St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

"Unite yourself with Him (Jesus)... in all that you do. Refer everything to His glory. Set up your abode in this loving Heart of Jesus and you will there find lasting peace and strength both to bring to fruition all the good desires He inspires in you, and to avoid every deliberate fault."
- St. Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647 - 1690)

St. Margaret Mary's Incorrupt Body

Today is the feast day of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque. Margaret was born on July 22, 1647, in Burgundy, France. She was a very pious child, and made a vow of virginity when she was very young  (The Autobiography of Saint Margaret Mary, page 20). She was taught by the Poor Clares at Charolles from the time she was eight until she came down with rheumatic fever which left her bedridden. At the age of fifteen, she was cured from her rheumatic fever. In 1671, she refused marriage and entered the Visitation convent at Paray-le-Monial. From the time she was twenty she had been favored with visions of Jesus, and after she entered the convent Jesus revealed to her that he wished for her to spread devotion to His Sacred Heart. Though there was opposition and hesitation, the devotion was celebrated privately within St. Margaret's convent in 1686 and over time the devotion spread to other Visitation convents. St. Margaret Mary died in 1690, and was canonized in 1920. Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus was officially recognized by Pope Clement XIII in 1765. 

St. Margaret Mary, pray for us! 

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Pictures of and Information About St. Margaret Mary Taken From:

http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=443

http://www.todayscatholicworld.com/sept07tcw.htm

http://fatheranthonyho.blogspot.com/2008/10/st-margaret-mary-alacoque.html

The Autobiography of Saint Margaret Mary