How does the spirituality of the Heart of Jesus inspire and energize the Pope's Worldwide Prayer Network today?
Preamble - The Pope's Worldwide Prayer Network was established as a pontifical work by Pope Francis in 2018, and then as a canonical and Vatican legal entity. In July 2024, Francis approved the definitive Statutes. It is composed of groups from the Apostleship of Prayer and the Eucharistic Youth Movement. It is entrusted by the Holy Father to the care of the Society of Jesus. We are present in 92 countries around the world, with a national organization and often diocesan structures. Many religious congregations are engaged with the Eucharistic Youth Movement or have even incorporated the Apostleship of Prayer as part of their charism (for example: The Servants of the Sacred Heart of Catherine Volpicelli). Our Prayer Network is primarily parish-based and grass-roots, and the spirituality of the Heart of Jesus is its spiritual source.
OUR MISSION
Introduction: The Gospel of the Paralytic
Do you remember the story of the paralyzed man whose friends, with a stretcher, managed, with great effort, to bring him through the roof of the house where Jesus was, and to lower him right in front of Him? (Luke 5:17-26) Do you recall what the paralyzed man said to the people to have them carry him before Jesus? Let’s take a moment to remember this story.
Did he ask them to bring him close to Jesus to hear Him or to be healed by Him? Or did he cry out, “Have mercy on me, Son of David”? He said nothing. He asked for nothing. In any case, the story does not mention it. Yet, the Gospels do not tell us that he was mute, but “paralyzed.” He could not move.
The Gospel of Luke tells us: “Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a stretcher,” and the evangelist Mark specifies: “a paralytic carried by four men.” Who are they? Are they friends, acquaintances of his? We do not know. But probably these people make the effort to carry him on the stretcher before Jesus, despite the crowd and the difficulties, uncovering the roof and lowering him down, because they think or believe that Jesus can do something for him, perhaps even heal him.
Why do I remind you of this story? Because it is our story. This is what we do every day in the Pope's Worldwide Prayer Network. Because we know Jesus, because we have experienced His love, His forgiveness, having been set free, healed, and even saved by Him, because we have experienced that meeting Jesus transforms life our life we also desire that others may encounter Him, especially all those who suffer, who are in darkness and desolation, those who are lonely and thirst for tenderness and love.
That is why every day we pray, we pray for people like this paralyzed individual, for those who ask nothing of us, who may not even know Jesus, but we pray for them, because the Church, through the intentions of the Pope, entrusts them to our prayers. We pray with perseverance, making ourselves available through the offering prayer, and like those who carry the stretcher, we lift in our prayers so many men, women, children, and the challenges of humanity! Through our prayers, we carry them “right in front of Jesus,” to the Heart of Jesus, so that He may draw near to their sufferings, embrace them in His tenderness, heal them, and save them. This is the mission of compassion that we live each day, which finds its source in the Heart of Jesus. Through our prayers, we bring the challenges of the world to Jesus, to His compassionate heart.
How does the spirituality of the Heart of Jesus inspire and energize the Pope's Worldwide Prayer Network today? It will be explained in three points:
1. The spiritual foundation of the Apostleship of Prayer, now the Worldwide Prayer Network, is the spirituality of the Heart of Jesus: The Devotion to the Heart of Jesus, a source of living water.
1.1. A Long History
1.2. The Sanctuary of the Heart of Jesus and the Apostleship of Prayer
1.3. Apostleship of Prayer, the Apostleship of the Heart of Jesus
2. How the Apostleship of Prayer has understood, embodied, and promoted the spirituality of the Heart of Jesus throughout its history: Close to the Heart of Jesus, available for His mission.
2.1. A context: the century of missions
2.2. The Spirituality of the Heart of Jesus from an apostolic perspective
2.3. An inner attitude of availability for the mission
2.4. A network of hearts united with the Heart of Jesus
3. How the renewal of this spirituality energizes our mission today, driving us toward a mission of compassion for humanity: The Way of the Heart, a mission of compassion for the world.
3.1. Our formation journey
3.2. The pillars of the Way of the Heart
3.3. The challenges of humanity and the mission of the Church
4. In conclusion
1. The Devotion to the Heart of Jesus, a source of living water
Historically, driven by the revelations received by Sister Margaret Mary Alacoque, the Jesuits have played a key role in promoting this spirituality, and the Apostleship of Prayer has been tasked with carrying out this mission.
That is why the spiritual foundation of the Apostleship of Prayer, which has become the Worldwide Prayer Network, is the spirituality of the Heart of Jesus. “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink,” says the Lord. “Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water” (John 7:37-38).
1.1 A Long History
The devotion1 to the Heart of Jesus has a long history. It has adapted over the centuries, becoming inculturated according to historical and cultural contexts, and manifesting itself in various forms and languages. Let us think of the “pierced heart of Jesus” in the Gospel of St. John, interpreted in medieval mysticism as the wound that reveals the depth of God’s love. Through this spirituality, our Father reveals to us in Jesus Christ the depth of the mystery of His Love.
Allow me to briefly present, as you already know them, the three most significant moments.
Here in Paray-le-Monial, in the 17th century, in a context of Jansenism and moral rigorism, the revelations of Christ “gentle and humble in heart” (Matthew 11:28-29) to Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque profoundly marked this devotion in the Catholic Church, as well as the worship of the Sacred Heart that followed.
The Apostleship of Prayer, which later emerged in France in the 19th century during the missionary flourishing of the Church, is part of this devotion to the Heart of Jesus, interpreting it from an apostolic perspective.
More recently, in the 20th century, Divine Mercy, highlighted by Saint Faustina Kowalska, continues this spiritual continuity with the devotion to the Heart of Jesus, emphasizing, in the face of the horrors of war, God’s merciful love for humanity.
