Devotion to the Sacred Heart is a beautiful, but commonly misunderstood, spiritual practice. In Anne Costa’s book Healing Promises: The Essential Guide to the Sacred Heart, she guides us in developing a devotion to the Sacred Heart and describes the fruit of doing so. I thoroughly enjoyed Healing Promises and had to hear her take on the Sacred Heart from a feminist perspective.

Below, Anne shares how devotion to the Sacred Heart helps us understand who we truly are, how wonderful female saints model love for Christ, how this devotion is particularly relevant to challenges the Catholic Church faces, and more.

You can read a review of Healing Promises here.

Generally speaking, how can devotion to the Sacred Heart help feminists?

When I think of feminists, I think of women (and men) who are fiercely devoted to their vocations in the Body of Christ and serious about the education and exhortation of others to fulfill them, as well, embracing the highest ideals of what it means to be made in the image and likeness of God.

Devotion to the Sacred Heart is a means by which we grow in this holiness through the love of the Father for all humanity, especially in the home and most certainly within the family.

How can devotion to the Sacred Heart help women?

Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus can help woman fulfill her highest calling, in freedom and the fullness of God’s love, as we come to know Him on a Heart-to-heart level through a day-to-day relationship with Him.

Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus can help woman fulfill her highest calling. . .as we come to know Him. . .through a day-to-day relationship with Him.

There exists a perception that women are lovey-dovey and/or tend towards an overly-saccharine spirituality. How does devotion to the Sacred Heart counter this?

Through Jesus, we become fully human and fully alive; or as Pope St. Paul VI said, we are called to a life and love that is free, total, faithful and fruitful. This transcends stereotypical cultural or social roles or spirituality that are ascribed to women. When we contemplate Christ’s Heart, we discover who we truly are.

Are there particular aspects of this devotion that could speak to women during different stages in their lives (e.g single life, marriage, motherhood, etc.)?

A powerful expression and experience of devotion to the Sacred Heart is the Enthronement of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in one’s home. It is based on the ninth promise that Jesus gave to St. Margaret Mary when he appeared to her during four apparitions to promulgate this devotion. This promise states: “I will bless those places wherein the image of my Sacred Heart shall be exposed and honored.” To that end, women of any state in life can enthrone Jesus in their home through a ceremony that invites Him as Lord and King into their homes, hearts, and lives.

[W]omen of any state in life can enthrone Jesus in their home through a ceremony that invites Him as Lord and King into their homes, hearts, and lives.

After a period of prayer and preparation, an image is chosen, blessed, and processed during a simple, but solemn, ceremony; then, the image is placed in a prominent place in your home. People are invited to come and share the experience. It can be accompanied by a Mass and conducted by a priest, deacon, or lay Sacred Heart Missionary promoter. The ceremony is just the beginning of a new way of life and a Heart-to-heart, daily dialogue with Jesus, who makes good on the promises of this devotion.

Healing Promises features several personal stories of families and individuals who have been and are being transformed through the Enthronement and devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

How can St. Margaret Mary inspire women as they seek their place in the Church?

St. Margaret Mary was a woman after God’s own Heart! She received a call to make this devotion known and loved by all men, women, and children. She didn’t stop until she succeeded, cooperating with God’s grace every step of the way. While many before her (and even her contemporary St. John Eudes) promoted devotion to the Sacred Heart, she persevered in her own way, the way that the Lord called her to the task. She remained undaunted by how others may have been viewed as more qualified, knowledgeable, or of more prominent status.

In this way, St. Margaret Mary provides a model of courage and strength for women today. She did not allow societal limitations or expectations define her personal mission and influence upon the world, or the fulfillment of her calling.

St. Margaret Mary provides a model of courage and strength for women today. She did not allow societal limitations or expectations define her personal mission

In the introduction of Healing Promises, you write, “In a world where people ‘look for love in all the wrong places’ - settling for second-rate substitutes. . .Jesus shows us the way.”  Though this is true for both men and women, I think it tends to be especially true for young women. Which promise(s) for those who have devotion to the Sacred Heart can help remedy this?

