Sacred Heart Novena: 9 Days of Prayer to the Sacred Heart

A novena to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is nine days of prayer to the heart of Christ, which “has so loved men.” Catholics pray it before the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, on nine First Fridays, or at any time they need to place a person or a problem in the love of Jesus. In 2027 the feast falls on Friday, June 4, so the novena runs from May 26 to June 3.

This novena follows the heart of Jesus through the Gospels: each day has a short Scripture passage and reflection, followed by the consecration that Our Lord himself asked St. Margaret Mary Alacoque to spread, and the Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be.

How to pray the Sacred Heart novena

Make the Sign of the Cross and name your intention.
Read the Scripture for the day and the short reflection.
Pray St. Margaret Mary’s consecration (below).
Pray one Our Father, one Hail Mary and one Glory Be.
End with the invocation: “O Heart of love, I place all my trust in Thee.”

If you can, place a picture of the Sacred Heart where you pray. If you miss a day, simply continue.

The daily consecration of St. Margaret Mary

St. Margaret Mary called this her “little consecration” and wrote that it came from Our Lord himself. Pray it every day of the novena.

I, N., give and consecrate to the Sacred Heart of Our Lord Jesus Christ my person and my life, my actions, penances, and sufferings, that my whole being may be devoted to honoring, loving, and glorifying Him.

It is my irrevocable will to be entirely His, and to do everything for His love, renouncing with my whole heart whatever might displease Him.

I take Thee then, O most sacred Heart, as the sole object of my love, as the protector of my life, as the pledge of my salvation, as the remedy of my frailty and inconstancy, as the repairer of all the defects of my life, and as my secure refuge in the hour of death.

Be then, O Heart of goodness, my justification before God the Father, and remove far from me the thunderbolts of His just wrath, O Heart of love, I place my whole confidence in Thee. While I fear all things from my malice and frailty, I hope all things from Thy goodness. Consume then in me whatever can displease or be opposed to Thee, and may thy pure love be so deeply impressed upon my heart that it may be impossible that I should ever be separated from Thee, or forget Thee.

I implore Thee, by all Thy goodness, that my name may be written in Thee, for in Thee I wish to place all my happiness and all my glory, living and dying in very bondage to Thee. Amen.

Then pray the Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be, and the invocation:

O Heart of love, I place all my trust in Thee: for though I fear all things from my weakness, I hope all things from Thy mercies.

Day 1: “Come to me”

Come to me, all you that labour, and are burdened, and I will refresh you.
Take up my yoke upon you, and learn of me, because I am meek, and humble of heart: and you shall find rest to your souls.
For my yoke is sweet and my burden light.

Reflect: The only time Jesus describes his own heart, he calls it “meek and humble.” Bring him what wearies you. Pray the daily consecration.

Day 2: The heart opened for us

But after they were come to Jesus, when they saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs.
But one of the soldiers with a spear opened his side, and immediately there came out blood and water.

Reflect: From the pierced side of Christ flowed blood and water, which the Fathers of the Church saw as signs of the Eucharist and Baptism. The Church was born from his heart. Pray the daily consecration.

Day 3: The good shepherd

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd giveth his life for his sheep.

Reflect: The heart of Jesus is the heart of a shepherd who gives his life. Name the people you want him to watch over. Pray the daily consecration.

Day 4: The lost sheep

What man of you that hath an hundred sheep: and if he shall lose one of them, doth he not leave the ninety-nine in the desert, and go after that which was lost, until he find it?
And when he hath found it, lay it upon his shoulders, rejoicing:
And coming home, call together his friends and neighbours, saying to them: Rejoice with me, because I have found my sheep that was lost?
I say to you, that even so there shall be joy in heaven upon one sinner that doth penance, more than upon ninety-nine just who need not penance.

Reflect: Jesus does not wait for the lost to come back; he goes looking for them and carries them home on his shoulders. Pray for someone who has wandered from God. Pray the daily consecration.

Day 5: A new heart

And I will give you a new heart, and put a new spirit within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and will give you a heart of flesh.

Reflect: Devotion to the Sacred Heart is not only admiring Christ’s heart; it is asking him to change ours. Ask him to take away whatever has made your heart hard. Pray the daily consecration.

Day 6: God is love

And we have known, and have believed the charity, which God hath to us. God is charity: and he that abideth in charity, abideth in God, and God in him.

Reflect: Everything about the Sacred Heart comes back to this: God loves us first. Thank him for one concrete sign of his love today. Pray the daily consecration.

Day 7: Rivers of living water

And on the last, and great day of the festivity, Jesus stood and cried, saying: If any man thirst, let him come to me, and drink.
He that believeth in me, as the scripture saith, Out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

Reflect: Jesus promises that those who believe in him will become springs for others. Ask that his love may flow through you to your family and neighbors. Pray the daily consecration.

Day 8: He stands at the door

Behold, I stand at the gate, and knock. If any man shall hear my voice, and open to me the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

Reflect: The famous paintings of Christ knocking at a door with no handle on the outside illustrate this verse: he waits for us to open. Open one closed room of your life to him. Pray the daily consecration.

