The promises

The Twelve Promises

The promises Christ made to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque in the seventeenth century, for those who honor His Sacred Heart.

In a series of revelations to St. Margaret Mary at the convent of Paray-le-Monial between 1673 and 1675, Our Lord made twelve specific promises to those who would honor and propagate the devotion to His Sacred Heart. The list below has been transmitted through the centuries in various forms; the wording given here is the traditional summary.

The twelfth promise — the Great Promise — concerning the grace of final repentance for those who receive Holy Communion on the first Friday of nine consecutive months, is perhaps the most famous; but the other eleven are no less real, no less promised, and no less binding upon the merciful Heart that pledged them.

Promise 1 — States of life

I will give them all the graces necessary in their state of life.

Promise 2 — Family peace

I will establish peace in their families.

Promise 3 — Consolation

I will console them in all their troubles.

Promise 4 — A refuge in life and death

They shall find in My Heart an assured refuge during life, and especially at the hour of their death.

Promise 5 — Their work blessed

I will pour abundant blessings upon all their undertakings.

Promise 6 — Mercy for sinners

Sinners shall find in My Heart the source and infinite ocean of mercy.

Promise 7 — The tepid made fervent

Tepid souls shall become fervent.

Promise 8 — The fervent perfected

Fervent souls shall rise speedily to great perfection.

Promise 9 — Blessed homes

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

Promise 10 — Priests empowered

I will give to priests the power to touch the most hardened hearts.

Promise 11 — Promoters of the devotion

Those who propagate this devotion shall have their names written in My Heart, never to be effaced.

Promise 12 — The Great Promise

I promise thee, in the excess of the mercy of My Heart, that Its all-powerful love will grant to all those who shall receive Communion on the first Friday of nine consecutive months, the grace of final repentance: they shall not die in My disgrace, nor without receiving the Sacraments; My Heart shall be their assured refuge at that last hour.

A word on how promises like these work

These are not magic incantations. They are the pledges of a Heart that has bound Itself by love. The conditions are presumed throughout: the soul that approaches must be in good faith, must intend honestly the things the devotion asks (love, reparation, fidelity), and must approach the sacraments in a state of grace. With those conditions met, the promises stand.

For more on the Great Promise specifically, see the page on the First Friday Mass.