Women are physically and spiritually designed to receive. We take in the world wholly through relationship bonds that are unique and of a different quality than those formed by men.

Our purpose is to nurture and nourish life in others, whether we do this biologically or through our work lives or social roles. We cannot do this fully, fruitfully, totally, or faithfully without Jesus as the source and center of our hearts. He alone fills us so that we can fulfill our purpose here. The Heart of Jesus is the life force and source of the Father’s Love. This devotion leads us to a deeper understanding of God’s love for us and the reality of His true Presence in the Eucharist, as well as enables us to more fully receive from Him all that He wants to give us.

The Twelve Promises of this devotion are a summary of all that Jesus poured out into St. Margaret Mary’s life and heart. She had constant interlocutions and Heart-to-heart dialogue with Jesus. Christ longs to speak to each one of us and offer His promises to us uniquely through the devotion of His Heart.  When we seek Him, we will find Him and ourselves.

You explain that “Margaret Mary affectionately called Jesus her ‘Sovereign Master.’” For some women, the idea of having a master or being subordinate comes with a negative connotation. How can developing a relationship with Christ as Sovereign Master through devotion to the Sacred Heart reform that perspective?

How very sad it is that we have these power dynamics and rampant sexual sin that distort and obscure (or even sexualize) the Kingship of our Lord. Mary described herself as a handmaiden, which was an actual position with duties held in her time. Today, it would translate as being the “right hand man or woman” who literally sat next to the King or ruling authority and acted as an extension of them by carrying out whatever duty they called for.

The truth is that we are subordinate to Jesus and we are called to submit to His perfect will, aligning ours with His. There is total freedom in doing so, however, unlike if we were to make ourselves subject to others. Satan twisted this mightily in our culture and in our relationships, but Jesus rights these wrongs

The truth is that we are subordinate to Jesus and we are called to submit to His perfect will, aligning ours with His. There is total freedom in doing so, however, unlike if we were to make ourselves subject to others.

Throughout Healing Promises, you discuss the connection between the Immaculate Heart and the Sacred Heart. Do you think this link to the Blessed Mother could help women embrace this devotion? If so, how?

The Blessed Mother is the one who led me to this devotion and the writing of this book. I consecrated myself to Jesus through Mary and encountered this devotion about six months later. Mary always leads us to her Son!  I would highly recommend that every woman ponder the invitation to consecrate oneself to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, either through St. Louis De Montfort’s True Devotion to Mary or Fr. Gaitley’s 33 Days to Morning Glory.

Honestly, I never really had a devotion to the Blessed Mother prior to making my consecration. I struggled in relating to her because of my relationship with my earthly mother. Nobody can love Mary as much as Jesus does, so He wants us to know His Mother. He gave her to us from the Cross. She always points us to His Heart.

Your description of the story of the Samaritan woman was beautiful and inspiring. How do you think experiencing Christ’s “infinite ocean of mercy” through devotion to the Sacred Heart can help women find healing like the Samaritan woman did?

This is a book in itself! The love of Jesus heals us. It makes us whole, one day at a time. The love of the Father flows through the Heart of His Son. It is a never ending stream of grace, mercy, and healing love.  As we continuously contemplate His Heart, we become more free and fully human.

The priesthood can be a touchy subject for some women, but I found the excerpt in Healing Promises on Venerable Mother Louise Margaret to be inspiring. How do you think women can connect to the promise, “I will give to priests the power to touch the most hardened hearts?”

Our priests need our prayers and sacrifices. They are under attack and the devil dogs them constantly so that they will fall and take souls with them. While women are not called to be priests in the vocational or liturgical sense, we are all called to the royal priesthood, to offer our Masses and prayers for the sake of others. This duty is not inferior to occupying the role of a pastoral priest. In fact, it becomes increasingly important in the context of spiritual warfare against the Church. The Church will not be renewed, healed, or sustained by the hierarchy, from the top down, but rather through the hearts of the faithful, who are most typically led, nurtured, and formed by the loving Heart of Jesus working through women.\\