Local Celebrations of the Consecration of the United States of America to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus
This resource was created for use in dioceses and parishes to encourage celebration of the Consecration of the United States to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The resource is a guide for celebration within a Mass or within the celebration of a Liturgy of the Word.
For a Celebration within Mass:
- Prayers may be taken from the Roman Missal: Votive Masses: 8. The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, using white vestments. For the Penitential Act, the sample invocations I or III found in Appendix VI of the Roman Missal are recommended. The Glory to God may be sung optionally.
- Scripture readings may be selected from among those in the Lectionary for Mass, Volume IV, no. 995, for the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. A recommended selection of readings is provided at nos. 9-12.
- For the Universal Prayer or Prayer of the Faithful, no. 7 may be used as the invitation to prayer, no. 14 for the petitions, and no. 15 for the concluding prayer.
- At the end of Mass, a Solemn Blessing may be given. Solemn Blessing, no. 13. Ordinary Time V in the Roman Missal is recommended.
For a Celebration within a Liturgy of the Word:
An appropriate song may be sung, or:
Entrance Antiphon Ps 33 (32): 11, 19
The designs of his Heart are from age to age,
to rescue their souls from death
and to keep them alive in famine.
Sign of the Cross
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
℟. Amen.
Introduction
My dear brothers and sisters,
we are here to celebrate the Consecration of the United States of America to the
Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Let us imitate the love and mercy which Christ has made known to us
through his Most Sacred Heart.
As we bow before the Lord, let us remember that in his own blood,
Christ has removed all divisions and
out of the many nations created the one people of God.
As we venerate the Sacred Heart,
let us reflect that we ourselves are Christ’s disciples and must therefore follow him,
loving not with stony hearts, but with living hearts.
Let us, then, take part with all our hearts in this celebration,
so that we may grasp the mystery of his love more clearly
and experience its power more deeply.
Opening Prayer
Let us pray.
Clothe us, Lord God,
with the virtues of the Heart of your Son
and set us aflame with his love,
that, conformed to his image,
we may merit a share in eternal redemption.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.
℟. Amen.
First Reading Deuteronomy 10:12-22
A reading from the Book of Deuteronomy
Moses said to the people:
“And now, Israel, what does the Lord, your God, ask of you
but to fear the Lord, your God, and follow his ways exactly,
to love and serve the Lord, your God,
with all your heart and all your soul,
to keep the commandments and statutes of the Lord
which I enjoin on you today for your own good?
Think! The heavens, even the highest heavens,
belong to the Lord, your God,
as well as the earth and everything on it.
Yet in his love for your fathers the Lord was so attached to them
as to choose you, their descendants,
in preference to all other peoples, as indeed he has now done.
Circumcise your hearts, therefore, and be no longer stiff-necked.
For the Lord, your God, is the God of gods,
the Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome,
who has no favorites, accepts no bribes;
who executes justice for the orphan and the widow,
and befriends the alien, feeding and clothing them.
So you too must befriend the alien,
for you were once aliens yourselves in the land of Egypt.
The Lord, your God, shall you fear, and him shall you serve;
hold fast to him and swear by his name.
He is your glory, he, your God,
who has done for you those great and terrible things
which your own eyes have seen.
Your ancestors went down to Egypt seventy strong,
and now the Lord, your God,
has made you as numerous as the stars of the sky.”
The word of the Lord.
℟. Thanks be to God.
Responsorial Psalm Psalm 25:4-5ab, 6 and 7bc, 8-9, 10 and 14
℟. (6a) Remember your mercies, O Lord.
Your ways, O Lord, make known to me;
teach me your paths,
Guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my savior.
℟. Remember your mercies, O Lord.
Remember that your compassion, O Lord,
and your kindness are from of old.
In your kindness remember me,
because of your goodness, O Lord.
℟. Remember your mercies, O Lord.
Good and upright is the Lord;
thus he shows sinners the way.
He guides the humble to justice,
he teaches the humble his way.
℟. Remember your mercies, O Lord.
All the paths of the Lord are kindness and constancy
toward those who keep his covenant and his decrees.
The friendship of the Lord is with those who fear him,
and his covenant, for their instruction.
℟. Remember your mercies, O Lord.
Gospel Acclamation John 15:9
℟. Alleluia, alleluia.
As the Father loves me, so I also love you.
Remain in my love.
℟. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel John 15:9-17
A reading from the holy Gospel according to John
Jesus said to his disciples:
“As the Father loves me, so I also love you.
Remain in my love.
If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love,
just as I have kept my Father’s commandments
and remain in his love.
“I have told you this so that my joy may be in you
and your joy may be complete.
This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.
No one has greater love than this,
to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
You are my friends if you do what I command you.
I no longer call you slaves,
because a slave does not know what his master is doing.
I have called you friends,
because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father.
It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you
and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain,
so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you.
This I command you: love one another.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
℟. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
Homily or Reflection
Intercessions
Let us pray for our Holy Father, Pope Leo.
That our American brother may have confidence
in our filial piety and support
as he shepherds the universal Church.
℟. Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.
Let us pray for the people of other nations.
That our brothers and sisters throughout the world,
may come to know Christ’s love and salvation
through our works of charity and evangelization.
℟. Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.
Let us pray for the leaders of our country.
That the inalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness
may cause them to enshrine in law
the dignity of all human life,
protect the liberty of religious conscience,
and acknowledge that true happiness is found in God alone.
℟. Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.
Let us pray for the people of our own nation.
That we may give justice to the orphan and widow, and befriend the immigrant,
so that by keeping the Lord’s command to love one another,
we may overcome the vices of the wicked.
℟. Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.
Let us pray for forgiveness and healing for the sins of our past.
That our nation, blessed by God, and espousing noble ideals,
may find justice, peace, and an end to strife,
caused by our nation’s original sins of slavery and racism,
so that we may no longer be slaves to sin but friends of God.
℟. Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.
Let us pray for the needs of our own community.
(insert local needs here)
℟. Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.
Let us pray for those who have died.
May the witness of our forefathers’ faith
inspire the citizens of this earthly domain
to seek God’s eternal kingdom.
℟. Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.
Prayer of Consecration
All together say:
O Most Sacred Heart of Jesus:
You know the longings of our hearts,
and you desire that we enjoy friendship with you.
From your pierced side,
you have poured out the wellspring of
life, for which we thirst.
Your heart burns with a love for all people to return to a right
relationship with you.
We celebrate the abundant gifts you have given this nation,
founded on the self-evident truths
that our Creator has endowed all people
with the right to life, liberty,
and the pursuit of happiness.
We make reparation for the offenses against you
and against human dignity
that have taken place in this nation.
May our hearts be united to yours,
so that our families and communities
enjoy peace and happiness;
may broken relationships be reconciled,
injustices repaired,
and the wounds of our land be healed.
May your holy Catholic Church serve as a sign,
pointing all people to your infinite love.
O Desire of Nations and Center of History,
we ask you to bless these United States of America.
Who live and reign with God the Father
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
Our Father
With longing for the coming of God’s kingdom,
let us offer our prayer to the Father:
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
Conclusion and Dismissal
May the Lord bless us,
protect us from all evil
and lead us to everlasting life.
℟. Amen.
Go in peace.
℟. Thanks be to God.