Published on 15 April 2025
Example of preparation for a parish consecration
Parish of Viroflay, Yvelines, 27 June 2025
The purpose of this text is to share feedback on the preparation for the consecration of the parish of Viroflay with the parish of Maisons-Laffitte, with a view to the EAP meeting scheduled for 14 January 2025.
Background to the parish of Viroflay :
Since 2018: A number of parishioners in Viroflay are involved in promoting personal, family and national consecration, at the origin of the Civilisation of Love association, and have informed the parish priest of this commitment.
2020-2023 : The Heart of Jesus® Course was filmed in Viroflay and then tested, with the agreement of the parish priest, in the parish for comments, improvements and so on.
The parish priest had this consecration to the Heart of Jesus in his heart and supported the Civilisation of Love association in developing the Heart of Jesus® Course, in particular by allowing it to be tested in the parish.
Preparing to launch the consecration of the parish :
March 2024: Creation of a project team base (two couples to start with).
Creation of a WhatsApp group for parish priests + project team.
Public proposal to strengthen the project team.
Regular meetings before the summer of 2024 to prepare a draft pastoral plan for the consecration scheduled for 27 June 2025 (initially twice a month face-to-face, with the parish priest taking part about every other time).
Work on the "upward" (me => my family => my parish) and "downward" (my parish => my family => me) logics. By its very nature, a consecration of the parish invites a "top-down" approach where parishioners who are unfamiliar with the spirituality of the Heart of Jesus can discover the spirituality of the Heart of Jesus at both a family and personal level.
Official launch of the consecration of the parish :
Back-to-school Mass in the open air (over 1,000 people) with homily on the Heart of Jesus.
Creation of a web page dedicated to the consecration on the parish website.
Banner at the entrance to the main church:
Flyer describing the approach.
The jubilee was presented twice at the end of Mass, two or three weeks apart.
A 3-minute podcast was sent each month to the parish's WhatsApp group.
Proposals and presentations of educational tools to existing communities (pastoral council, parish council, Teams of Our Lady, evangelisation cells, catechism groups, scout groups, groups of fathers or mothers of families, family associations, pastoral groups, etc.).
Goodies offered to parishioners (e.g. magnets for fridge doors).
Reminder messages in Sunday newspapers.
Suggested itineraries for discovering the spirituality of the Heart of Jesus:
Mention of the consecration in the parish's Jubilee of Hope flyer:
Main common stages:
September 2024: Launch of the parish consecration at the back-to-school Mass.
Throughout the year: Regular incorporation of the spirituality of the Heart of Jesus into homilies.
October 2024: Conference on the Heart of Jesus at the Saint Jean Eudes school by the local bishop (Mgr Crepy, Eudist).
January 2025: Conference on the encyclical Dilexit Nos by a Jesuit (Father Régent, superior of the Jesuit community at the Lycée Sainte Geneviève in Versailles) and setting up Masses on the first Friday of each month.
Throughout the year :
Heart of Jesus® "discovery" course in 12 podcasts of 8 minutes available on :
The Paray-le-Monial shrine website.
YouPray.
8-step Heart of Jesus® journey video or podcast + booklet + sharing groups available on :
Three "deepening" Heart of Jesus® groups started at the beginning of the liturgical year at different times (not starting at the same time).
Numerous Heart of Jesus® "discovery" courses within parish fraternities.
- Three "deepening" Heart of Jesus® groups started at the beginning of the liturgical year at different times (not starting at the same time).
- Numerous Heart of Jesus® "discovery" courses within parish fraternities.
- Specific sale of encyclicals Dilexit Nos at the end of mass.
- Sales of books and goodies about the Sacré-Cœur at the end of conferences and Masses:
➊ Encyclical Dilexit Nos.
➋ Heart of Jesus® Journey booklets.
➌ Sacred Hearts in "decorative" metal that are easy to find.
➍ Making banners for the catechism mass and introducing the children to the spirituality of the Heart of Jesus (a way of portraying the love of Jesus).
