11th Step: The Honour Guard and the Pope's Prayer Network

Throughout the centuries, numerous initiatives have emerged to concretely live out devotion to the Heart of Jesus. In this step, I would like to present the Honour Guard, founded by the Visitation, and the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network, led by the Jesuits.

1. The Honour Guard or the Hour of Presence

What is the Honour Guard?
The Honour Guard of the Sacred Heart was founded in 1863 by a Visitandine from Bourg-en-Bresse, Sister Marie of the Sacred Heart. Its models are the Virgin Mary, Saint John, and Saint Mary Magdalene, who were the first “Honour Guards” by standing at the foot of the Cross during the six long hours of the crucifixion. The members of the Honour Guard offer – I quote from the statutes – “a continual worship of Glory, Love, and Reparation for the wound He received visibly from the lance on the tree of the Cross, and for the one He invisibly receives every day from the forgetfulness, ingratitude, and sins of men.” The aim of this association is to ensure that at every hour of the day, fervent Christians are attentive to the current love of the Lord for each of them and for their brothers and sisters.

What is its significance?

• It is a way to respond to Jesus’ request to St. Margaret Mary: “You at least, love Me!” It is about returning love for love, responding to the Love of Jesus who offered Himself as a sacrifice for each of us.
• It is also about becoming a consoler of the Heart of Jesus: “I have sought for consolers but have not found any” (Ps 68:21), continuing the holy hour where we accompany Jesus in His agony, abandoned by the apostles who fell asleep.

• It is a concrete way to live out the consecration. Indeed, through consecration, I give God my entire life, all my time. To give every day of my life, I will begin by giving Him each day, each “today.” For this, I dedicate a specific hour to Him, which I “consecrate,” regardless of the activities taking place during that time. It is a simple way to sanctify daily life, particularly suitable for those living in the world, especially laypeople.
  
  

To consecrate my life to Jesus, I do not need to step out of my daily life. It is a bit like Margaret Mary, who wanted so much to remain in the chapel but was asked to sweep. She had a vision of the seraphim praising the Lord, singing: “Love triumphs, love rejoices, the love of the Holy Heart brings joy!” They told her that they had come to join her in offering the Lord a continual homage of love, adoration, and praise; and that, for this, they would take her place before the Blessed Sacrament, so that she could love uninterruptedly through their intercession, even while sweeping!

How can it be lived?

• Choose your HOUR each day (for example, from 4 to 5 PM), not necessarily the time when you usually pray.
• Allow that time to pass without changing your current activities (work, study, meals, rest, exercise, prayer, leisure), but live them under the gaze of Jesus present in the tabernacle and offer them in union with the Offering that Jesus made of Himself to His Father for His glory and the salvation of our brothers and sisters. Thus, I live this hour of my day normally, and I offer it in reparation for all our sins and those of the world: indifference, ingratitude, blasphemies, and even sacrileges against the Eucharist that exist far or near to us.

To go further, you can find out more and become a member of the Honour Guard on the association’s website: gardedhonneurdusacrecoeur.org.

1. Prayer for the Pope’s Intentions

What is the Pope’s Prayer Network?
On 27 December 2023, the sanctuary of the Sacred Heart at Paray-le-Monial officially joined the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network, which is still relatively unknown in France. However, an intimate bond connects the Worldwide Network and the Heart of Jesus.
From the very beginning, the Jesuits were associated with the Visitandines in the mission of spreading the message of the Sacred Heart. Throughout the centuries, they were responsible for many initiatives to serve devotion to the Heart of Jesus. One of these is especially notable for its reach and depth: the Apostleship of Prayer.
The Apostleship of Prayer was founded in 1855 at the initiative of Father François Gautrelet, SJ, to help zealous young Jesuits become apostles of prayer from their novitiate by offering all their actions in union with the Heart of Jesus for the proclamation of the Gospel and the salvation of the world. Gradually, the prayer for the Pope’s missionary intentions was established. In 2014, under the guidance of Pope Francis, the Apostleship of Prayer underwent a process of re-foundation. It then became the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network, recognised as a Pontifical Work in 2018. This re-foundation was accompanied by a renewal and updating of devotion to the Heart of Jesus and the establishment of a spiritual journey, the Path of the Heart. This journey leads our hearts to be deeply united with the Heart of Jesus, in a mission of compassion for the world.

What is its significance?
Two aspects of the spirituality of the Heart of Jesus are highlighted:

• It is rooted in the love of the Church in communion with the Pope.
• It is profoundly missionary, focused on proclaiming the Gospel with a heart of compassion for all humanity and the entire world.

What commitment does it entail?
The Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network offers two modes of participation: an “open” form and another of “belonging and commitment,” considering the Eucharist as a model of offering and availability to live according to the style of Jesus.
The open participation mode, accessible to all baptised persons, consists of praying for the prayer intentions proposed by the Pope, every first Friday of the month. These monthly intentions are the fruit of the Pope’s pastoral discernment for living the mission today, both in the themes chosen for each one and in their formulation. It is a missionary compass that the Pope offers us.
The mode of belonging and commitment requires more active collaboration. Those who register for this mode are asked to establish a link with the national office of the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network in their country or region. This link can be realised by participating in activities proposed by this national office. This belonging and commitment can be lived at a personal level or within a group or community. It can even take the form of a personal consecration.
Finally, it is possible to participate in the Path of the Heart, which is a spiritual journey for a mission of compassion for the world. It helps individuals commit to praying and living the challenges of humanity and the Church’s mission expressed by the Pope’s prayer intentions. This journey is a true pedagogy to be transformed by the Heart of Jesus to become passionate apostles of divine mercy.

All information can be found on the website: https://www.popesprayer.va.

We will conclude our journey in the last step, which will introduce us to the missionary and eucharistic dynamic of a life consecrated to the Heart of Jesus.