The Holy Spirit seems to have inspired, throughout history, various new paths, notably through various religious congregations, to help Christians discover the full depth, width, and height of the revelation of God’s Love in Jesus Christ.
Let us take the time to consider the relationship between the devotion to the Heart of Jesus and Divine Mercy:
1 By devotion to the Heart of Jesus, we mean specific practices, prayers, and acts of veneration that express our love and respect for Jesus Christ. In contrast, the spirituality of the Heart of Jesus concerns how this devotion profoundly influences our daily lives. It integrates the essential values of Jesus, such as love, mercy, and compassion, and transforms the way we view the world and act as disciples of Jesus. Thus, spirituality includes devotion, but it also inspires an inner change and a new way of living
Remember the ten lepers who, according to the Gospel of Luke, encounter Jesus and cry out: “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” (Luke 17:13). These men, rejected by everyone, sick and desperate, call upon the name of Jesus, “Yeshua,” which means “God saves.” This cry is also a prayer, which the Christian East calls “the Jesus prayer,” and it is meant to be repeated endlessly: “Jesus, have mercy on us” or “Kyrie Eleison,” so that our hearts may be filled with His presence.
Jesus, in response to their call, following the Law of Moses (Book of Leviticus), asks them to go see the priests so that they can confirm their healing. Imagine these unfortunate lepers, even though they are not yet healed, setting out on their way, trusting solely in His word. The account tells us that along the way they were purified. They experienced the mercy of God, Divine Mercy.
One of them, seeing that he is healed, instead of continuing on his way and returning home, turns back to prostrate himself deeply at the feet of Jesus and give glory to God. This man, this outsider, whom everyone rejects, who has experienced the mercy of God, recognized the source of that mercy, the Heart of Jesus. All were healed, but only he, who recognized the source of the Heart of Jesus and came to prostrate himself and give thanks to God, is saved: “Get up! Go on your way; your faith has saved you” (Luke 17:19)
This account, in the light of the Gospel, speaks to us of the complementarity between the devotion to the Heart of Jesus and Divine Mercy. They are different ways of speaking about the same source: the height, the width, the depth of God’s Love manifested in Jesus Christ.
Throughout history, there have been various inculturations of this devotion, in various forms and languages, through which the Father reveals to us in Jesus the depth of the mystery of His Love. The Apostleship of Prayer is one such example.
The Magisterium of the Church also emphasizes the importance of the spirituality of the Heart of Jesus. This is reflected in the encyclicals on the Sacred Heart, such as that of Pope Pius XII in 1956, “Haurietes Aquas,” and “Dives in Misericordia” by Saint John Paul II. Furthermore, Pope Francis instituted a Jubilee of Mercy, affirming that “the Heart of Christ is the center of mercy.” It is natural that there are new languages, new ways of speaking about the same mystery of Love, since the Lord continues to act today as He did yesterday, opening new paths to awaken our hearts and communicate this good news to those who have eyes to see, ears to hear, and a heart to feel.
The Pope recently published an encyclical letter on the occasion of the Jubilee of the Heart of Jesus, which celebrates the 350th anniversary of the manifestation of the Heart of Jesus to Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque in 1673, the origin of the Feast of the Sacred Heart.
The Jubilee of the Heart of Jesus will conclude on June 27, 2025. At the opening of the Jubilee of the Heart of Jesus on December 27, 2023, the Sanctuary of Paray-le-Monial joined the Pope's Worldwide Prayer Network.
This is not surprising, given that the mission of the Pope's Worldwide Prayer Network, known as the Apostleship of Prayer, has special ties to Paray-le-Monial, the Sanctuary of the Heart of Jesus.
1.2 The Sanctuary of the Heart of Jesus and the Apostleship of Prayer
Short version:
Not only did Saint Claude La Colombière, a Jesuit, help Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque make known the depth of the mercy of the Heart of Jesus, but also, during her last vision (in 1688), recognized by the Church, the Lord entrusted the task of conveying the experience and understanding of the mystery of the Sacred Heart to the Sisters of the Visitation and the Fathers of the Society of Jesus.
Two hundred years later, the Society of Jesus officially accepted this “pleasant mission” (munus suavissimum) through Decree 46 of the 23rd General Congregation (1883) and subsequently entrusted it, through Decree 21 of the 26th Congregation (1915), to the Apostleship of Prayer, now known as the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network. Father PeterHans Kolvenbach, SJ, who served as Superior General of the Society of Jesus, states clearly: “It was in 1915 that the 26th General Congregation solemnly wished to link the promotion of devotion to the Heart of Jesus with the Apostleship of Prayer.” The Apostleship of Prayer is the privileged means chosen by the Society of Jesus to fulfill this mission. I mention this because this work, now a Pontifical Work known as the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network, has been entrusted by the Pope to the Society of Jesus.
Complete version:
The Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network, known as the Apostleship of Prayer, maintains a special connection with Paray-le-Monial, the Sanctuary of the Heart of Jesus. This is partly explained by the fact that the Apostleship of Prayer was founded by the Jesuits in 1844, and it was with the help of Saint Claude La Colombière, a Jesuit himself, that Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque was able to make known the depth of the mercy of the Heart of Jesus. Furthermore, as you know, during her last vision in 1688, recognized by the Church, the Lord entrusted the mission of conveying the experience and understanding of the mystery of the Sacred Heart to the Sisters of the Visitation and the Fathers of the Society of Jesus.
On July 2, 1688, on the feast of the Visitation, the Lord appeared one last time to Margaret Mary: “The Holy Virgin was on one side and Saint Francis de Sales on the other with the holy Father La Colombière. Turning to the good Father La Colombière, this mother of goodness said to him: “For you, faithful servant of my divine Son, you have a great share in this precious treasure; if it is given to the daughters of the Visitation to know and distribute it to others, it is reserved for the Fathers of your
Society to show and make known its usefulness and value so that it may be received with the respect and gratitude due to such a great gift.”
