Sacred Labors

1988: “Simple and inconspicuous, That’s how the Men of the Sacred Heart like to approach their work.

“So much so that they won’t allow their last names to be published in conjunction with the work they do to promote devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

“ ‘This is a private commitment’ is how 86-year-old Hank, the supervisor and founding coordinator, describes the quiet effort of this men’s group to spread their devotion. Yet, their ‘private’ exertions have affected the lives of at least 50,000 people since the Men of the Sacred Heart formed in Cincinnati in the early 1950s.

“Each Thursday, a dozen or more members — mostly retirees ranging in age from 65 to 86 — gather behind the closed doors of a small warehouse on Central Avenue in an industrial area of Cincinnati. A plain, hand-lettered sign ‘Men of the Sacred Heart’ tops the entrance to their offices. Inside, the men spend the day gluing, assembling and packaging framed plaques of the Sacred Heart and other devotional materials for distribution around the archdiocese and to eight missions.

“You may have benefited from the men’s labors without even realizing it. Approximately 5,000 of their Sacred Heart plaques are given each year to children making their First Communions.

“Enthronement is placing a picture of the Sacred Heart in a prominent place and making Jesus the ‘king’ of your life. It is a ‘way of life,’ not just the blessing of a plaque, the members stress.” (See The Catholic Telegraph, February 19, 1988)

A copy of a Marian Year poster is displayed by one member.