Jesus appearing to St. Margaret Mary. From a painting in the Church of San Michele, Cortemilia, Italy. (Wikimedia Commons)
In June, 1671, St. Margaret Mary entered a convent of the Visitation order. She asked the novice-mistress to teach her mental prayer. The nun said, “Go place yourself before Our Lord present in the tabernacle, and tell Him that you would like to be before Him like a canvas before a painter. “
Margaret did not understand, but obeyed. Jesus explained to her interiorly, “This canvas is your soul. I want to paint there the strokes of my life, which passed in love and privation, in occupation and silence, and finally in the most absolute sacrifice. I want to purify you of all the stains which you still have.”
On Dec. 27, 1673, Sister Margaret received her first revelation regarding devotion to the Sacred Heart. Margaret heard Christ inviting her to take the place which St. John had occupied at the Last Supper.
Christ told her that the love of his heart must be spread and manifested to mankind by means of her: “My Divine Heart is so inflamed with love for men, and for you in particular that, being unable any longer to contain within Itself the flames of Its burning charity, It needs to spread them abroad by your means ...” It was as though Christ took Sister Margaret’s heart and put it within his own, returning it burning with divine love into her breast.
In the second revelation, Sister Margaret saw that the Sacred Heart was on fire and surrounded by a crown of thorns. The flames represented his love for mankind, and the thorns represented man’s sinfulness and ingratitude. Jesus promised to pour out into the hearts of all those who honour the image of his heart all the gifts it contains in fullness, and for all those who would wear this image on their persons, he promised to imprint his love on their hearts and to destroy all unruly inclinations.
During the third revelation (June 1674), Our Lord asked Sister Margaret to make a holy hour on Thursday night from 11 p.m. to midnight, to receive Holy Communion as often as obedience would permit her, and to communicate on the First Friday of each month.
Our Lord said these memorable words: “Behold this heart which has so loved men that it has spared nothing, even to the point of spending itself and being consumed to prove its love to them. And in return, I receive from most men only ingratitude because of their irreverence and sacrileges and the coldness and scorn they have for me in this Sacrament of love. But what offends me most is that hearts consecrated to me act in this way. Do you at least console me by supplying for their ingratitude, as far as you are able.”
Regarding the First Friday devotion Our Lord said, “The
all-powerful love of my Heart 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 under my displeasure, nor without receiving
their Sacraments; my heart shall be their assured refuge at that last hour.”
Sister Margaret suffered a great deal for her revelations. She was opposed by
some of the nuns and the theologians who did not believe in her. By the
providence of God, St. Claude de la Colombiere, a Jesuit priest, became the
spiritual director of Sister Margaret. He assured Sister Margaret that her
visions regarding the Sacred Heart were genuine.
The final revelation took place in June 1675. Our Lord asked for the Feast of the Sacred Heart to be celebrated on the Friday after the Octave of Corpus Christi.
The revelations of the Sacred Heart were eventually accepted by Sister Margaret’s community. Before her death Sister Margaret said, “I will not live much longer, for I no longer suffer.”
Sister Margaret died on Oct. 17, 1690, pronouncing this single word: “Jesus.”
耶穌給瑪加利大顯現
1671年6月聖瑪加利大.瑪利亞進入了聖母往見修院。她向初學師求教默禱。初學師修女教她說到在聖體龕的耶穌前，告訴祂願意成為祂繪畫的帆布。瑪加利大雖然不大明白，但仍聽從了。耶穌在她的內心說：「這帆布就是你的靈魂。我想在你這帆布，一筆一筆地勾畫出我的生命 ── 是在愛情、困苦、勞動和靜默中渡過，最後作了全然的犧牲。我願淨化你仍有的所有瑕疵。」
1673年12月27日，瑪加利大修女首次接受了敬禮耶穌聖心的啟示。她聽得基督邀請她坐上聖若望宗徒在最後晚餐時的座位，告知她祂聖心的愛要藉著她向世人展視及廣傳：「我的聖心是如此燃着對人，特別是對你，的愛火，再不能禁着燃燒的愛火，它需要藉你傳播普世 …。」接著，耶穌似乎將瑪加利大的心取出，放在祂的聖心內，然後再拿回來，放在瑪加利大胸膛。那時，她的內心被耶穌聖心的愛火灼熱了。
第二次的顯現，瑪加利大修女見到耶穌的聖心處於烈燄中，又被刺冠圍著：烈燄是對世人的愛火，荊棘代表世人的罪惡及恩將仇報的行為。耶穌承諾會把豐盈的恩典，賜給恭敬祂聖心圖像的人，又但凡配戴聖心像的人，會把祂的愛刻在他們的心坎，並擊潰所有不羈的傾向。
1674年6月，是第三次的顯現，吾主要瑪加利大修女逢星期四晚上十一時至翌日凌晨十二時，奉行聖時祈禱，並在神師許可下盡量多次善領聖體，特別在每個月的首瞻禮六（星期五）。吾主說：「看！我這心毫無保留地去愛世人，甚至達到燒燃殆盡的地部來証明對他們的愛；但 由大多數人 所得到的是 負義忘恩 ，因為他們對我在此愛情的聖事表 現不敬 、 褻瀆 、冷淡和輕蔑；而最開罪我的，是連那些獻身 於我 者的心也是這樣。至少，你要盡你的能力來賠補他們的 忘恩 以安慰我 。」
有關首瞻禮六的敬禮，耶穌曉諭說：「一連九個首瞻禮六敬禮我聖心的人，我全能聖心的愛，必賞給他們臨終時悔改的聖寵，他們不會在我不悅的情況下死去，或不會領不到臨終聖事而離世。我的聖心，將會是他們生命最後時刻的庇蔭所。」
耶穌的顯現及諭訓，瑪加利大修女遭到一些同院修女及神學家的質疑，令她感到痛苦。在天主的慈蔭下，耶穌會會士、聖克勞高隆汴成了瑪加利大修女的神師，他完全肯定聖心的啟示是最真實不過。
1675年6月，是耶穌聖心最後一次的啟示：要求欽定基督聖體聖血節八日後的星期五，尊為耶穌聖心節。
聖心的啟示終為瑪加利大修女的同門團體的接納。她曾預言：「我將不久於人世，因為我不再受苦了。」1690年10月17日，瑪加利大修女安逝，死前說出：「耶穌」。