Devotional Prayer
Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus started in the 16th centaury when a Our Lord appeared to a Visitation nun named Sister Margret Mary Alacoque in France. He told her of the great pain he
Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
he experienced at the lack of love and gratitude shown to him by humankind despite his once and forever sacrifice of himself on the cross for our sins, and of his desire for the love of each unique individual person.
The central focus of this devotion is to recognise and respond to this the infinite love of Christ for each one of us. He longs for Catholics to attend mass frequently and receive the Eucharist often, so that he could give himself to us. 
He thirsts for our love: the 'heart' of this devotion is to respond to His yearning, returning love for love. The website below gives a good introduction to the devotion with many prayers and meditations: http://sacredheartdevotion.com/ The devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is intimately linked to adoration of Jesus in the Eucharist (see next panel). When we adore Jesus in the Eucharist, we adore the Heart of Jesus. Watch this video to pray the Litany of the Sacred Heart: This video is a mixture of meditation on and documentary about the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus:
Our Lord asked St Margaret Mary to promote and practice the devotion of the 9 First Fridays:
...and made these 12 promises to those who had a devotion to His Sacred Heart, and who practised the First Friday devotion:
"O Sacred Heart of Jesus, fountain of eternal life, Your Heart is a glowing furnace of Love. You are my refuge and my sanctuary."
- St. Gertrude the Great "Love overcomes, love delights, those who love the Sacred Heart rejoice." - St. Bernadette Soubirous |
The Holy Hour - Eucharistic Adoration
Catholics believe that the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ becomes truly present in the host (bread wafer) consecrated by the priest during Holy Mass during the Eucharistic prayer. The wafer is no longer bread, but becomes Our Lord Jesus, in his entirety. This is known as the Real Presence of Jesus. Eucharistic hosts not consumed at mass are kept in the church tabernacle behind the alter, and are referred to as the Blessed Sacrament. Outside of the mass, Catholics worship Jesus present in the Eucharist in the tabernacles of churches and chapels, but also adore Him during special prayer sessions where the Eucharist is exposed on the alter in a special holder called a monstrance. Here we can gaze on, pray to, and talk to Our Lord, and when we do He irradiates us with love, grace and healing. St Teresa of Calcutta said of Eucharistic Adoration:
"Every Holy Hour we make so pleases the Heart of Jesus that it will be recorded in Heaven and retold for all eternity. It opens up the floodgates of God's merciful Love upon the world. Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament is the best time you will spend on earth. It will make your soul everlastingly more glorious and beautiful in Heaven". 
Anyone can visit Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. Most catholic churches schedule times for Eucharistic Adoration.
At the Holy Name Church here on Oxford Road, Eucharistic Adoration takes place daily from 12 - 1pm. Additionally, on the first Friday of the month during term time, the Holy Name church holds an event called Nightfever. Nightfever is a very gentle way of evangelisation. The church remains open from 7pm - 10pm, bathed in just candlelight. On the altar is the exposed Blessed Sacrament. Live music is softly played in the background. All people are welcome to come in and spend time with Jesus, catholic or non catholic. If you have not been to Eucharistic Adoration before and are uncertain how to pray, or what to do, don't worry, just come in, sit in the pew or kneel, face Our Lord, and in the silence of your heart, talk to Jesus in your own words telling Him whatever you want: your thoughts, feelings, fears, troubles, desires and hopes. This is private time between Him and you, and He gazes on you and loves you as if you were the only person who ever existed. Feel inhibited? Print out these two guides to take with you to help start your conversation with Christ: 1) http://www.stmarysinverness.co.uk/a-quarter-of-an-hour-before-the-blessed-sacrament.htm 2)http://www.catholicpamphlets.net/pamphlets/An%20Hour%20With%20Our%20Saviour.pdf Want to learn more about Jesus' Real Presence in the Holy Eucharist? Watch theses videos: "How many of you say: I should like to see His face, His garments, His shoes. You do see Him, you touch Him, you eat Him. He gives Himself to you, not only that you may see Him, but also to be your food and nourishment."
- St. John Chrysostom "If angels could be jealous of men, they would be so for one reason: Holy Communion." - St. Maximilian Kolbe "When you have received Him, stir up your heart to do Him homage; speak to Him about your spiritual life, gazing upon Him in your soul where He is present for your happiness; welcome Him as warmly as possible, and behave outwardly in such a way that your actions may give proof to all of His Presence." - St. Francis de Sales |
The Holy RosaryThe most holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This scripture based devotion is centuries old. The prayer is a mediation on the events in the life of Jesus Christ, whilst praying to the Holy Trinity (using The Apostles' Creed, Our Father, and Glory be prayer), and to the mother of Jesus (the Virgin Mary) for intercession (using the Hail Mary prayer). Details for how to say these prayers and the sequence of the rosary are described in the slide shows below and in the prayer wall further down the page.