Two hundred years later, in 1883, the Society of Jesus officially accepted this “pleasant mission” (munus suavissimum) through Decree 46 of the 23rd General Congregation: “We declare that the Society of Jesus accepts and receives with an overflowing spirit of joy and gratitude the very sweet charge (munus suavissimum) entrusted to it by our Lord Jesus Christ to practice, promote, and propagate the devotion to His most divine Heart.” To carry out this mission, it was entrusted in 1915, during the 26th Congregation (Decree 21), to the Apostleship of Prayer.
“The Fathers of the 26th General Congregation, recalling the solemn declaration of the 23rd Congregation, where it was devoutly professed that ‘the Society of Jesus, with the greatest pleasure and deepest gratitude, accepts and assumes the very pleasant task entrusted to it by our Lord Jesus Christ to practice, develop, and spread devotion to His Divine Heart,’ and knowing from experience that the Apostleship of Prayer is a very good means of advancing this devotion, once again ratified, at the threshold of the centenary of the restoration of the Society, the great eagerness of the Society regarding all that concerns the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and expressed the fervent desire that all of our members, especially the Superiors, consider it personally and strongly recommended to them to develop and spread this pious Association of the Sacred Heart by all means at their disposal.”
1.3 Apostleship of Prayer, the Apostleship of the Heart of Jesus
Beginning in the late 20th century, the Society of Jesus initiated a renewal of the spirituality of the Heart of Jesus, while seeking to refound the Apostleship of Prayer.
Subsequently, on June 9, 1972, Father Pedro Arrupe, SJ, Superior General of the Society of Jesus (1907-1991), one hundred years after Father Beckx, SJ, consecrated the Society to the Heart of Christ. In a letter sent to all Jesuits, he said:
“Overcoming the psychological obstacles that the external forms of this devotion may present, the Jesuit should revitalize it through the solid and virile Christocentric spirituality of the Exercises, which, through their integral Christocentrism and leading to the total offering of oneself, prepare us to ‘feel’ the love of the Heart of Christ as the point of unity of the entire Gospel. The life of the Jesuit is perfectly unified in responding to the call of the eternal King in this ‘Take, Lord, and receive,’ from the Contemplation to attain love that crowns the Exercises. Living this response and offering will be for each of us and for the entire Society the true realization of the spirit of consecration to the Heart of Christ, in the Ignatian manner.
It is by living intensely the spirit of the Exercises that the commitment to live and offer our prayer and work in union with the Heart of Christ emerges as an inevitable apostolic urgency, thus realizing an existence intimately centered on Christ and on the Church. The Apostleship of Prayer has vivified and continues to vivify the priestly perspective of so many Christian lives, enabling them to be fulfilled in the Eucharistic offering of Christ and in the consecration of the world to God (Lumen Gentium 34). This means of the Apostleship of Prayer, which has greatly helped the people of God, can today, validly renewed and adapted, provide a new and increased service, especially as there is such a need to create apostolic prayer groups and serious spiritual commitment.”
Forgive me for the length of the quote, but what Father Pedro Arrupe, SJ, says allows us to understand well how he envisioned the mission of the Apostleship of Prayer, linked to the spirituality of the Heart of Jesus and its renewal.
Pope John Paul II, in 1986, confirmed the Society of Jesus in the mission it received from Christ Himself to spread devotion to His divine Heart, as well as in the privileged means it chose to accomplish this mission, namely the Apostleship of Prayer.
“For these reasons, I earnestly desire that you continue through persevering action the spread of the true worship of the Heart of Christ, and that you be always ready to provide effective assistance to my brothers in the episcopate in promoting this worship everywhere, taking care to find the most suitable means to present and practice it, so that today’s man, with his own mentality and sensitivity, may discover the true answer to his questions and expectations
Just as last year, on the occasion of the Congress of the Apostleship of Prayer, I particularly entrusted this Work closely linked to devotion to the Sacred Heart to you, today, during my pilgrimage to Paray-le-Monial, I ask you to make every possible effort to fulfill ever better the mission that Christ Himself has entrusted to you, the spread of the worship of His divine Heart.”
The Superiors General of the Society of Jesus have responded to this call with a long-term commitment. First, Father Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, SJ (1983-2008) himself, as evidenced by a book compiling some of his speeches and homilies on the Heart of Christ: “A Most Pleasant Mission” (1988). He emphasized that the Society of Jesus, since 1915, wanted to “solemnly link promotion of devotion to the Heart of Jesus to the Apostleship of Prayer” (p.37). He sought, during his generalate, to renew the Apostleship of Prayer.
Next, Father Adolfo Nicolás, SJ, Superior General from 2008 to 2016, who promoted the recreation of the Apostleship of Prayer and thus the updating of its spiritual foundation, the devotion to the Heart of Christ.
Finally, Father Arturo Sosa, SJ, the current Superior General of the Society of Jesus, who, like his predecessors, supports this work, renewed the consecration of the Society to the Heart of Jesus on July 31, 2022, the feast of St. Ignatius.
It is therefore not surprising that the Apostleship of Prayer, now known as the Pope's Worldwide Prayer Network, a Pontifical Work entrusted to the Society of Jesus, has as its spiritual foundation the spirituality of the Heart of Jesus.
What we will now see is how the Apostleship of Prayer has interpreted, embodied, and promoted devotion to the Heart of Jesus, and then we will look at how it proposes this spirituality today. As I mentioned, the Apostleship of Prayer is one of the incarnations of this spirituality, so we must be particularly attentive to the historical context in which this apostolate was born
2. Close to the Heart of Jesus, available for His mission
2.1 A context: the century of missions
This is the context in which the Apostleship of Prayer was born, and why, throughout its 180 years, this ecclesial service has deepened its devotion to the Heart of Jesus, which is its spiritual foundation.
