In 1857, at Issoudun (France), Father Jules Chevalier, whose beatification cause has been introduced, gave the Most Holy Virgin this new name. For him, that title indicated that Mary was preferred among all women by the loving Heart of God, that she was destined to be the mother of mankind, to lead them to the Heart of her Son, and that, in sum, she is our powerful advocate before the Heart of her Divine Son.
This new title implies two of the protagonists of the Mystery of the Incarnation: Jesus and his Mother. Mary is invoked as Our Lady and Christ is contemplated under the symbol of the Sacred Heart. We are thus drawn into the heart of the mystery of faith. "Is not Mary the one who helps us enter into the mystery of Christ and the Church?" would be said by the Second Vatican Council.
We are in the heart of the Gospel which reveals to us the intimacy of Mary and Jesus: the Annunciation, the Nativity, Cana, the Cross and later the Cenacle..
Holy Mary is Mother, Guide and Company in our spiritual life, and She helps us understand better and better the intimacy of her relationship with her Son from the Incarnation to her Assumption into Heaven.
Holy Mary of the Heart of God
God, in his Three Divine Persons, loves the Most Holy Virgin as no other created being. And Holy Mary loves God the Trinity like no other creature loves Him. No one like Holy Mary of the Heart of God, has a such a relationship with each one of the Three Divine Persons; only God himself prevails. Because of this, the love of and for the Most Holy Virgin helps us this way, in a unique manner, to grow in love for the Most Holy Trinity.
Prayer and the Memorare to Our Lady of the Sacred Heart
What is essentially implied by the title of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart is the power of Mary over the Heart of her Divine Son. This is what allows Mary to become the most powerful intercessor. And thus she is also named "Advocate of difficult and desperate causes."
All those devoted to Our Lady of the Sacred Heart also rejoice in an "official prayer" addressed to her. We call it the prayer of the "Memorare" (Father Julio Chevalier) It is a beautiful prayer of supplication that millions of people pray daily throughout all continents and is considered as a powerful prayer of intercession.
There is a more modern version that is also called a "Memorare" (Father Jean Tostain, MSC)and that attempts to express the same, but under the theological optic of Vatican II. (the version of the Daughters of Holy Mary of the Heart of Jesus)(
REMEMBER
Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, the ineffable power which thy divine Son has given thee over His adorable Heart. Full of confidence in thy merits, we now implore thy protection. O heavenly treasurer of the Heart of Jesus, of that Heart, Which is the inexhaustible source of all graces, and Which thou mayest open when thou pleasest, in order to distribute among men all the treasures of love and mercy, of light and salvation, which It contains, grant us, we beseech thee, the favors we solicit... (ask for the graces you desire to attain)
No, we cannot meet with a refusal, and since thou art our Mother, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, favorably hear and grant our prayers. Amen.
Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, pray for us! (Repeat with fervor three times)
REMEMBER
Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, the great things the Lord has done for you. He chose you for his Mother. He wanted you by his cross. He gives you a share in his glory. He listens to your prayer. Offer him our prayers of praise and thanksgiving: present our petitions to him…. (ask for the grace you would like to receive)
Let us live like you in the love of your Son so that his Kingdom may come. Lead all men to the source of living water that flows from his Heart, spreading over the world hope, salvation, justice and peace. See our trust in you; answer our prayer, show yourself always our mother. Amen.
Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, pray for us! (Repeat with fervor three times)