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Devotion to the Sacred Heart, as we know it, began
about the year 1672. On repeated occasions, Jesus appeared to Saint Margaret
Mary Alacoque, a Visitation nun, in
When the Catholic Church approved the devotion to the
Sacred Heart of Jesus, she did not base her action only on the visions of Saint
Margaret Mary. The Church approved the devotion on its own merits. There is
only one Person in Jesus, and that Person was at the same time God and
St. Peregrine was born in Italy in 1265.
By God's grace, with the help of St. Philip Peregrine began to place his
energies into good works and joined the Servants of Mary. While working
with the poor and the sick he imposed on himself a penance, Peregrine
would stand whenever possible, rather than sit. This led to varicose veins,
which caused the leg to deteriorate into an open running sore.
This was diagnosed as cancer. The wound became so obvious, odorous
and painful that the local surgeon scheduled surgery to amputate the leg.
The night before the operation he prayed before the image of the crucified
Christ in the priory chapter room. His prayer led him into a deep trance-like
sleep during which he envisioned the crucified Christ leaving the cross and
touching his cancerous leg. When Peregrine awakened from the trance of prayer,
he discovered the wound healed and the leg saved.
Legend has it that almost immediately after the
crucifixion of Jesus, his followers began to retrace
his steps to
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