The Apostleship of Prayer finds its roots in the intuition of a French Jesuit, Father FrançoisXavier Gautrelet. It was on December 3, 1844, the feast day of Saint Francis Xavier, that this story truly begins.
In the vibrant context of the 19th century, the era of the great missions, Father Gautrelet faced a particular challenge. At the formation house in Vals-près-le-Puy, he observed the young Jesuits in training, enthusiastic about the stories of their missionary confreres returning from distant lands, particularly from Madurai in southern India. This enthusiasm, while commendable, threatened to distract these young men from their immediate studies.
It was then that he had an inspiration that would change their spiritual lives. He said to them:
“Be missionaries already through your prayer, through the offering of your daily life. Your mission is here, in your studies and in the simple things of each day. By fulfilling it with a willingness to do God’s will, you are already apostles who help the whole Church. Pray for the men and women you will meet tomorrow.”
This simple yet profound proposition immediately resonated with the desire of these young Jesuits, who wished to go out and proclaim the Gospel to the ends of the earth. It offered them a concrete way to participate in Christ's mission right away while continuing their formation, deepening their availability. This spiritual intuition was not limited to the walls of the seminary; it found an echo among many laypeople eager to contribute to the missionary momentum of the time.
Five years later, in 1849, Father Gautrelet formalized this intuition by officially founding the Apostleship of Prayer in Toulouse. This initiative is part of a broader context of spiritual renewal in France, notably marked by a remarkable rise in devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
With the arrival of Father Henri Ramière, SJ (1821-1884), who had been a student of Father Gautrelet and became his successor in leading the Apostleship of Prayer, the work truly took flight. Ramière, a brilliant theologian and prolific writer, played a crucial role in deepening and systematizing the connection between the Apostleship of Prayer and devotion to the Heart of Jesus.
2.2 The Spirituality of the Heart of Jesus from an apostolic perspective
In 1861, Father Henri Ramière, SJ, launched the publication of the "Messenger of the Heart of Jesus," a magazine that quickly spread worldwide, reaching a network of over 13 million members. He clearly articulated the mission of the Apostleship of Prayer in relation to devotion to the Heart of Jesus, adopting a resolutely missionary perspective. His approach transformed a personal devotion into a genuine apostolate, touching millions of people.
As evident in his first book, Father Ramière had to employ all his spiritual intelligence and writing gift to convince the members of the Apostleship of Prayer that their experience was rooted in the spirituality of the Heart of Jesus. Indeed, devotion to the Sacred Heart was already widespread among French Catholics in the 19th century. However, it was often associated with many Confraternities that had practices and requirements which could pose challenges to the members of the Apostleship of Prayer. While distancing himself from some of these traditional practices, Father Ramière successfully renewed this spirituality by demonstrating how the Apostleship of Prayer fit into the devotion to the Heart of Jesus in a more accessible and universal way.
Today, he can be considered the second founder of the Apostleship of Prayer, having infused it with new dynamism by interpreting the spirituality of the Heart of Jesus in light of the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius of Loyola.
The Apostleship of Prayer itself has been marked since its inception by the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius, as François-Xavier Gautrelet, SJ, was a Jesuit formator. The offering prayer, for example, a central element of the Apostleship of Prayer since its beginnings, is inspired by the apostolic dynamic proposed by the meditation on the call of the "Eternal King" in the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius ("Here I am, Lord" - Exercises No. 91), which leads to personal offering ("Take, Lord, and receive..." - Exercises No. 234).
Father Henri Ramière, SJ, formally integrated the Apostleship of Prayer, with a clear Christological and spiritual approach, into the dynamic of the Heart of Jesus. He deepened the intuition of its beginnings. The offering prayer is thus not only linked to the offering of studies, work, and activities, but is also connected to an intention of prayer for the mission of the Church, an intercessory prayer united with the Heart of Jesus
Moreover, in the publication of the Messenger of the Heart of Jesus, he began to invite people to pray for the intentions of the Heart of Jesus. A major turning point occurred in 1879 when prayer intentions were formulated each month by the Pope (Leo XIII) and entrusted to the Apostleship of Prayer. Ramière then demonstrated that this prayer is apostolic and open to
the world, and that through the offering prayer, the faithful unite with the Heart of Jesus in service to His mission.
When Father Henri Ramière, SJ, speaks of the "social reign of Christ," he refers to the idea that the prayer and action of believers should contribute to embodying Christian values in all spheres of society. This is much more than mere individual piety; it means engaging, in the name of faith in Jesus Christ, with the concrete challenges of our world: social justice, solidarity, peace, and respect for human dignity.
He proposes a true collaboration in the Reign of Christ, seeking to unite Catholics worldwide in an apostolic prayer that "His Kingdom come!" This vision was presented in his book on the Apostleship of Prayer in 1861, where he described a network of intercession serving the mission of the Church
By clearly embedding the daily offering within an apostolic perspective, Ramière simultaneously created a network of prayer united with the Heart of Jesus.
2.3 An inner attitude of availability for the mission
At the same time that Father Henri Ramière, SJ, clearly embeds the daily offering, united with the Heart of Christ, within an apostolic perspective, he shows that it is not only prayer that is apostolic or missionary, but our entire life. What he calls "prayer and zeal" (meaning attentiveness, diligence, commitment), we today call "prayer and action," because true prayer prepares us for action; it opens us to others and to the world. Through the offering prayer, we make ourselves available for the mission of Christ.
This is why, when we wrote down the fruit of four years of global consultations and discernment for the recreation of the Apostleship of Prayer, we titled the document: "A Pathway with Jesus in Apostolic Readiness" (2014). Indeed, the daily offering prayer, united with a prayer intention, leads us to this inner attitude of availability for the mission.
