The Heart of Jesus
In Paray-le-Monial in the 17th
century Jesus appeared to St. Margaret Mary, showed her his heart enflamed with
fire and told her, “Here is my heart that has so loved mankind”. This love of
God for men, which attains its summit in this offering of Jesus by love for us
on the cross, is contained in the Heart of Jesus. After the death of Jesus his
heart was pierced: “showing His infinite love” said St. Catherine of Sienna
This return to a God of love, through the devotion to the Heart of Jesus
had spread in France and in Poland at first, then all over the world. The
message of Paray was encouraged by various popes.
The 17th century was the time when Jansenism (only some are saved by an
austere God) had done much damage for the Church.  In Paray-le-Monial the belief
was that Jesus came to proclaim with power and gentleness that He is love and
mercy. For that purpose, he chose the symbol of the human heart: God was made
man… close to us and " he loved with a human heart " (Gaudium et
Spes).
After the first meeting with the Charismatic Renewal in Vézelay in 1974,
a place dedicated to St. Mary Magdalene (the person who washed the feet of
Jesus), Pierre Goursat had the inspiration to organize a meeting of the different
prayer groups and communities of Charismatic Renewal in Paray-le-Monial. “To be
at the feet of Jesus is good; to be on His heart is better !" It happened in
1975. It was only when they were there that they discovered that it was the
year of the Tercentenary of the Appearances.
Since this first session, Paray-le-Monial has gradually rediscovered its
vocation as a sanctuary and a centre of pilgrimage, close to the heart of
Jesus.
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