By Jacobo Portillo, LC

In Psalm 69, we find in verse 21 this exclamation that can well refer to the Heart of Our Lord Jesus Christ: «I hope for compassion, and there is none; comforters, and I find none».

Similarly, the Sacred Heart of Jesus expressed this to Saint Margaret in the fourth revelation: «Behold this heart that has loved men so much, that receives nothing in return but ingratitude, both for their irreverences and sacrileges, and for the coldness and contempt with which they treat me in this Sacrament of love […] At least you love me».

To respond to this desire for correspondence, reparation, and atonement, the «Guard of Honor of the Sacred Heart» was established at the Monastery of the Visitation of Santa María de Bourg-en-Bresse (France), on March 13, 1863. What does this Guard consist of?

The first historical guard of honor had its origin at Calvary, its foundation in the Wound of Jesus’ Heart, its models in those surrounding the lonely Cross when that Heart was pierced by the lance: the Most Holy Virgin, Saint John, and Saint Magdalene. Since then, and this is what the Guard of Honor entails, thousands of people choose an hour a day to dedicate to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, while continuing with their usual obligations.

The composition of the presbytery of a legionary chapel is a sober representation of Calvary, and in it, «Christ crucified with the side opened by the lance, is for us the image of the Sacred Heart, which offers the world its redemptive love» (CVV 474).

Well then, knowing oneself as a Guard of Honor is meant to atone for and honor the Heart of Jesus, opened and pierced on the Cross by the soldier’s lance; a Heart alive and still wounded by sins, by the lack of love.

Every time a priest celebrates the Eucharist, he acts in persona Christi, especially at the moment of consecration, and in this sense, his identification with Him to honor and console Him cannot be greater. However, that is not all; immediately after the consecration, the priest acts as a true guardian of His Eucharistic Heart, guarding and honoring it in the paten and chalice. At those moments, the priest knows well that the Heart of Jesus seeks compassion and comfort; in the lips of the legionary, in his hands, and in his heart, the Lord can find it: thank you, legionary!

Every time a legionary places himself near the Tabernacle, in front of the crucifix, and close to Mary, he acts as Saint John the Evangelist, and thus, together with Mary, becomes a true Guard of Honor of the Sacred Heart. In this way, in his home, at school, in the Kingdom center, or before any tabernacle, even unconsciously, he becomes a guard of the honor of Jesus Christ, his Lord.

If, in addition, he dedicates and offers an hour each day to honor and repair the Heart of Jesus while carrying out his usual occupation, he will experience how this daily appointment with the Sacred Heart becomes a kind of window to heaven, which refreshes the soul with the grateful and generous presence of the Sacred Heart of Jesus truly satisfied in His desires for reciprocity. For this, a simple act suffices, an inward look, a dedication of that hour that effortlessly makes you a guardian, a soldier of His Heart, a custodian of the honor of Jesus Christ. That appointment, that daily look, that simple dedication and attention, become a great reward for the affection the guardian receives from his Lord; that is where one experiences that the «mystery of Christ, who gathers the apostles around Him and reveals to them the love of His heart,» is truly made present (CLC 4).

The experience of the hour of guard at the Heart of Jesus is a savoring, an intimate tasting of what our Constitutions’ number eleven proposes regarding the establishment of Christ’s Kingdom: «to let oneself be penetrated by Christ’s love for humanity, so that He may reign in the hearts of all men» (CLC 11).

Ultimately, when one knows oneself as a guard of the Heart of Jesus, one truly «finds the merciful love of God, which leads him to embrace the cross in his own life, to repair for sins, and to give himself to men» (CLC 9). And thus, what each legionary affirmed on the day of his consecration becomes a reality: «for the fulfillment of which I trust in the help of divine grace, in the infinite merits of the Heart of Jesus, and in the intercession of the Most Holy Virgin Mary and our holy patrons and protectors, whom I humbly invoke on this day» (CLC 95).

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