A brief aside: I mentioned the process of recreating the Apostleship of Prayer, initiated in 2009, and re-founded as the World Network of Prayer of the Pope. Allow me to share an anecdote. When Father Adolfo Nicolás, SJ, requested the initiation of this recreation, we undertook a diagnosis of this ecclesial service worldwide, seeking to understand what its core was.
Obviously, the spirituality of the Heart of Jesus is its spiritual foundation. For many years, many came to draw from this well to replenish themselves with its living and fresh water, like the "spring of water welling up for eternal life" that Jesus speaks of to the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well (Gospel of Saint John, chap. 4, 1-30). However, we noticed that after so many years, in many places, the well had become difficult to access for the majority. It was as if hidden in the midst of a dense forest, overgrown with bushes and winding paths, known only to a few faithful. They kept the lamp lit, but for most, the path was indecipherable, the language misunderstood, the treasure invisible.
Many of you are among those faithful who, with the lamp lit, have long known the way. With the recreation of the Apostleship of Prayer, we wished, aided by the Spirit of the Lord, to open paths, mark milestones, place signs, and provide compasses so that everyone could easily find the well of living water, the source of the Heart of Jesus, as the tradition of the Apostleship of Prayer has passed down to us
The daily offering prayer opens us to an attitude of inner availability for the mission, which translates into openness of heart and docility to the Spirit of the Lord. It springs from a profound personal love for Jesus Christ, which is rooted in the dynamic of the Heart of Jesus.
2.4 A network of hearts united with the Heart of Jesus
Father Ramière synthesizes the Apostleship of Prayer in three characteristics: "prayer, as a means of universal action"; "association, as a necessary condition for the effectiveness of prayer"; "union with the Heart of Jesus, as the source of life of association." To say, as he does, that the Apostleship of Prayer is the "Holy League of Christian Hearts united with the Heart of Jesus" is to use the current expression "A Network of Hearts United with the Heart of Jesus."
In many parishes around the world, our banners display on one side "Apostleship of Prayer" and on the other "League of the Heart of Jesus." This is how this apostolate has long been designated, as evidenced by the admission ticket signed at the age of 12 (1885) by Thérèse Martin, future Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, who learned to pray in the Apostleship of Prayer with her parents, who were also members.
This network of hearts has today become the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network, to whom the Holy Father entrusts his prayer intentions, which allow us to know the challenges facing humanity and the mission of the Church. These challenges are the fruit of his prayerful discernment of universal scope and embody the intentions of the Heart of Jesus. The offering prayer is guided by the Pope's monthly prayer intention, where he invites us to engage through prayer and action. Being part of this network of prayer leads us to make ourselves available for Christ's mission of compassion for the world.
We have seen how the Apostleship of Prayer has understood, embodied, and promoted the spirituality of the Heart of Jesus throughout its history. Now we will see how, over the past fifteen years (2010-2024), we have renewed this spirituality, presenting the spiritual treasure of the Apostleship of Prayer in light of the Spiritual Exercises, in a journey we have called The Way of the Heart.
3. The Way of the Heart, a mission of compassion for the world
No one is convinced that Christ is good news through speeches, treatises, or documents. When someone encounters Him personally, everything changes. There are experiences that transform our lives. The Way of the Heart is one of them
The Way of the Heart updates the devotion to the Heart of Christ within an apostolic perspective and coherently presents the treasure of the Apostleship of Prayer in light of the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius of Loyola. This way aims to lead our hearts toward the Heart of Jesus, to harmonize with Him and make ourselves available for His mission of compassion for the world.
Let me share a personal experience. When my Provincial asked me in 2007 to re-found the Apostleship of Prayer in France, which had practically disappeared, he told me that this mission concerned the Pope's prayer intentions and the devotion to the Heart of Jesus. Then, he advised me to draw on my experience of the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius. At first, it was a shock because, at that time, I had a negative image of everything related to the Sacred Heart, its Sulpician images, and the language of another century that did not resonate with me. I had no desire to take on this mission. But I discovered that the experience of the Spiritual Exercises I had just lived through during 30 days of prayer and silence had revealed to me the height, depth, and breadth of God's Love manifested in Jesus Christ. I had grown in an inner knowledge of Christ, with a great desire to love Him and follow Him more closely, and to attain Love (Ad Amorem) in communion with all Creation, as Saint Ignatius invites us to do. I then realized that this experience, even though Saint Ignatius did not use the vocabulary of the Heart of Jesus, corresponded to this spiritual treasure that had been expressed in the history of the Church in multiple ways. This helped me not to cling to the forms, languages, and practices, which can change, but to focus on the essential, the Heart of Jesus, which is faithful and does not change. When I became the international director, I always kept this experience in mind so that, together with the various teams around the world, we could find languages and paths that resonate with new generations today, according to different cultures, so that the spiritual treasure of the Apostleship of Prayer would be known.
Traveling to over 70 countries, I discovered generous men and women, faithful to the Heart of Jesus, who, invisible to the eyes of the world, continue day and night, in prayer, to keep the lamp lit until the "Kingdom of Christ comes," as we ask in the Our Father. Whether here in the Northeast of Brazil, in Mexico among the indigenous people, or in North Kivu in Eastern Congo, or in Mozambique, Madagascar, the Philippines, and many other places, I have encountered groups of the Apostleship of Prayer who prayed with all their hearts for the Pope's prayer intentions, united with the Heart of Jesus. In these places, where they often had only their hearts and hands to pray, the risen Lord made His presence evident. This light has supported and inspired us so that this spiritual treasure can also reach the younger generation, particularly through the EYM. This treasure is what we present today within the framework of a spiritual journey called The Way of the Heart. The Way of the Heart
brings us closer to the Heart of Christ, making us available for His mission, a mission of compassion for the world
3.1 Our formation journey
The spirituality of the Heart of Jesus is the spiritual foundation of our mission. The Way of the Heart is our specific way of living it, which is why it is our formation journey. It invites us, in nine steps corresponding to the nine first Fridays of the month, to make ourselves available for the mission of the Church, a mission of compassion for the world. Nine months, because it is a birth, drawing us closer to the Heart of Jesus, to be born to the life of the Spirit.
