The Litany of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

The Litany of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is the great prayer of the devotion to the Heart of Our Lord — the Heart that loved men to the end. It calls upon the Heart of Jesus under a long series of titles, each answered by have mercy on us, and closes with a prayer to the Heart "in which are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." Pope Leo XIII approved it for the whole Church in 1899, the same year he consecrated the human race to the Sacred Heart.

The Litany of the Sacred Heart

Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Christ, hear us. Christ, graciously hear us.

God the Father of Heaven, have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world,
God, the Holy Ghost,
Holy Trinity, One God,
Heart of Jesus, Son of the Eternal Father,
Heart of Jesus, formed by the Holy Ghost in the womb of the Virgin Mother,
Heart of Jesus, substantially united to the Word of God,
Heart of Jesus, of Infinite Majesty,
Heart of Jesus, Sacred Temple of God,
Heart of Jesus, Tabernacle of the Most High,
Heart of Jesus, House of God and Gate of Heaven,
Heart of Jesus, burning furnace of charity,
Heart of Jesus, abode of justice and love,
Heart of Jesus, full of goodness and love,
Heart of Jesus, abyss of all virtues,
Heart of Jesus, most worthy of all praise,
Heart of Jesus, king and center of all hearts,
Heart of Jesus, in whom are all treasures of wisdom and knowledge,
Heart of Jesus, in whom dwelleth the fullness of divinity,
Heart of Jesus, in whom the Father was well pleased,
Heart of Jesus, of whose fullness we have all received,
Heart of Jesus, desire of the everlasting hills,
Heart of Jesus, patient and most merciful,
Heart of Jesus, enriching all who invoke Thee,
Heart of Jesus, fountain of life and holiness,
Heart of Jesus, propitiation for our sins,
Heart of Jesus, loaded down with opprobrium,
Heart of Jesus, bruised for our offenses,
Heart of Jesus, obedient to death,
Heart of Jesus, pierced with a lance,
Heart of Jesus, source of all consolation,
Heart of Jesus, our life and resurrection,
Heart of Jesus, our peace and reconciliation,
Heart of Jesus, victim for our sins,
Heart of Jesus, salvation of those who trust in Thee,
Heart of Jesus, hope of those who die in Thee,
Heart of Jesus, delight of all the Saints,

Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.

V. Jesus, meek and humble of heart Make our hearts like to Thine.

Let us pray; Almighty and eternal God, look upon the Heart of Thy most beloved Son and upon the praises and satisfaction which He offereth Thee in the name of sinners; and to those who implore Thy mercy, in Thy great goodness, grant forgiveness in the name of the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee forever and ever.

What is the Sacred Heart of Jesus?

Before the litany can be prayed well, its object must be understood. Devotion to the Sacred Heart is not the worship of a piece of flesh apart from the Person of Christ. It is the worship of the whole Christ, true God and true man, under the sign of His physical Heart — the Heart that beat in the womb of the Virgin, that was wearied on the roads of Galilee, and that was opened by the soldier's lance on Calvary. The Heart of flesh is venerated because it is the Heart of a divine Person and the natural symbol of His immense love for men. To honour the Sacred Heart is to honour that love made visible: the love that moved the Son of God to take our nature, to suffer, and to die.

This is why the litany answers each invocation with have mercy on us. We are not admiring a doctrine; we are appealing to a love. The whole devotion, treated more fully in the Sacred Heart of Jesus, is summed up in our Lord's own words to St Margaret Mary: Behold this Heart which has so loved men.

What the litany honours

The titles of the litany draw together what the Church believes about the Heart of Christ: its union with the Word of God; its infinite majesty and its meekness; the love that pours from it as from a furnace; the mercy that makes it the fountain of life and holiness, patient and rich toward all who call upon it. Drawn from Scripture and the Fathers, the titles form, taken in order, a meditation on the love of God made man.

The thirty-three invocations are arranged in three movements, after the thirty-three years of our Lord's life. The first set names the Heart in itself — its union with the Word, its infinite majesty, its place as temple and tabernacle of God. The second names the Heart in its virtues — burning furnace of charity, full of goodness and love, abyss of all virtues, king and centre of all hearts. The third names the Heart in its sufferings and its gifts to us — loaded down with opprobrium, bruised for our offences, pierced with a lance, source of all consolation, our peace and reconciliation, hope of those who die in Thee. So the litany carries the soul from the glory of the Heart, through its love, to the wounds by which that love was proved.

Where it comes from

Devotion to the Sacred Heart grew through the centuries and was given great impulse by the revelations to St Margaret Mary Alacoque in the seventeenth century. The litany itself gathers invocations from earlier sources; its public, universal use dates from its approval by Leo XIII in 1899. It belongs wholly to the tradition the Church held before 1958.

When and how to pray it

The Litany of the Sacred Heart is prayed especially:

• In June, the month of the Sacred Heart.
• On the First Friday of each month, the day given to the devotion.
• On the Feast of the Sacred Heart, and whenever the soul wishes to make reparation for sin and to return love for love.

Like all litanies, it is prayed slowly, invocation and response, the heart resting on each title before passing to the next. It pairs well with the daily round of the Angelus, prayed morning, noon, and evening, so that the love of the Heart of Jesus is kept before the soul through the whole day.

It is one of the traditional Catholic litanies prayed by the Church, and the soul who loves it may turn next to the Litany of Humility, which forms the heart in the very meekness the Sacred Heart asks of us. Those who wish to make a longer petition to this Heart may join to the litany the novena to the Sacred Heart, nine days of confident prayer ending Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in Thee. The same confidence is the subject of the modern Litany of Trust, beside which we have set the Church's older prayers of trust in full.

