4th Promise: They shall find in My Heart an assured refuge during life and especially at the hour of death”.

PROMISES OF THE SACRED HEART

Sacred Heart of Jesus: Promises of the Sacred Heart series icon.

In this series, there will be posts on the Promises of the Sacred on each first Friday where I will focus on each promise each Month.

FOURTH PROMISE

As we begin another moth let us focus our attention on the fourth Promise which is our focus for the month of April.

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Our Fourth Promise is ' They shall find in My Heart an assured refuge during life and especially at the hour of death”.

We can find in the Heart of Jesus an assured refuge during life and especially at the hour of death if we look and desire it first in ourselves and then, through our own certainly of the refuge of Jesus, we can attract others to God. whether they be family members or work colleagues/ parishioners or a stranger.

How do we not experience that assured refuge within myself? The answers are as varied as our unique selves, and yet on many occasions, it has to do with a form of selfishness and/or one or more of the seven deadly sins being in play within ourselves.  If you wish to explore this further then I recommend that you read my 12 steps Catholic Spirituality series. Click here to read the first post of the series.

You may also wish to explore my series on the Virtues which are the answer to living a holy life and a remedy for each of the seven deadly sins.  Click here to read the first post of the series.  

CONSIDERING THIS PROMISE

When we consider the word refuge, other synonyms for it include Sanctuary, shelter, protection, harbour, retreat, haven, place of safety. So now the 4^th promise could read

1.    We can find in the Heart of Jesus an assured sanctuary during life and especially at the hour of death.

2.    We can find in the Heart of Jesus an assured shelter during life and especially at the hour of death.

3.    We can find in the Heart of Jesus an assured protection during life and especially at the hour of death.

4.    We can find in the Heart of Jesus an assured harbour during life and especially at the hour of death.

What a blessing- this is the 4^th promise and our focus for the month of April.

You will note also that the 4^th promise from Jesus not only through our life but especially at the hour of death.  We may wonder why use the word especially as if to emphasise it.

Our time and circumstances of our deaths are known only to God.  We need therefore to be ready at any given time. We all know people who have been taken in utero, people taken in infancy, people taken suddenly, people who have gone to God when they were young, people who die because of ill health and people who die from natural causes (old age). For example, last night at Mass, I heard of a Dominican priest who had passed at the age of 104.

With each of these passing of these people we know, we have a reaction. It may remind us of the fragility of life and of our own death. When we have these thoughts, we are not being morbid. It is a blessing to be reminded because if our life is not in order- we are not living according to our Catholic faith as well as we can, it is an opportunity to review our lives and get it into order, review our habits, review our priorities and put God again first place.

It is important to find in the Heart of Jesus an assured refuge especially at the hour of death because we can find mercy there from Him who loves us unconditionally.  God provides for us the opportunity to repent not only before we pass but up to 15 minutes (approx.) afterwards until the soul leaves the body.  Why wait until then.
Jesus in the gospels tells us to live life to the full and part of that fullness is being prepared every day to meet Him.  We need the assured refuge especially at the hour of death so that we may be given the grace to say sorry to God for our sins.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

1.     Bring the family together for a meeting in how each individual and as a family may put this into practical application for this month.
   (NB:  Obviously, the discussion needs to be age appropriate and when discussing the hour of death aspect of this 4^th promise to be mindful of how you will approach it before having the discussion. Consider what family members might say/feel so that you, as the driver for the discussion can ensure the emotional and spiritual safety of the family when having this discussion).
2.  Remember to get each member to be specific so that the process of practical application is viable and able to be managed.
3. Think about how you might apply this promise not only In your own life and family but in your parish and extended world.
4.  If you live alone, then you can reflect on it yourself first and decide on how you may carry out/live the promise during the month. Discuss it too with Jesus. He wants to know how you feel about this promise.  There may be opportunities during the month to discuss it with other people in your life.

Remember to focus on both parts of the promise- in life and especially at the hour of death but by including the other synonyms in the discussion you can focus on the beauty and the magnificence of the promise Jesus is offering.
This 4th promise may also assist us in our Lenten journey as we consider His death and resurrection and what this promise may mean in that context for us.

Above all, remember Jesus and His love.

Personal Note: I did start this post yesterday on First Friday- sorry for the delay in posting.