Day 9: Remain in my love

As the Father hath loved me, I also have loved you. Abide in my love.
If you keep my commandments, you shall abide in my love; as I also have kept my Father’s commandments, and do abide in his love.
These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and your joy may be filled.

Reflect: On the last day, give thanks and ask to remain in his love whatever the answer to your prayer. Pray the daily consecration, and then the Act of Consecration of Pope Leo XIII below.

The Act of Consecration to the Sacred Heart (Leo XIII)

In 1899 Pope Leo XIII consecrated the whole human race to the Sacred Heart and asked the faithful to use this prayer. It is often prayed on the feast of the Sacred Heart and when a family enthrones the Sacred Heart in their home.

Most sweet Jesus, Redeemer of the human race, look down upon us, humbly prostrate before Thy altar. We are Thine and Thine we wish to be; but to be more surely united with Thee, behold each one of us freely consecrates himself to-day to Thy most sacred Heart. Many, indeed, have never known Thee; many, too, despising Thy precepts, have rejected Thee. Have mercy on them all, most merciful Jesus, and draw them to Thy sacred Heart. Be Thou King, O Lord, not only of the faithful who have never forsaken Thee, but also of the prodigal children who have abandoned Thee; grant that they may quickly return to their Father’s house, lest they die of wretchedness and hunger. Be Thou King of those who are deceived by erroneous opinions, or whom discord keeps aloof, and call them back to the harbor of truth and unity of faith, so that soon there may be but one flock and one shepherd. Be Thou King also of all those who sit in the ancient superstition of the Gentiles, and refuse not Thou to deliver them out of darkness into the light and kingdom of God. Grant, O Lord, to Thy Church, assurance of freedom and immunity from harm; give peace and order to all nations, and make the earth resound from pole to pole with one cry: Praise to the divine Heart that wrought our salvation; to it be glory and honor forever. Amen.

A prayer in time of need

O most compassionate Jesus! Thou alone art our salvation, our life, and our resurrection. We implore Thee, therefore, do not forsake us in our needs and afflictions, but by the agony of Thy most sacred Heart, and by the sorrows of Thy immaculate Mother, succor Thy servants whom Thou hast redeemed by Thy most precious blood.

The twelve promises of the Sacred Heart

In her letters, St. Margaret Mary recorded promises Our Lord made to those devoted to his Sacred Heart. They are usually summarized as twelve. In plain words:

He will give them the graces they need in their state of life.
He will bring peace to their families.
He will comfort them in their troubles.
He will be their refuge in life and especially at death.
He will bless all their undertakings.
Sinners will find in his heart an ocean of mercy.
Lukewarm souls will become fervent.
Fervent souls will rise quickly to great perfection.
He will bless the homes where an image of his heart is displayed and honored.
He will give priests the grace to touch the hardest hearts.
Those who spread this devotion will have their names written in his heart.
To those who receive Holy Communion on nine consecutive First Fridays he promised the grace of final repentance.

The promises are not a formula that works automatically; they express the overflowing love of Christ for those who trust him.

When to pray the novena

Novena	Begin	End
Before the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart, 2027	Wednesday, May 26, 2027	Thursday, June 3 (the feast is Friday, June 4)
For a particular need	Any day	Nine days later
On First Fridays	The first Friday of nine consecutive months

The Solemnity of the Sacred Heart is the Friday after the Second Sunday after Pentecost, so its date changes each year. June is traditionally the month of the Sacred Heart.

Frequently asked questions

When is the feast of the Sacred Heart in 2027?

Friday, June 4, 2027. In 2028 it is June 23. See the liturgical calendar.

What are the First Fridays?

Receiving Holy Communion in a state of grace on the first Friday of nine consecutive months, in reparation and love for the Sacred Heart, as Our Lord asked St. Margaret Mary.

Who was St. Margaret Mary Alacoque?

A Visitation nun of Paray-le-Monial in France (1647–1690), to whom Jesus revealed his Sacred Heart between 1673 and 1675. Her feast is October 16. With her confessor, St. Claude de la Colombière, she spread the devotion that the whole Church later embraced.

What is the Efficacious Novena to the Sacred Heart?

A short novena that St. Padre Pio prayed every day for everyone who asked for his prayers. It repeats three of Jesus’ promises about prayer (asking, seeking and knocking) followed by the Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be. The novena on this page can be prayed alongside it.

What does the Church teach about the Sacred Heart?

That the heart of Jesus, pierced on the cross, is the great symbol of his love for the Father and for every person. Pope Francis devoted an encyclical to it, Dilexit Nos (2024).

More prayers to the Sacred Heart

Texts and sources

St. Margaret Mary’s consecration, the invocation “O Heart of love,” Leo XIII’s Act of Consecration and “O most compassionate Jesus”: F. X. Lasance, With God (1911), Various Devotions, public domain (Wikisource).
Scripture: Matthew 11:28–30; John 19:33–34; John 10:11; Luke 15:4–7; Ezechiel 36:26; 1 John 4:16; John 7:37–38; Apocalypse 3:20; John 15:9–11, Douay-Rheims Bible (Challoner), public domain.
The twelve promises are summarized in our own words from St. Margaret Mary’s letters.
Leo XIII, encyclical Annum Sacrum (1899); Francis, encyclical Dilexit Nos (2024).
The reflections were written for this page.