Lent and First Friday devotion

From the column of Archbishop Burke:

Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is a most fitting way to respond to Pope Benedict XVI’s invitation to center our Lenten observance upon the text from the Gospel according to St. John: "They shall look on Him Whom they have pierced" (John 19:37). Our Holy Father, by inviting us to look upon the pierced side of our Lord Jesus, invites us to contemplate the glorious pierced Heart of Jesus, the pre-eminent sign of God’s immeasurable and ever faithful love of us. From the Heart of Jesus flow all graces in the Church. Looking upon Him Whom we have pierced by our sins, we come to understand ever more fully the great mystery of His response of love to our indifference and even our hostility in sinning.

In a particular way, we are drawn to the Heart of Jesus, which is open for us in the Sacrament of Penance to receive the confession of our sins and to pour out upon us the healing grace of forgiveness. Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus draws us, above all, to communion with our Lord Jesus in the Eucharistic Sacrifice. From the glorious pierced Heart of Jesus flows the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Christ for our spiritual nourishment during the days of our earthly pilgrimage home to God the Father.

Continued here...