The traditional Litany of the Sacred Heart

The text given above is the traditional litany — the one approved by Leo XIII in 1899 and unchanged in the tradition the Church held before 1958. Its thirty-three invocations, the threefold Lamb of God, the versicle Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make our hearts like to Thine, and the closing prayer Almighty and eternal God, look upon the Heart of Thy most beloved Son are exactly as the older books carry them. Those who pray the traditional form will find no abbreviation here: the litany rewards being said in full, slowly, so that each title can be weighed before the next is taken up.

The Litany of the Sacred Heart on EWTN

EWTN and other Catholic sources print this same litany, and a reader who has met it there will recognise the text above as the identical prayer — the one approved by Leo XIII for the whole Church. There is no separate "EWTN version"; the litany is one and the same wherever it is found, since its wording was fixed by the Holy See. What differs from place to place is only the layout and the translation of a phrase or two from the Latin. The invocations, their order, and the closing prayer are constant.

A printable PDF of the Litany of the Sacred Heart

Many wish to keep the litany on paper — beside the prie-dieu, in a missal, or to pray in common on the First Friday. The full text above may be printed directly; the litany is short enough to fit a single page. Iter Fidei also serves the complete Litany of the Sacred Heart, in Latin and English with audio, in the app, so that it can be prayed aloud or followed silently wherever one is. For a printable copy, the text on this page is the traditional and approved form and may be copied in full.

Why it is called the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

The fuller title — the Litany of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus — is the same prayer under its solemn name. Most Sacred renders the Latin Sacratissimum, the superlative used in the official title of the feast and of the litany. The word does not name a different Heart or a higher devotion; it simply gives the Heart of Christ its full dignity in worship, as the most holy of all hearts because it is the Heart of God made man. The shorter "Sacred Heart" and the fuller "Most Sacred Heart" are interchangeable.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Sacred Heart of Jesus?

The Sacred Heart of Jesus is the physical Heart of our Lord, venerated as the symbol of His infinite love for men. The devotion does not honour a piece of flesh apart from Christ; it honours the whole Christ, true God and true man, under the sign of the Heart that was opened by the lance on Calvary. To honour the Sacred Heart is to honour the love that moved the Son of God to take our nature, to suffer, and to die for us — the love He revealed to St Margaret Mary in the words Behold this Heart which has so loved men.

When is the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus?

The feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is kept on the Friday after the octave of Corpus Christi — that is, on the third Friday after Pentecost. Because the date depends on Easter, it falls in June, which is for that reason kept as the month of the Sacred Heart. Pope Pius IX extended the feast to the universal Church in 1856, and Pope Leo XIII raised it in dignity and added the consecration of the human race to the Heart of Jesus in 1899.

What does the Sacred Heart of Jesus symbolize?

The Sacred Heart symbolizes the love of God made man — the boundless charity of Christ for sinners. The flames rising from the Heart signify the burning furnace of His love; the wound in its side, the lance that opened it on the Cross; the crown of thorns about it, the suffering His love endured; and the cross above it, the sacrifice by which that love was proved. Taken together, the image preaches a single message: the Heart of God is open, wounded, and inexhaustible in mercy toward those who turn to Him.

How do you pray the Litany of the Sacred Heart?

Like all litanies, it is prayed by two parties — one calling out each invocation, the others answering have mercy on us — and it is prayed slowly, the heart resting on each title before passing to the next. It may be prayed privately or in common. It is fitting especially in June, on the First Friday of each month, and on the Feast of the Sacred Heart, and it closes with the prayer Almighty and eternal God, look upon the Heart of Thy most beloved Son.

Is there a traditional version of the Litany of the Sacred Heart?

The litany printed above is the traditional version — approved by Leo XIII in 1899 and held unchanged in the tradition of the Church before 1958. There is no older or "more traditional" alternative competing with it: this is the form fixed by the Holy See for the universal Church, and it is the one the older missals and prayer books carry. Its thirty-three invocations, the threefold Lamb of God, and the closing prayer are all part of that traditional form.

Is the EWTN Litany of the Sacred Heart different?

No. The litany found on EWTN is the same prayer given here — the one approved by Leo XIII. Because the wording was fixed by the Holy See, there is no distinct "EWTN version"; only the page layout or the rendering of a Latin phrase may vary. The invocations, their order, and the closing prayer are identical wherever the litany is printed.

Where can I find a PDF of the Litany of the Sacred Heart?

The complete text on this page is the traditional and approved litany and may be printed directly — it fits a single page, which makes it easy to keep beside the prie-dieu or to use in common on the First Friday. Iter Fidei also serves the full litany, in Latin and English with audio, in the app, so it can be prayed aloud or followed silently.

What is the difference between the Sacred Heart and the Most Sacred Heart?

There is no difference of object. Most Sacred Heart renders the Latin superlative Sacratissimum used in the official title of the feast and the litany; it gives the Heart of Christ its full solemn dignity in worship. "Sacred Heart" and "Most Sacred Heart" name the same Heart and the same devotion, and the two titles are interchangeable.

For more, see liturgy of the hours.

(Iter Fidei serves the full Litany of the Sacred Heart, in Latin and English with audio, in the app.) Download it here.

Sources. The Litany of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, approved for the universal Church by Pope Leo XIII (1899); the devotion to the Sacred Heart as held before 1958.