishops and deacons of the Orlando Diocese.
“Clothe us, Lord God, with the virtues of the heart of your son, and set us aflame with his love,” the archbishop prayed in opening the Mass.
More than 200 bishops were present, along with about 150 observers, mostly benefactors and staff of the Diocese of Orlando. The monstrance used ahead of Mass for Eucharistic adoration was from the Servants of the Pierced Hearts, a Miami-based religious institute.
The relics of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque — the French Visitation sister who experienced visions of Jesus revealing his Sacred Heart — were also present at the Mass, on loan for the consecration from the Knights of Columbus.
In his homily, Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore described the Sacred Heart of Jesus not as an “abstract devotion,” but as a “visible sign of love.”
He explained why the Church consecrates. He described it as an act of faith and acknowledgment of the need for God’s mercy, wisdom and guidance. It is also an act of hope. It is “a heart that has known joy and sorrow, friendship and betrayal, suffering and sacrifice,” he said.
The act of consecration is an act of faith and hope, the archbishop said, but it is also an acknowledgment of God’s faithful work and love in the world and how we as people and as a Church have not always “clearly reflected that love.”
“Indeed, it is sometimes obscured almost beyond recognition,” the archbishop added. “To be sure, there have been moments of extraordinary witness and holiness. But there have also been moments of failure, division and sin. Consecration requires the humility to acknowledge both.”
And why the Sacred Heart? Because it reveals a savior who “desires not merely our obedience, but our friendship; not simply our service, but our communion with Him,” he said.
“To consecrate ourselves to the Sacred Heart is ultimately to accept Christ’s invitation to remain in His love and to allow that love to shape every aspect of our lives, public and private,” Archbishop Lori said. “It is a declaration that the future does not belong merely to political movements, economic forces, or human plans. The future belongs to God.”
The act of consecration does not just happen among the shepherds, but also the sheep. In speaking to the laity both in the pews at the shrine and watching on the livestream, Archbishop Lori said the act of consecration is one the faithful and leaders do together.
“This consecration is not something the bishops do for you. It is something we do together,” he said. “The renewal of the Church and our nation will not come through declarations alone. It will come through disciples who remain in Christ’s love and bear the good fruit of holiness in families, parishes, communities and in their daily lives.”
The Sacred Heart reconciles divisions and transforms hardened hearts, the archbishop said.
“It means building communities — ecclesial and civil — where truth is proclaimed clearly and charity is practiced generously. It means resisting the temptation to define ourselves by division, ideology or resentment,” Archbishop Lori said. “We consecrate our nation, not because it is perfect, but because it is beloved by God. We entrust to the Heart of Christ our achievements and failures, our hopes and anxiety, our present challenges and our future aspirations.”
Mass held in unity at St. Mary’s Cathedral
On the same day the US bishops formally celebrated the consecration at the Basilica of the National Shrine of Mary, Queen of the Universe in Orlando, St. Cloud Vicar General Father Scott Pogatchnik presided at a Mass at St. Mary’s Cathedral in St. Cloud to mark the special celebration of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
“The consecration is much more than dedicating the land, or its buildings, or its institutions, or its resources to God,” said Father Pogatchnik in his homily. “It is that, but it’s much more about persons, about hearts, your heart and mine. Today, the Church is asking that the hearts of God’s people in this nation be entrusted more fully to the love of the heart of Christ, that we belong to him, that we seek his will, that we learn to love as he loves.”
He added that Jesus does not withdraw his love, does not hold his heart back, but continues to reach it out towards us.
“It’s as though he is saying, ‘Even if you are struggling to reach out to me, my heart remains stretched out to you.’ His heart gives us the courage to let him touch our own wounds, to align our heartbeat with his, and to entrust ourselves more completely to him.”
He added that people are not merely patriots of a nation, but patriots of divine providence and of peace.
“May our hearts be consecrated to the heart that never ceases to reach out to us, most especially here in the Eucharist.,” he concluded. “Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make our hearts like unto thine.”
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Jean Gonzalez, editor with Florida Catholic Media, is helping cover the bishops’ spring plenary for OSV News. The Central Minnesota Catholic contributed to this article.
Pictured above: Father Scott Pogatchnik celebrated the Mass at St. Mary’s Cathedral June 11, while Bishop Patrick Neary joined his brother bishops at the Mass in Orlando. (Dianne Towalski / The Central Minnesota Catholic)
