Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque entered the Visitation Convent in 1671 and six years later Christ appeared to her in a vision in which “I could plainly see His Heart, pierced and bleeding, yet there were flames, too, coming from it and a crown of thorns around it. He told me to behold His heart which so loved humanity. Then He seemed to take my very heart from me and place it there in His heart. In return He gave me back part of His flaming heart.”
Pope Leo XIII approved the Litany of the Sacred Heart in 1899. The litany was developed and perfected from several earlier litanies composed since Fr. Jean Croiset, SJ, wrote The Devotion to the Sacred Heart and composed one of the first litanies in the 1680s and 90s. This litany is one of the six litanies of the Church approved for public use.
Lord, have mercy on us.
R. Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.
R. Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us.
R. Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, hear us.
R. Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
R. Christ, graciously hear us.
God, the Father of Heaven,
have mercy on us.
God, the Son, Redeemer of the World,
God, the Holy Ghost,
Holy Trinity, one God,
Heart of Jesus, Son of the Eternal Father,
have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, formed in the womb of the Virgin Mother by the Holy Ghost,
Heart of Jesus, united substantially with the word of God,
Heart of Jesus, of infinite majesty,
Heart of Jesus, holy temple of God,
Heart of Jesus, tabernacle of the Most High,
Heart of Jesus, house of God and gate of heaven,
Heart of Jesus, glowing furnace of charity,
Heart of Jesus, vessel of justice and love,
Heart of Jesus, full of goodness and love,
Heart of Jesus, abyss of all virtues,
Heart of Jesus, most worthy of all praise,
Heart of Jesus, king and center of all hearts,
Heart of Jesus, in whom are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge,
Heart of Jesus, in whom dwells all the fullness of the Divinity,
Heart of Jesus, in whom the Father is well pleased,
Heart of Jesus, of whose fullness we have all received,
Heart of Jesus, desire of the everlasting hills,
Heart of Jesus, patient and rich in mercy,
Heart of Jesus, rich to all who invoke Thee,
Heart of Jesus, fount of life and holiness,
Heart of Jesus, propitiation for our sins,
Heart of Jesus, saturated with opprobrium,
Heart of Jesus, crushed for our iniquities,
Heart of Jesus, made obedient unto death,
Heart of Jesus, pierced with a lance,
Heart of Jesus, source of all consolation,
Heart of Jesus, our life and resurrection,
Heart of Jesus, our peace and reconciliation,
Heart of Jesus, victim for our sins,
Heart of Jesus, salvation of those who hope in Thee,
Heart of Jesus, hope of those who die in Thee,
Heart of Jesus, delight of all Saints,
Lamb of God, Who taketh away the sins of the world, R. Spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who taketh away the sins of the world, R. Graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God Who taketh away the sins of the world, R. Have mercy on us.
Jesus, meek and humble of Heart. R. Make our hearts like unto Thine.
Let us pray. Almighty and everlasting God, look upon the Heart of Thy well-beloved Son and upon the acts of praise and satisfaction which He renders unto Thee in the name of sinners; and do Thou, in Thy great goodness, grant pardon to them who seek Thy mercy, in the name of the same Thy Son, Jesus Christ, Who lives and reigns with Thee, world without end. R. Amen.
Kyrie, eleison,
R. Kyrie, eleison.
Christe, eleison,
R. Christe, eleison.
Kyrie, eleison,
R. Kyrie, eleison.
Christe, audi nos,
R. Christe, audi nos.
Christe, exaudi nos,
R. Christe, exaudi nos.
Pater de caelis, Deus,
R. Miserere nobis.
Fili, Redemptor mundi, Deus,
Spiritus Sancte, Deus,
Sancta Trinitas, unus Deus,
Cor Iesu, Filii Patris aeterni,
R. Miserere nobis.
Cor Iesu, in sinu Virginis Matris a Spiritu Sancto formatum,
Cor Iesu, Verbo Dei substantialiter unitum,
Cor Iesu, maiestatis infinitae,
Cor Iesu, templum Dei sanctum,
Cor Iesu, tabernaculum Altissimi,
Cor Iesu, domus Dei et porta caeli,
Cor Iesu, fornax ardens caritatis,
Cor Iesu, iustitiae et amoris receptaculum,
Cor Iesu, bonitate et amore plenum,
Cor Iesu, virtutum omnium abyssus,
Cor Iesu, omni laude dignissimum,
Cor Iesu, rex et centrum omnium cordium,
Cor Iesu, lancea perforatum,
Cor Iesu, fons totius consolationis,
Cor Iesu, vita et resurrectio nostra,
Cor Iesu, pax et reconciliatio nostra,
Cor Iesu, victima peccatorum,
Cor Iesu, salus in te sperantium,
Cor Iesu, spes in te morientium,
Cor Iesu, deliciae Sanctorum omnium,
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, R. Parce nobis, Domine.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, R. Exaudi nos, Domine.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, R. Miserere nobis, Domine.
Iesu, mitis et humilis Corde, R. Fac cor nostrum secundum Cor tuum.
Oremus. Omnipotens sempiterne Deus, respice in Cor dilectissimi Filii tui et in laudes et satisfactiones, quas in nomine peccatorum tibi persolvit, iisque misericordiam tuam petentibus, tu veniam concede placatus in nomine eiusdem Filii tui Iesu Christi: Qui tecum vivit et regnat in saecula saeculorum. R. Amen.