THE SACRED HEART AND VICTORY

New Zealand Tablet, 20 February 1919, Page 17

THE SACRED HEART AND VICTORY

A REMARKABLE EVENT. % The following article is taken from La Semaine lleliffieuse cl’ Autuw. —• Our readers will remember the extraordinary fervor displayed by the pious faithful on the 7th of June last, and also two days later, on the feast of the Sacred Heart. At that time a new attack by the enemy threatened France at Compiegne, but General Mangin was successful in repulsing it, and made the assailants understand that they could go no further. However, for some days the result appeared doubtful. Then came the great day of sacerdotal supplication, the 29th of June, and the day of national prayer on the 4th of August. In addition there was the unforgettable and private prayer on the 18th of July, which was to settle the destiny of the war. For some time it had been known, at least amongst Catholics, that a remarkable religious event took place in France on that day, but those who were acquainted with the fact did not speak of it, and we, therefore, did not dare to refer to it. To-day what occurred is no longer a secret, since on the 17th of July Father Perroy spoke from the pulpit in the Cathedral of St. Vincent at Chalons of what had taken place on the preceding 18th of July. The reverend preacher then revealed to the congregation that the Allied armies were consecrated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus by their Generalissimo in the little church of the General Headquarters. Father Perroy said: “Marshal Foch, kneeling, consecrated the armies of which he had charge to the Sacred Heart, and petitioned at the same time, first, for a speedy and definite victory, and, secondly, for a peace glorious for France. It would appear that the Sacred Heart did not await anything further than this act of piety to permit victory to pass to France and her Allies. Is it necessary to recall the miraculous beginning of our triumphs precisely from that date, the 18th of July, and to add that mere chance could not have produced these coincidences ? “Three days previously the enemy were on both sides of Rheims, spread over an extent of 100 kilometres, on the way to Paris. The blow was formidable, the struggle gigantic. On the 15th of July, by a clever manoeuvre, General Gouraud made a fierce attack on the foe, and on the dawn of the 18th of July General Mangin’s army penetrated the enemy’s lines. From that moment success came to the French troops, and in such a manner that the hand of God was visible. In a few weeks Paris and Rheims were saved.”

The French writer then refers to the other Allied successes at Cambrai, St. Quentin, Douai, Lille, Valenciennes, and other places. The Germans sought peace

from President Wilson and General Foch. It was in ‘ • the East as in the West—the earn© disintegration of the enemy forces and universal defeat. ■. The Bulgarians, Austrians, and Turks came in succession, humbly recognising their defeat, to ask for mercy. . It was, indeed, the victory, the prompt, decisive victory, that Foch ; had asked from God. It was the victory of the Sacred Heart, _ ■ ■ ' ‘ That this might be more visible, Providence permitted that amongst all these days of triumph the. 17th of October should be specially brilliant. The following day the secular journals—the writer we cite does not quote from , the Catholic press—stated that, the date of the 17th of October, 1918, should not be forgotten by , the French people. A magnificent record remains for that day alone Lille reconquered, and, with Lille, Douai and other towns belonging to French Flanders—that is, nearly 600,000 of the French people liberated, and, at the same time, Ostend retaken, and with Ostend, the entire coast of Belgium restored, after four years, to the Belgians. It is scarcely necessary - to remind our readers that the 17th of October is the feast of the Confidant and Messenger of the Sacred Heart, the day on which at Paray, Montmartre, and other places, pious souls addressed more fervent and special supplications asking the intercession of Blessed Margaret Mary. It has been arranged that the consecration of the Nationa 1 Basilica of the Sacred Heart at Montmartre will take place on this date next year. On the evening of the 17th of October all the bells, s silent from the commencement of the war, rang out. a joyous peal— prelude to the “Te Deum” that, a month later, would be chanted throughout France. On the 17th of October his Eminence Cardinal Mei'cier addressed a letter to his flock, in which he wrote —“You. see, dear brethren, how near God is to us. Your ardent prayers to the Sacred Heart of J6sus and to our Lady of the Rosary, Mary Mediatrix, have been heard. Remain calm and dignified. The hour of liberation comes near. Courage and confidence. Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place my trust in Thee.” In reference to the above facts a nun in Dublin has received a letter from a relative in France in which it is stated ; “Marshal Foch consecrated all the troops to the Sacred Heart in July.” In another letter, written later, the words occur with reference to the badge of the Sacred Heart: “The Sacred Heart is everywhere at the front, and in the rear also. It is not, therefore, surprising that our successes approach the miraculous.”