The Way of the Heart helps us perceive the challenges of the world through the eyes of Jesus Christ, so that we can mobilize each month, in docility to the Holy Spirit, through prayer and service. United with the Heart of Christ, we perceive His joys and sufferings for the world. The Way of the Heart thus leads us to commit ourselves with Him, drawing close to His Heart, to face the challenges of humanity and the mission of the Church, as formulated by the Pope's prayer intentions each month. It transforms us each day more into apostles of prayer, helping us to break free from the globalization of indifference, by expanding our hearts to a mission of compassion for the world.
This formation program guides our mission. It is the fruit of over ten years of teamwork on an international scale, maturation in prayer, and various experiences within the framework of spiritual retreats. The nine steps of The Way of the Heart, which we call "steps," because it is a journey to be taken, are part of the process of availability for the mission proposed by Pope Francis in the encyclical Evangelii Gaudium, "The Joy of the Gospel." Each of the nine steps of The Way of the Heart consists of nine distinct entries: a Compass to guide the STEP, a Frame of Reference, an internal dynamic, a biblical perspective, a faith perspective, a spiritual perspective, words from the Pope, a prayer perspective, and finally, an Exercise. Eleven books have been published in several languages. While these books can be read and meditated upon, they primarily serve as toolkits for spiritual guides who offer The Way of the Heart. This approach is primarily a spiritual experience that is lived personally and with others in the context of a spiritual retreat.
There are many ways to present The Way of the Heart; however, when we pay attention to the personal spiritual process of each individual, following the pedagogy we propose through the various "steps" of this journey, we discover that this itinerary truly transforms people, regardless of their countries, cultures, or ecclesial contexts. This is not surprising given the coherence of its content and the fact that it is an adaptation of the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius. It not only prepares individuals for a personal experience of encounter with Christ and a mission of compassion for the world, but also offers a new catechetical approach and, through its pedagogy, a way of living and celebrating in the Church. It is indeed marked by a synodal ecclesiology, serving a common mission, as clearly invited by this month of October's prayer intention: "Let us pray that the Church continues to support, in every possible way, a synodal lifestyle, under the sign of co-responsibility, fostering participation, communion, and shared mission among priests, religious, and laypeople."
The Statutes of the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network remind us of this (Art. 4). Through The Way of the Heart, “the missionary vocation of the baptized awakens, allowing them to collaborate in their daily life with the mission that the Father entrusted to His Son…” “The Way of the Heart, this structured spiritual itinerary pedagogically designed, aims for an identification with the thought, will, and projects of Jesus. Thus, the baptized individual is enabled to welcome and serve the Kingdom of God, motivated by compassion in the style of the Son of God. This path makes them available for the mission of the Church.” (Art. 5)
Pope Francis, by instituting the Apostolate of Prayer as the Worldwide Prayer Network, as a pontifical work, has confirmed and deepened its fundamental mission. On the occasion of the 175th anniversary of the work, he highlighted an essential dimension of its spiritual foundation: compassion for the world.
In June 2019, Pope Francis declared: “On this day of the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, it is good to remind ourselves of the foundation of our mission. It is a mission of compassion for the world, a ‘way of the heart,’ one might say, that is, an itinerary of prayer that transforms the lives of people. The Heart of Christ is so great that it desires to welcome us all into the revolution of tenderness. The closeness of the Lord’s Heart urges our hearts to approach our brothers and sisters with love and helps us enter into this compassion for the world. We are called to be witnesses and messengers of God’s mercy, to offer the world a perspective of light where there is darkness, hope where despair reigns, and salvation where sin abounds. Entering into prayer means entering with my heart into the Heart of Jesus, making a journey in the Heart of Jesus, experiencing what Jesus feels, the feelings of compassion of Jesus, and also making a journey in my heart to change my heart, in this relationship with the Heart of Jesus.
It is worth recalling here the encyclical letter “Dilexit nos” (“He Loved Us,” Romans 8:37), published by Pope Francis in October 2024, which offers a reflection on the human and divine love of the Heart of Jesus Christ. It provides a theological, biblical, and mystical reading of the spirituality of the Heart of Jesus, naturally fitting into Pope Francis’s pastoral vision. This encyclical aims to renew the understanding and interpretation of the devotion to the Heart of Jesus for our time. The criteria for discernment and interpretation it presents have been applied in recent years to the renewal of the spirituality of the Heart of Jesus within the Pope’s Prayer Network. This renewal is inspired by the apostolic dynamic introduced at the beginning of the Apostolate of Prayer by Father Henri Ramière, SJ, and illuminated by the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius.
One day, Pope Francis said that the spirituality of the Heart of Jesus was an antidote to Gnosticism and Pelagianism, two temptations of our time, which he discusses in Gaudete et Exsultate. On one hand, in the face of Pelagianism, it emphasizes the gratuitousness of God’s love and our dependence on His mercy, reminding us that our salvation is a gift, not something we merit. The Heart of Jesus is the source of this grace, an invitation to make ourselves docile to the Spirit of the Lord rather than relying on our own strength. On the other hand, in the face of Gnosticism, it reminds us of God’s incarnate love in Jesus Christ, thus preventing us from having a purely intellectual understanding of faith. Furthermore, this spirituality teaches
us that the knowledge of God’s love comes through the heart, through experience and relationship, rather than through pure intellectual speculation.
