4-6 June 2026
This month’s triduum begins on the traditional feast of Corpus Christi, the first Thursday after the end of paschaltide. It is also the month of the Sacred Heart, and there is a very close link between these two feasts. Indeed, when Our Lord asked St Margaret Mary to have a feast instituted in honour of His Sacred Heart, He wanted it to be celebrated on the Friday after the Octave of Corpus Christi, thus going directly from the week-long feast of the Eucharistic Body of Christ straight into that of the Sacred Heart who is present in the Holy Eucharist. The feast of the Sacred Heart is primarily a Eucharistic feast.
But it is also a feast of reparation, designed, in the very mind of Our Blessed Lord, to make atonement for all the sins committed by the ingratitude of souls who make so light of God’s gifts that, even though they are invited to the heavenly banquet, they prefer to go to their worldly amusements. In His goodness, God in the flesh comes to dwell in our midst in order to be the companion of our exile and lead us to eternal life, but most people, even in the Church, remain indifferent to His presence. It’s as if God were not enough for them. As if worldly distractions were more worthy of our attention than the Triune God.
This is why we are called to offer penance as an expiation for these sins. One of the most powerful forms of penance is to actually spend substantial time – that we take away from our preferred pastimes – in Eucharistic adoration. Mind you, the Blessed Sacrament does not have to be exposed for this. One can adore Our Lord and keep Him company in the closed tabernacle. In some ways, this is a more humble and interior way of glorifying the Saviour who does not disdain to spend days and nights in churches where no one comes to visit Him. We are blessed to be able to go, in this way, offer some consolation to the Sacred Heart of our Blessed Lord. So let’s never underestimate the value of what we offer up nor the time spent in His presence. Nor is it primarily about how hard the penance, but rather about the greatness of the love with which it is offered.