Reclaim June for Jesus: A Response to Pride Month

June is fast approaching, and the secular media has ramped up its push of…

Pride Month for weeks in preparation for this upcoming June, which is now less than a week away. However, companies like Target are starting to feel the pushback, especially in its pocketbook from consumers who don’t support LGBTQ values. As a result, news sources like the New York Post and others reported that Target lost $9 billion in the week following the boycott of its LGBTQ kids-friendly clothing. When large groups of people decide not to buy goods and services from wealthy and influential corporations like Target, immediate impact can be deeply felt financially to the point that it can sometimes cause businesses like Target to act and even retract. But the impact of Target boldly promoting LGBTQ values through clothing and other accessessories is not over yet, and it’s NOT far-fetched to think that Target underestimated the religious and moral values of many American hearts.

“Jesus is Lord.”

Rom. 10:9

Speaking of the heart, one way to oppose and even boycott companies like Target and other companies who seem hell-bent on promoting this type of sin and immorality, is to reclaim the month of June for Jesus. Rather than being distracted by the hijacked, Pride Flag mentality of disordered love, our focus needs to be more on the ordered yet unconditional love found in the Sacred Heart of Jesus, a Solemnity, which is the highest form of celebration in the Catholic Church, that occurs annually on June 16th, smack-dab in the middle of the month. Rather than just one day, why not reclaim the whole month for the Sacred Heart of Jesus? After all, Jesus is Lord (Rom. 10:9). If he is Lord over our lives, shouldn’t he be Lord over our calendars, our relationships, and our sexuality too? No matter if we are part of the LGBTQ Community or not, no matter if we are single, married, priestly, or religious, one of the lowest common denominators (LCD) that binds us together in an area of common ground is our call to chastity in which we are to be faithful and loyal to the vocational state God has called us to in this present moment. There are no better examples of chastity than in the Immaculate Heart of Mary (pray for us!) and in the Sacred Heart of Jesus (have mercy on us!).

I was inspired by this idea to post this blog about Jesus’ Sacred Heart from an email I received from Matt Fradd’s “Pints with Aquinas,” a weekly, Catholic podcast that is currently running a promotion to sell Sacred Heart T-Shirts here and here to counter Pride Month. Contrary to pride is humility. There is no Sacred Heart without love and humility. In regards to Jesus’ humility, St. Paul states:

“He emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross. Because of this, God greatly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Phil. 2:7-11

Humility, also perfectly exemplified by Jesus’ mother and our spiritual mother Mary, is a virtue that also has its vice. There is a spirit, a vice that opposes humility, and it’s the spirit of pride. According to co-authors, Isabella Poggi and Francesca D’Errico in their paper, “Types of Pride and Their Expression,” there are three types of pride: dignity, superiority, and arrogance. The type of pride being pushed on Christians and the majority of Americans by a smaller minority are the latter two. Pride is one of the seven deadly sins. It’s also the principal and chief sin of Satan who was cast out of heaven by St. Michael The Archangel (Rev. 12:7-10).

While Satan certainly is full of pride, be cautious that he also wants to overturn any humility we have received from Christ into pride to continue the chaos and disunity among the different factions in this great country. In other words, he wants us to turn on each other so as to destroy. Prv. 16:18 says, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” We hope to avoid any kind of destruction and respond to prideful temptation with the authentic love, mercy, and forgiveness of Jesus Christ. We pray with conviction that the conversion of Pride Month be brought about through a greater devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, who shows us true love. May we respond in being “transformed by the renewal of our minds” (Rom. 12:2) as St Paul says and also participate in this loving and powerful devotion to the Sacred Heart that can transform one heart at a time.

Food for Thought…

One way we can do this is through prayerfully reciting the Litany of The Sacred Heart of Jesus in addition to wearing the Matt Fradd, “Reclaim The Month” (of the Sacred Heart) T-shirts as referenced above. What other creative ways can we honor the Sacred Heart of Jesus? How about flying Sacred Heart Flags in June? As an alumnus of Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit, couldn’t we fly Sacred Heart of Jesus Flags at our seminaries, churches, and in front of our houses as an effective, outward witness in an attempt to change our culture even if it’s in a small way? Also, what genuine ways can we show Christian love to those who have an LGBTQ orientation, or those who support it?

Articles

1. “Florida Catholics put up Sacred Heart of Jesus billboards to mark the month of June,” by Sachin Jose, Shalom World, 5/30/23.
2. “‘The Chosen’ Can’t Serve Both God And LGBT ‘Pride’ Activists,” by Jordan Boyd, The Federalist, 5/31/23.

News Update:

“Catholics Invited to Pray an Act of Reparation on Solemnity of The Sacred Heart” (6/16/23), given by United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) on 6/12/23.