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The books listed here are specifically about the Sacred
Heart of Jesus. Many of them are available at public libraries;
others at major research and university libraries; and a few only
in rare book rooms or through rare book dealers. For all the books
used in the research and writing of Search for the Sacred Heart
of Jesus, see the Comprehensive
Bibliography
Alacoque, Marguerite-Marie. 1986. The Autobiography of Saint
Margaret Mary. Rockford, Illinois: TAN Books & Publishers.
Written under obedience to her superiors, St. Marguerite-Marie
reveals her intimate spiritual life, including the revelations she
received regarding the Sacred Heart of Jesus in 1673–1675.
Bestul, Thomas H. 1996. Texts of the Passion: Latin Devotional
Literature and Medieval Society. Philadelphia: University of
Pennsylvania Press.
The history of Latin narratives of the Passion and
the iconography of the Five Wounds of Christ, which were precursors
to the later devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Out-of-print,
but though hard to find copies are available in the used book market
at www.abebooks.com.
Bougaud, E. 1890. Life of Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque. New
York: Benziger Brothers.
The standard biography of this saint whose visions
inspired devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. In many libraries
and available through used book websites such as www.abebooks.com.
Calamari, Barbara, and Sandra DiPasqua. 2004. Holy Cards.
New York: Harry N. Abrams.
The first of a series of books reproducing classic
holy cards, a number of which feature the Sacred Hearts of Jesus
and Mary. Available in many libraries and is in-print for purchase.
Campbell, Ted A. 1991. The Religion of the Heart: A Study
of European Religious Life in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries.
Columbia: University of South Carolina Press.
Focuses primarily on Protestant movements during the
period of inter-Christian warfare in the 17th century that stressed
an encounter with the divine through the affections, especially
penitence and love for God. Provides a background for understanding
the emergence of the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus within
the Catholic confession.
Croiset, Jean. 1948. The Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Our
Lord Jesus Christ. Westminster, Maryland: Newman Press.
Written at the urging of St. Marguerite-Marie Alacoque,
Croiset’s is the first book to recount her visions.
Debroise, Olivier, Elisabeth Sussman, and Matthew Teitelbaum.
1991. El Corazón Sangrante. Seattle: University of
Washington Press.
An over-sized art book with many beautifully reproduced
images of Jesus’ Heart, including the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Out-of-print; copies available from www.abebooks.com.
de Certeau, Michel. 1992. The Mystic Fable: The Sixteenth
and Seventeeth Centuries. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Certeau, a French Jesuit and scholar, drew on psychoanalysis,
philosophy, and the social sciences for a post-modern analysis of
16th and 17th European mysticism, the mileau out of which devotion
to the Sacred Heart of Jesus grew. Most likely available in research
and university libraries.
James, William. 1902. Varieties of Religious Experience.
New York: Longmans, Green and Company.
Compared to his more acerbic accounts of pragmatism,
Varieties of Religious Experience is a bit long in the tooth. Nevertheless,
a brilliant deconstruction of religion and its uses with central
chapters on understanding mysticism. In most library and many inexpensive
editions available.
Jonas, Raymond. 2000. France and the Cult of the Sacred Heart:
An Epic Tale for Modern Times. Berkeley: University of California
Press.
In a richly layered and beautifully illustrated narrative,
Jonas tells the fascinating story of the Sacred Heart in France,
beginning with the apparition of the Sacred Heart to Marguerite
Marie Alacoque in the 17th century, through the French Revolution
and its aftermath, to the construction of the monumental Sacré
Cœur church that has loomed over Paris since the end of the
19th century. Check university libraries; also new and used copies
available for purchase.
Kowalska, Mary Faustina. 2008. Divine Mercy in My Soul: The
Diary of St. Faustina. Stockbridge, Massachusetts: Marian Press.
Mary Faustina Kowalska was a Polish nun, visionary,
and mystic, now venerated as a saint. On February 22, 1931, she
reported that Jesus appeared to her, wearing a white garment. His
right hand was raised in a sign of blessing and the other was touching
the garment at the breast. From beneath the garment emanated two
large rays, one red, the other white, a vision of the Sacred Heart
very different than the flaming heart encircled by thorns that St.
Marguerite-Marie saw. This is her diary of this and other events
in her religious life. In print and generally available.
O’Donnell. 1992. Heart of the Redeemer. San Francisco:
Ignatius Press
A lively and erudite history of the devotion to the
Sacred Heart of Jesus from its biblical antecedents to its modern
practice. Available in some libraries, and inexpensive copies are
available in the used book market.
Schiller, Gertrud. 1971–1972. Iconography of Christian
Art, 2 vols. Greenwich, Connecticut: New York Graphic Society.
A classic with a brief but pugnent section on the
history of the Sacred Heart of Jesus iconography. Out-of-print and
expensive even in used copies available from www.abebooks.com. Major
university and research libraries will have a copy.
Spamer, Adolf. 1930. Das kleine Andachtsbild, vom XIV,
bis sum XX. Munich: F. Bruckmann.
In German, and exceeding hard to find, even in major
research libraries. Locating a copy to look at is worth the effort,
as the book has many beautifully reproduced copies of Sacred Heart
of Jesus and Mary holy cards and other art.
Underhill, Evelyn. 2004. Mysticism: A Study in the Nature
and Development of Man’s Spiritual Consciousness. Boston:
Adamant Media Corporation.
First published in 1911, this book remains the standard
work on mysticism, especially within the Christian tradition, and
is essential reading for anyone interested in the subject.
von Achen, Henrik. 1980. “Human Heart and the Sacred Heart:
Reining in Religious Individualism” in Arne Bugge Amundsen
and Henning Laugerud (eds.), Categories of Sacredness in Europe,
1500–1800. Oslo: Universitetet I Oslo.
Von Achen traces the theological currents during the
Reformation and Counterreformation that gave rise to devotion to
the Sacred Heart of Jesus as it is known today. The book is out-of-print
and obscure enough to be hard to find even in the used book market.
This seminal article is, however, available on-line at www.enid.uib.no/texts/achen_1.htm.
Zoccatelli, PierLuigi. 2003. Simboli del Cuore di Cristo.
Rome: Edizioni Arkeios.
In Italian and hard to find, to say the least. Traces
the history of the symbol of Jesus’ heart from the 7th century
to the present
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