Today, at the parish where we assisted at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the priest celebrant offered the Votive Mass for the Sacred Heart, no doubt because today is both an open liturgical day in the traditional rite, and also a First Friday. This votive Mass uses the propers of the Feast of the Sacred Heart, including its beautiful proper Preface.
Something about that Preface struck me this morning. Read it yourself and note the embolded words — especially those underlined:
It is truly meet and just, right and availing unto salvation, that we should in all times and in all places give thanks unto Thee, O holy Lord, Father almighty, and everlasting God; who didst will that Thine only begotten Son should be pierced by the soldier’s lance as He hung upon the Cross: that from His opened heart, as from a sanctuary of divine bounty, might be poured out upon us streams of mercy and grace [torréntes nobis fúnderet miseratiónis et grátiæ,]; and that in His heart always burning with love for us, the devout may find a haven of rest, and the penitent a refuge of salvation. And therefore with angels and archangels, with thrones and dominions, and with all the heavenly hosts, we sing a hymn to Thy glory, saying without ceasing….
The underlined words correspond, though in inverse order, to what Sister Lucy saw in a vision Our Lord granted her in Tuy, Spain.
According to Sister Lucy’s narration of that vision,
“Under the left arm (of the Cross), some big letters, as it were of crystal clear water running down over the Altar, formed these words: “Grace and Mercy.”
Note that the Preface for the Sacred Heart mentions “streams of mercy and grace,” and Sister Lucy speaks of these same words being formed, “as it were of crystal clear water running down over the Altar.”
Also, it is under the left arm of the Cross that Sister Lucy sees these words streaming down. That is, under that side of the Cross corresponding to where the Sacred Heart is in Our Lord’s body.
A beautiful concurrence of the traditional liturgy for the Sacred Heart and a heavenly revelation of the Immaculate Heart!
