Level I · First Steps · practice 3 of 4

Learn the Twelve Promises

Know by heart what Christ pledged to those devoted to His Sacred Heart.

Why this practice

Before practicing the devotion, it helps to know what it offers. To St. Margaret Mary, Our Lord made twelve promises to those who honor His Sacred Heart — promises of peace in the home, comfort in trials, refuge in life and especially at death.

These promises are not magic; they are the words of a friend describing what His love will do. Learning them is the gentlest possible doorway into the devotion: read them, sit with them, and let them draw you in.

How to begin

1Read the twelve promises slowly, once, without trying to memorize them.

2Return to the one that struck you most. Read it again each morning for a week.

3Notice that nearly every promise is about *love offered and love received* — this is the whole devotion in miniature.

4When you are ready, move to the First Friday Mass — the promise of final perseverance is attached to it.

I will bless every place in which an image of My Heart shall be exposed and honored.

— from the Twelve Promises, to St. Margaret Mary

A prayer for this practice

Sacred Heart of Jesus, I thank You for the promises of Your love. Let me not grasp at them as rewards, but receive them as the words of a Friend who has loved me first. Teach me to love You in return, with the little I have.

Amen.

When you're ready

First Friday Mass →