By Gretchen R. Crowe, Our Sunday Visitor - This devotion (to the Sacred Heart of Jesus) came about when Jesus appeared to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque in the latter part of the 17th century and implored her to spread the message of his passionate love for all to the world... “My divine heart is so passionately fond of the human race and of you, in particular, that it cannot keep back the pent-up flames of its burning charity any longer,” Jesus told her. “They must burst out through you and reveal my heart to the world, so as to enrich mankind with my treasures.”