Do you want to have a closer relationship with the Sacred Heart of Jesus? Love Him Ever More: A 9-Day Personal Retreat with the Sacred Heart of Jesus by Fr. Joe Laramie, SJ, is designed to help you open your heart to unite with the heart of Our Lord. It is a follow-up to Fr. Laramie’s previous book, Abide in the Heart of Christ (which was excellent), but you don’t need to have read that one to benefit from this book.
This at-home retreat can be done over nine days or nine weeks, alone or with a group. Each “day” begins with a spiritual quote, an essay that pulls from the author’s life or the lives of others, a contemplative prayer rooted in Ignatian spirituality, questions for personal reflection or journalling, and a short prayer.
Days one through three invite us to look at our own hearts. We can contemplate how “we are created in love. We are created for love” (6). What are the desires of our hearts? What is God asking us to do? Fr. Laramie discusses how St. Ignatius explained consolation and desolation and offers advice on what we should do in both circumstances. He reminds readers that God is always there even when we don’t feel His presence. He also explores how to cope when our hearts are heavy with grief and suffering. “To heal our brokenness, we must encounter Christ” (36).
On days four through six, we are called to reflect on the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Fr. Laramie reflects on the Incarnation through which “God now has a beating human heart” (53). Jesus desires for us to relate to Him on an intimate level as we would a spouse or close friend. Day six tells of the visions of St. Margaret Mary Alocoque which helped to establish the Sacred Heart Devotion.
The final three days focus on our mission. We unite with Christ so that we can then share His heart with others. The Apostleship of Prayer was started to help everyone all over the world join with others in prayer and sacrifice. Jesus calls each of us “to labor with him, in ways big and small” (119). By praying a morning offering and giving our “prayers, works, joys, and sufferings” to Christ (107), every part of our day “has meaning and grace” (132).
The appendix includes the Litany of the Sacred Heart, Pope John Paul II’s Prayer of Consecration to the Sacred Heart, the Anima Christ, and other prayers to help foster devotion to the Sacred Heart.
Love Him Ever More is highly recommended for anyone who wants to cultivate a deeper connection with God.
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