Salutations to the Hearts of
Jesus and Mary
March 8,1992
Brother John Raymond
St. John Eudes was born in Ri, Normandy, France on November 14,
1601. As a very young child he was wondrously drawn to prayer. He
would escape from his mother to go to pray in the parish church of
Notre Dame. When he was only nine years old a young boy struck him
on the cheek. John turned his cheek and said, "Strike the other." In
time young John was sent to school at the Jesuits. Later he joined
the Society of the Oratory, founded in France by Cardinal Berulle.
He was ordained a priest on December 20, 1625.
For several years Fr. Eudes preached very successful missions,
winning many converts. Fr. Eudes then began his work of establishing
the Congregation of Jesus and Mary whose apostolate was to maintain
seminaries. He was encouraged in this by the mystic, Marie des
Vallees, who told Fr. Eudes that this was God's work for him. In
1641 St. John Eudes founded the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity whose
apostolate is caring for young girls.
John Eudes wrote a Mass and the prayers for the Divine Office for
both the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart
of Mary. St. John Eudes wrote, among other works, and "The Sacred
Heart of Jesus" and "The Admirable Heart Of The Most Holy Mother Of
God." In 1680, after 17 years of working on it St. John Eudes put
the finishing touches on the latter book, "The Admirable Heart Of
The Most Holy Mother Of God." On August 19th in the same year, at
the age of 79, at 3:00 in the afternoon (the Hour of Mercy) St. John
Eudes departed this life in which he had served so well the Sacred
Hearts of Jesus and Mary.
About the Sacred Heart of Jesus St. John wrote, "You may draw
from the Sacred Heart all that your soul desires and you will never
win salvation or grace except from that Source. It is a furnace of
Divine Love, intensely burning with the fire of the Holy Spirit that
purifies, inflames and transforms into Itself all those desiring to
be united with this Most Loving Heart. It is in the Adorable Heart
that are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge."
About the Immaculate Heart of Mary the Saint wrote, "The Most
Pure Heart of Mary is a fountain of living water, which means a
fountain of grace. The Archangel Gabriel declared long ago that the
Mother of the Savior was full of Grace. The Church calls Her Mater
Gratiae, Mother of Grace. The Angelic Doctor, St. Thomas Aquinas,
affirms that `Our Lady is so full of grace that out of Her abundance
She can dispense graces to all men.' Her Most Generous Heart is
indeed a fountain of living waters whose salutary streams flow on
all sides, over the land of the wicked as well as the just, in
imitation of the All-Good and All-Merciful Heart of Our Heavenly
Father Who causes His providential rain to fall on the good and the
bad alike."
The following salutations were composed by St. John Eudes in
1643. In the original Latin he wrote "Ave Cor" that translates Hail
Heart. He considered the Hearts of Jesus and Mary so united that he
refers to Their Hearts as a single Heart.
Salutations to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary
Hail, Heart most holy.
Hail, Heart most gentle.
Hail, Heart most humble.
Hail, Heart most pure.
Hail, Heart most wise.
Hail, Heart most patient.
Hail, Heart most merciful.
Hail, most loving Heart of Jesus and Mary.
We revere Thee.
We glorify Thee.
We give Thee thanks.
We love Thee.
We offer Thee our heart.
Receive it and possess it wholly. Purify it. Enlighten it. Sanctify
it. That Thou may live and reign in it now, always and forever and
ever. Amen.