Litany of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
The Sacred Heart of Jesus
Approved by: Pope Leo XIII (1899), inscribed in the Roman calendar of public devotions
When to pray: Especially during June (the Month of the Sacred Heart); on the First Friday of each month; in reparation for sins.
About this litany
The Litany of the Sacred Heart was composed at the request of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque in the seventeenth century by Sr. Anne-Madeleine Remuzat of Marseilles and was approved for the universal Church by Pope Leo XIII in 1899 (Enchiridion). It draws on the imagery of Sacred Scripture to praise the Heart of Christ under thirty-three titles — one for each year of his earthly life.
Pope Pius XII, in his encyclical Haurietis Aquas (1956), placed the litany at the centre of devotion to the Sacred Heart and gave it definitive theological grounding: the Heart of Jesus is the natural symbol and image of the boundless love with which the Redeemer continues to love the human race.
Opening Kyrie and Trinitarian invocations → 33 invocations of the Sacred Heart with response ‘Have mercy on us’ → three-fold Agnus Dei → versicle and response → concluding collect.
Opening
- V. Lord, have mercy.
- R. Lord, have mercy.
- V. Christ, have mercy.
- R. Christ, have mercy.
- V. Lord, have mercy.
- R. Lord, have mercy.
- V. Christ, hear us.
- R. Christ, graciously hear us.
- V. God the Father of Heaven,
- R. have mercy on us.
- V. God the Son, Redeemer of the world,
- R. have mercy on us.
- V. God the Holy Spirit,
- R. have mercy on us.
- V. Holy Trinity, one God,
- R. have mercy on us.
Invocations
- V. Heart of Jesus, Son of the Eternal Father,
- R. have mercy on us.
- V. Heart of Jesus, formed by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mother,
- R. have mercy on us.
- V. Heart of Jesus, substantially united to the Word of God,
- R. have mercy on us.
- V. Heart of Jesus, of infinite majesty,
- R. have mercy on us.
- V. Heart of Jesus, holy temple of God,
- R. have mercy on us.
- V. Heart of Jesus, tabernacle of the Most High,
- R. have mercy on us.
- V. Heart of Jesus, house of God and gate of Heaven,
- R. have mercy on us.
- V. Heart of Jesus, burning furnace of charity,
- R. have mercy on us.
- V. Heart of Jesus, abode of justice and love,
- R. have mercy on us.
- V. Heart of Jesus, full of goodness and love,
- R. have mercy on us.
- V. Heart of Jesus, abyss of all virtues,
- R. have mercy on us.
- V. Heart of Jesus, most worthy of all praise,
- R. have mercy on us.
- V. Heart of Jesus, King and centre of all hearts,
- R. have mercy on us.
- V. Heart of Jesus, in whom are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge,
- R. have mercy on us.
- V. Heart of Jesus, in whom dwells the fullness of divinity,
- R. have mercy on us.
- V. Heart of Jesus, in whom the Father is well pleased,
- R. have mercy on us.
- V. Heart of Jesus, of whose fullness we have all received,
- R. have mercy on us.
- V. Heart of Jesus, desire of the everlasting hills,
- R. have mercy on us.
- V. Heart of Jesus, patient and most merciful,
- R. have mercy on us.
- V. Heart of Jesus, enriching all who invoke Thee,
- R. have mercy on us.
- V. Heart of Jesus, fountain of life and holiness,
- R. have mercy on us.
- V. Heart of Jesus, propitiation for our sins,
- R. have mercy on us.
- V. Heart of Jesus, loaded down with opprobrium,
- R. have mercy on us.
- V. Heart of Jesus, bruised for our offences,
- R. have mercy on us.
- V. Heart of Jesus, obedient even unto death,
- R. have mercy on us.
- V. Heart of Jesus, pierced with a lance,
- R. have mercy on us.
- V. Heart of Jesus, source of all consolation,
- R. have mercy on us.
- V. Heart of Jesus, our life and resurrection,
- R. have mercy on us.
- V. Heart of Jesus, our peace and reconciliation,
- R. have mercy on us.
- V. Heart of Jesus, victim for our sins,
- R. have mercy on us.
- V. Heart of Jesus, salvation of those who hope in Thee,
- R. have mercy on us.
- V. Heart of Jesus, hope of those who die in Thee,
- R. have mercy on us.
- V. Heart of Jesus, delight of all the Saints,
- R. have mercy on us.
Concluding Invocations
- V. Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world,
- R. spare us, O Lord.
- V. Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world,
- R. graciously hear us, O Lord.
- V. Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world,
- R. have mercy on us.
- V. Jesus, meek and humble of Heart,
- R. make our hearts like unto Thine.
Closing Prayer
V. Let us pray. Almighty and eternal God, look upon the Heart of Thy most beloved Son and upon the praises and satisfaction which He offers Thee in the name of sinners; and to those who implore Thy mercy, in Thy great goodness, grant forgiveness in the name of the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who lives and reigns with Thee, world without end.
R. Amen.
Primary sources