The Provincial Chapter of the Institute of the Incarnate Word (IVE) Province of Our Lady of Sheshan, covering East Asia, took place from the 2nd to the 5th of January 2017. At the Concluding Mass of the Chapter, Fr. Miguel Soler, IVE, the Provincial Superior, consecrated the Province to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. This Act of Consecration and Enthronement is a juridical act by which the Superior or the one having authority cedes that same authority to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, acknowledging His supreme lordship and establishing His rule over the consecrated community.

As St. John Paul II taught, by synecdoche “When we say ‘Heart of Jesus Christ’, we address ourselves in faith to the whole Christological mystery: the mystery of the God-Man.”  In the days preceding this consecration, different ‘Good Nights’ were preached by the Chapter Fathers in which the significance of the this consecration to Sacred Heart of Jesus was explained, as elaborated in the magisterium of the various Popes, particularly focusing on the love therein expressed. As taught by Pope Pius XII in Haurietis Aquas, in the Sacred Heart of Jesus there exists a triple love, firstly, the “divine love which He shares with the Father and the Holy Spirit”. Furthermore, it is “the symbol of that burning love which, infused into His soul, enriches the human will of Christ and enlightens and governs its acts by the most perfect knowledge derived both from the beatific vision and that which is directly infused. And finally–and this in a more natural and direct way–it is the symbol also of sensible love, since the body of Jesus Christ, formed by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mary”.

In his homily during the Mass, Fr. Soler explained the significance of this consecration for our religious communities, according to the Promises made by Our Lord to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, including keeping “their hearts united so that they would form but one” and re-establishing the first fervor of those communities consecrated to the Sacred Heart.

With these in mind, after the Holy Mass, Fr. Soler, the Fathers of the Provincial Chapter, and the IVE seminarians and novices together and the Superiors and members of the Servants of the Lord and the Virgin of Matará led by Mother M. Victorias, their Provincial Superior, recited the prayer of Consecration before the newly erected image of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus within the Seminary grounds and consecrated their respective IVE and SSVM Provinces to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.

First, the image was blessed and incensed and then, the Act of Consecration was made. Our Lord’s Kingly dominion over our Institutes was proclaimed and, imploring Him to bless our enterprises, both spiritual and temporal, to dispel our cares, sanctify our joys and alleviate our sufferings and begging of His mercy for penitent sinners, we asked for the help of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary and the glorious patriarch St. Joseph to present our consecration to the Lord.

The event ended with a festive lunch, with the participation of the members of both Institutes and with Mr. René Salvación, the sculptor of the image, and the members of his family.