The closer we are to the Heart of Jesus, the more we perceive His joys and sufferings for the men, women, and children of this world; and we recognize His presence, today as yesterday, at work in the world. The closer we are to the Heart of Jesus, the less indifferent we are to what surrounds us, but rather eager to engage with Jesus Christ at the heart of the world, in service of His mission of compassion.
3.2 The pillars of the Way of the Heart
The Way of the Heart leads us to the Heart of Jesus, to know Him intimately, and for this, it relies on two pillars: prayer in the light of the Gospel and spiritual reflection
Listening to the Lord, remaining in His Word (John 15), is the foundation of the Way of the Heart. How can I know the heart of the Lord if I do not sit at His feet to listen? (Luke 10:3842). Throughout the nine steps of the Way of the Heart, I am invited to become a friend of Jesus, to listen to Him, to watch Him act, to be with Him during the day, and to keep watch with Him during the night, until I know His heart and commit myself to Him. Only the Gospel reveals who Jesus Christ is. The Gospel is the Heart of Jesus
The Way of the Heart helps us perceive the challenges of humanity and the mission of the Church through the eyes of Jesus Christ, so that we may mobilize each month, in docility to the Holy Spirit, through prayer and service. It helps us align our hearts with the Heart of Christ. The disciple whom Jesus loved most, the one who knew the Heart of Jesus best, who leaned against Him (John 13:23), was also the first to recognize the risen Jesus on the shore of the Sea of Galilee (John 21:7). Only one who loves recognizes the beloved.
Father Pedro Arrupe SJ, the Superior General of the Society of Jesus, left a prayer that reflects his commitment to following Jesus in His way of acting. His life was centered on the Heart of Jesus. Here is an excerpt that shows how contemplating Jesus in the Gospel helps us know His heart:
“Lord, while meditating on ‘our way of acting,’ I discovered that the ideal of our way of acting was Your way of acting. Give me this sensus Christi that makes me feel with the sentiments of Your heart, which are fundamentally love for Your Father and love for all men. Teach me to be compassionate toward those who suffer, the poor, the blind, the lame, and the lepers.
Teach me Your way of looking at people, as You looked at Peter after his denial, as You penetrated the fears of the rich young man and the hearts of Your disciples. I would like to know You as You truly are, for Your image transforms those with whom You come into contact. (…)”
By remaining in the word of Jesus, by consuming it to assimilate it, it is He who dwells in us and enables us to recognize His presence in our lives. “Those whom love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them” (John 14:23). “Abide in me, abide in my love,” He also says.
That is why, in addition to the meditation and contemplation of the Holy Scriptures, we invite everyone to practice daily reflection, also known as the Examen, which is a way to recognize the presence of the Lord in our lives. It is this daily reflection that helps us align our hearts with the Heart of the Lord, to recognize what opens us to “life in abundance” (John 15) and to dismiss what leads us down paths of death where the enemy of human nature, as Saint Ignatius refers to Satan, the adversary, seeks to lead us astray. For The Way of the Heart is also a path of spiritual combat to avoid the traps of the enemy and to allow ourselves to be transformed by Christ as missionary disciples, in service of His mission of compassion for the world.
In Book 8 of the Way of the Heart, titled “A Mission of Compassion,” we clarify the meanings of the terms “compassion,” “pity,” and “mercy,” which are found in the Bible. These terms translate a Greek word that expresses the feeling of another's suffering and being moved by love to act in their favor. It is a movement that comes from within, from the “innards,” from the “mother’s womb,” from the “heart.” This is what we see in Jesus. We must always return to Him. We are told repeatedly that He is moved with compassion when He sees the crowds, the sick, the blind, and the lepers, the man possessed from the region of the Gerasenes, or the widow of Nain who has lost her only son. Jesus has this ability to let himself be deeply touched by others, and what He feels becomes a decision, mobilizing Him internally to act. What He experiences is also what He teaches; the parable of the Good Samaritan is significant in this regard: “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy” (Matthew 5:7).
I cannot present here the Way of the Heart that leads to compassion for the world, in service of Christ's mission, because it is primarily a spiritual experience. If your heart remains in the Heart of Jesus, that is, if you abide in His Word and allow yourself to be encountered by Him in the sacraments of the Church, you will know Him. Some remain on the surface of their lives, like one who would stay on the surface of the ocean, amidst the noise and waves, the foam and winds, but one who dwells in the depths, in the silence of the heart, recognizes the presence of the Lord (John 21).
At the center of the Way of the Heart is the Eucharist, where the Lord gives Himself to us to impart His capacity to love and awaken our hearts to His mission of compassion. “This is my body. This is my blood.” Everything is there. He invites us in turn to enter into this Eucharistic life.
If the spirituality of the Heart of Jesus does not change our lives, it is in vain. There is no point in gathering for so many First Fridays of the month, so many Masses of the Sacred Heart, so many adorations and rosaries, if Jesus is not at the heart of our lives. We are then like brass that resounds in emptiness, as Saint Paul tells us (1 Corinthians 13):
“I may be a prophet, I may have all the knowledge of mysteries and all the knowledge of God, I may have all the faith to move mountains, but if I lack [the Heart of Jesus], I am nothing.
I may give away all my possessions to the hungry, I may even be burned alive, but if I lack [the Heart of Jesus], it is of no use to me.
[The Heart of Jesus] is patient; it serves; it does not envy; it does not boast, it is not proud; it does not act improperly; it does not seek its own interests; it is not easily angered; it keeps no record of wrongs; it does not rejoice in what is unjust, but finds joy in what is true; it bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. [The Heart of Jesus] will never pass away.”
The spirituality of the Heart of Jesus leads us to know the height, width, length, and depth of the Love of God manifested in Jesus Christ. Living according to the lifestyle of Jesus and allowing ourselves to be transformed by His love means placing compassion for others and for the world at the heart of our lives. The Way of the Heart introduces us to this.
3.3 The challenges of humanity and the mission of the Church
What the Way of the Heart proposes, our specific way of living the devotion to the Heart of Jesus, is a mission of compassion for the world, by being attentive to the challenges of humanity and the mission of the Church. Pope Francis offers us, in the encyclical Fratelli Tutti, a concrete way to live compassion today
In this context, compassion is synonymous with fraternity, encompassing the multiple dimensions that Francis refers to in his writings. A glance at the monthly and weekly prayer intentions that the Pope entrusts to the entire Church, as well as the various themes addressed in Fratelli Tutti, shows how compassion is linked not only to the contemplation of our own reality but also to fraternity lived out daily. Pope Francis dedicates an entire chapter to the actions of the Good Samaritan, which urges us to move beyond indifference and reach out to others, embodying concrete forms of living fraternity and the mission of compassion for the world.
“Compassion is not just a feeling, but a decision, a criterion for action, a way of acting, being, and looking at the world, as we see in the story of the Good Samaritan,” STEP 8 of the Way of the Heart tells us.
It is to this compassion that we are called when the Pope entrusts us each month with his prayer intentions, which address the challenges of humanity and invite us to pray and take concrete action. That is why we also produce The Pope Video each month, through which Pope Francis invites us to pray and mobilize our lives in response to the challenges of the world.
Therefore, in Click To Pray, each month we offer you a way to embody this mission entrusted to us by the Pope in our daily lives, in the form of attitudes. Click To Pray invites us to embody this prayer intention in our lives and communities by “being open to a mission shared with
others,” by “promoting and supporting the participation of all,” by “fostering listening and discernment,” while adopting “a synodal lifestyle.”
4. In conclusion
The Way of the Heart offers a personal and communal experience of encountering Christ that brings our hearts closer to His Heart, awakening in us the desire to serve His mission of compassion for the world. This spiritual journey presents, in a coherent and articulated manner, the spiritual treasure of the Apostleship of Prayer in light of the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius. It applies the criteria for discernment and interpretation offered by Pope Francis in the encyclical letter Dilexit nos (“He Loved Us,” Romans 8:37), which renews the spirituality of the Heart of Jesus.
Speaking of a “mission of compassion for the world” summarizes the mission of the Pope's Worldwide Prayer Network:
• Mission: It is about helping to make ourselves available to the mission of Christ.
The offering prayer fits into this dynamic; it is an attitude of apostolic availability. It awakens our desire for the mission, to live it in the style of Christ.
This implies seeing Him, hearing Him, and desiring to align our hearts with His Heart. In a way, this evokes the entire journey of preparation and opening of the heart that takes place over the first three steps of the Way of the Heart, leading to the meditation on the Kingdom in the Spiritual Exercises, to hear the call of the Lord and respond with generosity
• Compassion: Compassion speaks to us of the Heart of Jesus.
Our mission and our apostolic availability are rooted in this personal experience of encountering Christ, bringing our hearts close to that of Jesus.
Our closeness to His heart makes us sensitive to His joy and His suffering for the world, to His compassion for humanity. Here, we have schematically the next three steps of the Way of the Heart, which are found in the middle of the journey, in the deepest and most intimate part of our relationship with Christ.
• For the world: The prayer intentions of the universal Church.
This mission of compassion is for the world, for the challenges of humanity and the mission of the Church, expressed through the Pope's prayer intentions. These prayer intentions are the compass of our mission; they guide our lives and our commitment within the Church. They embody this mission of compassion.
In a way, here we connect with the last three steps of the Way of the Heart. A personal encounter with Christ, close to His Heart, awakens our desire to be with Him in His mission of compassion and opens us to others and the world to which He sends us. This implies offering our lives like Him, according to His lifestyle, and allowing ourselves to be led by Him, docile to His Spirit.
As you have understood, the Pope's Worldwide Prayer Network, a renewal of the Apostleship of Prayer integrating the Eucharistic Youth Movement, is now part of the invigorating dynamic of the Heart of Jesus through its spiritual journey titled The Way of the Heart. This journey, a true contemporary realization of the spirituality of the Heart of Christ, invites us to pray and live out Jesus' compassion for the world.
Over the past 12 years, we have been led to renew the way we live the spirituality of the Heart of Jesus by returning to our roots. The Way of the Heart, the spiritual treasure of the Apostleship of Prayer in light of the Spiritual Exercises, has become for us a matrix fostering the institutional transformation of the Apostleship of Prayer into the Pope's Worldwide Prayer Network. It articulates and unifies our entire mission, opening us to a new paradigm:
The Way of the Heart embodies a renewed mission of compassion for the world, based on apostolic availability and guided by the Pope's prayer intentions. This mission calls for personal and communal conversion, engaging every believer to live the spirituality of the Heart of Jesus in a dynamic of prayer and concrete action to respond to the challenges of our world.
The Pope's Worldwide Prayer Network is a treasure for the Church. Through it, millions of people whether in Asia, Africa, America, or Europe, whether living in slums or affluent neighborhoods, whether young or old unite each day in prayer. Together, they carry in their hearts and prayers the great challenges of humanity and the mission of the Church that the Pope entrusts each month. It is like a large family praying with one heart, beyond all borders. It fosters communion within the diversity of the universal Church: we are different, but united in prayer and in the Heart of Christ.
We can ask for the grace that by following this path, transformed by the love of the Lord, we may become, more and more each day, shining witnesses of His compassion and tenderness towards all humanity. A network of intercession that, through prayer, entrusts to the Heart of Jesus the challenges of humanity and the mission of the Church.
The world is in such great need of it!
Frédéric Fornos SJ
International Director of the Pope's Worldwide Prayer Network (2016-2024) Delegate of the General Director of the Apostleship of Prayer, Fr. Adolfo Nicolás, SJ (2014-2016)