The rosary is composed on 20 'mysteries' which cover the 1) the incarnation of Jesus Christ at the annunciation of the angel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary at Nazareth, Jesus' birth in Bethlehem, and other events from His childhood (Joyful mysteries); 2) the period of His adult life between the age of 30 - 33 when He proclaimed the Kingdom of God (Luminous Mysteries); 3) Our Lord's Passion, where He redeemed us by suffering an excruciating, prolonged and humiliating death, culminating in His Crucifixion, to atone for humanity's sins, and purchase for us eternal life (the Sorrowful mysteries); 4) Jesus' resurrection from the dead three days later, His return to the Father in heaven, and the birth of the Catholic church by the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost (Glorious mysteries). You will need to increase the page zoom to read the slide text for the Rosary slideshows below. Joyful mysteries are traditionally prayed on Mondays and Saturdays, Luminous mysteries on Thursdays, Sorrowful mysteries on Tuesday and Fridays and the Glorious mysteries on Wednesdays and Sundays. 
Listen to this documentary about the benefits of the rosary:
Scriptural rosaries - bible verses for each Hail Mary to aid meditation
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The Word of God - The Gospels
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Audio Bible Study on the Gospel of Matthew: Source:
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Audio Bible Study on the Gospel of Mark: Source:
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Audio Bible Study on the Gospel of Luke
Divine Mercy
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Novenas - 9 days of focussed prayer
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Devotion of the Divine Mercy...
The 9 day Divine Mercy novena dictated by Our Lord to St Faustina:
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Catholic Prayers
Useful Links
1) Heart to Heart: A Mission to Encourage Personal Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
http://sacredheartdevotion.com/
This website promotes the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and has free prayer booklets to download from
http://sacredheartdevotion.com/devotion-downloads/
these include 2 free CD's worth of meditations called 'Conversations with the Sacred Heart'.
2) The Real Presence Eucharistic Education and Adoration Association http://www.therealpresence.org/eucharst/pea/a2.html
Site dedicated to teaching about the Real Presence
3) Come Pray the Rosary
http://www.comepraytherosary.org/
This is a website where visitors can pray the rosary online with people from anywhere in the world. There is a continuous perpetual rosary a user can join at any time, with the number of other people on the website praying along with you displayed at the bottom of the page.
4) How to Pray the Rosary Everyday
http://www.how-to-pray-the-rosary-everyday.com/rosary-guide.html
Huge resource explaining how to pray the rosary and has downloadable pocket rosary guides for all four sets of mysteries
5) Rosary Army
http://rosaryarmy.newevangelizers.com/
This one has scriptural rosary podcasts and transcripts
6) Discerning Hearts : Catholic Podcasts Dedicated To Those On The Discerning Journey
http://www.discerninghearts.com/catholic-podcasts/
Huge collection of catholic podcasts (faith formation/ devotions/ novenas/ scriptural study). They also have a phone app. Good to explore whatever your vocation may be.
7) Thinking Faith
http://www.thinkingfaith.org/
Online journal for the Jesuits in Britain. Has articles about spirituality, social justice and even current film reviews.
8) Catholic Answers: To Explain and Defend the Faith
http://www.catholic.com/
Catholic apologetics site - many articles on everything from the Real Presence, to Marian theology to defence of the church's position on contraception; big forum, anyone can join - including an 'ask an apologist forum'.
9) Catholic Apptitude: Testament to Digital Ministry
http://catholicapptitude.org/
Review site for catholic apps for smart phones: Year of Mercy materials, missals, lent, novena, rosary and chaplet apps etc
10) Life Teen: Leading Teens Closer to Christ
http://lifeteen.com/
Catholic teen youth ministry. Useful materials to help with youth mentoring.
11) EWTN : Global Catholic Network
http://www.ewtn.com/
For when you get tired of secular broadcasting...
12) 40 Days For Life
https://40daysforlife.com/
Help build a Culture of Life in the UK and internationally through 40 days of prayer, fasting and outreach. Find out where your nearest prayer vigil is. Takes place Lent and again in the Autumn.
13) St Paul Street Evangelisation
http://streetevangelization.com/
Do you feel called to share your Catholic faith and take evangelisation to the streets? This group will teach you how.