April 2025 Visit of the relics of Saint Marguerite-Marie + conference on the message of Paray-le-Monial.
At the end of the 11am mass, once a month, the following services are offered:
➊ Consecration of people to the Heart of Jesus + blessings.
➋ Consecration of families to the Heart of Jesus + blessings.
Possibility of making an appointment with the parish priest or vicar to enthrone the Sacred Heart in homes (ritual available on p46 of the Heart of Jesus® Journey booklet).
- As far as possible, the project team contacts family after family.
- A word is said by the priest who celebrates Mass on Sundays when individuals and families come together to consecrate themselves.
-Messages are given by lay people at the end of Masses to propose consecrations at the end of Mass on the preceding Sunday and on the day itself, with a message to make it clear that there are no "prerequisites" or "things to do" other than wanting to live in the Love of Jesus and his Heart. In short, consecration is simple. Parents can decide to consecrate their families quite simply. For some, consecration may be the result of preparation, but it can also simply be a sending off that is a reason to deepen the spirituality of the Heart of Jesus.
Here is a proposal for a word to be said at the end of Mass to suggest personal and family consecrations :
"Personal and family consecrations: What are the conditions for each of these steps? None at all! Apart from the desire to be filled with God's love through the burning Heart of Jesus, and to respond as best you can with the help of his grace. It is gratifying to see the number of people who are interested in consecration to the Heart of Jesus, but it also requires a pedagogy. You will have noted that the parish will be consecrated on 27 June. To prepare, you can consecrate your family to the Heart of Jesus. It's a wonderful gift to consecrate your couple or family to the Sacred Heart. Graces know no borders.
➊ So why consecrate ourselves? Because it renews the graces of our baptism. It's great to come and shake the shaker so that our spiritual life will have more flavour, so that I can use all the graces of my baptism.
➋ Why consecrate yourself to the Heart of Jesus? Because it gathers up all God's love and we must immerse ourselves in it.
➌ How do you do it? Start with the consecration! This is the first plunge and later you can go deeper even if you haven't understood everything. There are more or less brief preparations, writings, videos etc. Where there's a will there's a way.
➍ What kind of commitment can be made after a consecration? What can be great is to pray the Sacred Heart of Jesus as a family with a very simple prayer for example "Heart of Jesus I trust in you".
➎ When should I consecrate myself? At the end of a Mass, for example [give date]. You come to the altar, sing a song of praise and then turn to Mary and then to Jesus and his heart. It's very simple. So don't hesitate! If you have any questions, we'll be with [so-and-so] at the exit of the church.
➏ The term 'consecration' can be misunderstood. Many parishioners think that consecration is that of ordained ministers and may have forgotten that they themselves are consecrated by baptism. Priests can therefore remind people of the logic of consecration. The baptised are consecrated by baptism and consecration to the Heart of Jesus is made on the sole basis of consecration at baptism. A reminder was given on the occasion of the feast of the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple (Lk2, 22-40) on Candlemas 2 February.
Conference by Father Daniel Régent, Jesuit, on the encyclical Dilexit Nos, in particular the anthropological dimension of the Heart in the Bible.
Article informing of the consecration of the parish distributed free of charge to the inhabitants of the commune of Viroflay (readership including many people who do not receive the sacraments regularly).
Communication on the parish WhatsApp group:
Consecration of families at the end of Mass:
Reception of the relics of Saint Margaret Mary in the parish with :
Welcome Mass in the morning.
Children from a Catholic school come to venerate the relics.
Mass, adoration and copnfessions.
Relocation of the relics to the La Source retirement home.
Veneration of the relics with catechism children.
Rosary.
Vigil of adoration and confessions, plus a lecture on Saint Margaret Mary.
Night of adoration at the relics.
Mass, adoration and confessions.
To request relics from the shrine of Paray-le-Monial, contact :
mission.reliques@sacrecoeur-paray.org:
