Archbishop John F. Donoghue was the principal celebrant for a March 5 Mass honoring the Sacred Heart of Jesus at St. Andrew Church.

He was joined by concelebrants Father Frank Richardson, Father Joseph Peek, Father John Paul Ezeonyido and Father Chito Palang.

Devotions to the Two Hearts, the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, are held on the first Friday and first Saturday of every month at several archdiocesan churches sponsored by the Alliance of Two Hearts. The devotion is an offering of reparation to the Trinity and to the Mother of Jesus for the sins of all humanity. It consists of two Masses, one held Friday evening at 9 p.m. in honor of the Sacred Heart of Jesus followed by another Mass on Saturday at 1 a.m. or at dawn, in honor of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. In between these Masses, there is adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, confession, the scriptural rosary and specific prayers of reparation and consecration to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary. In the unity of these Two Hearts, organizers say, families are brought together, as is the universal church.

“That evening . . . was truly blessed by the protective mantle of Our Lady and the face of her Son. It was palpable, a kind of experiencing, which many people present . . . expressed noticing,” said attendee Cathy Alvarez. “We felt our unity as their children and understood more deeply in our hearts about the safety, beauty, sanctity, and role as spouse of the Lord of the true and living Church striving in obedience to be purified.”

In his homily, the archbishop warned that in the United States there is a spiritual combat between good and evil as “supposedly intelligent, caring people can support readily available abortion, assisted suicide, and euthanasia—expeditious and brutal solutions to those problems which deal with life.”

He said that “thousands are now ready to plunge a dagger into the heart of our society . . . the American family . . . the sacred and wholesome union of a man and woman.” And “when societies urge men and women to stop bearing children, when cultures sanction perverse alternatives to the legitimate and fruitful union of men and women, then those cultures, those societies, die,” he continued. “Evidence of this truth is now visible in almost all the countries of Western Europe.”

The archbishop concluded that to love both God and society, the faithful must acquire a deeper, stronger love such as the “outpouring of love that was in the heart of Mary, and that came to be, by her word, in the human heart of Jesus Christ our Lord.”

If, he said, it is by the strength of their love that they can change their families, friends and fellow citizens, they should obtain this strength at the Two Hearts vigil every month, which they can carry with awareness of their continual consecration. Surely this will help them attain the grace of “life for the soul, life for the body and life for the world,” he said.

To secure the bonds of His love within families, Christ commanded in His last words to his beloved disciple John, before his death on the cross, “Behold your Mother,” and the disciple took Mary into his home.

The Alliance encourages persons to consecrate their family to the Two Hearts and honor their home with the presence of both the Immaculate Heart of Mary and the Sacred Heart of Jesus and make it a haven where love is perfected and victory is won over evil.

The Alliance of the Two Hearts is a worldwide organization encouraged and approved by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Father Edgardo Arellano is the international spiritual director. His program “One in Their Hearts” is televised weekly on the Eternal Word Television Network on Sundays at 5:30 a.m. and Mondays at 5:30 p.m. For more information visit www.allianceoftwoheartsgeorgia.com.