2-sided Sacred Heart of Jesus (SHJ) House Flag
The Sacred Heart of Jesus (SHJ) symbolizes Christ's all-encompassing love for mankind. Devotion to the Sacred Heart is a well-known and widely-practiced Catholic custom. While it has roots in Early Christianity and, especially, the Middle Ages, this devotion was popularized in its modern form by two nuns: St. Mary Margaret Alacoque and Blessed Mary of the Divine Heart. St. Mary Margaret (1647-1690) was a French nun and mystic of the Visitation Order who experienced a series of apparitions between 1673 and 1675 and promulgated the SHJ's 12 Promises. Blessed Mary of the Divine Heart (1863-1899), a mystic and religious of the Good Shepherd in Portugal having received a message from Christ, urged Pope Leo XIII to consecrate the entire world to the SHJ. + In art, the Sacred Heart is represented as a wounded flaming heart entwined with thorns and topped with a cross. It may appear alone or it may appear in images of Christ shining on his chest. + Here, Jesus, in this frontally facing image, establishes an immediate connection with viewers by confronting them directly. Jesus and His Sacred Heart are surrounded by mandorlas of golden light rays. Rays of light also emanate from the nail wound in his hands resulting from the Crucifixion. He wears the triform halo symbolizing the Holy Trinity. Clad in a white robe shaded in ocher yellow, He pulls a fold of His red mantle across his lower body with His left hand. Jesus raises his other hand, His right, in blessing with three fingers—the thumb and first two digits--pointing heavenwards and two fingers folded down. The three fingers pointing upward are an obvious reference to the Trinity; the two pointing downward, a less obvious reference to Christ's dual natures—human and divine. Rosettes with greenery fill the image's corners. + June is the Month of the Sacred Heart. + Image Credit (LOM 001): Antique image captioned in Latin as Sacratissimum Cor Iesu [Most Sacred Heart of Jesus], originally published in chromolithography by Em[iel] Lombaerts, Duerne, Antwerp, Belgium, No. 202, early 20th century, from the designer's private collection of religious ephemera.
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