The Lord and God Jesus Christ told St. Margaret Mary Alacoque that He is pleased to be honored with His image. Human as we are, longing to see, hear, and touch God, Christ revealed to us an image that we can see and that makes us remember His great love for us. It is not to worship the image, but to worship God Himself. His icon helps us focus more in prayer and meditation. His icon helps us eliminate the distractions that come to us while talking to Him.
As St. Paul says in his first letter to the Corinthians (3:1–3): “Brothers, I could not talk to you as spiritual people, but as fleshly people, as infants in Christ. I fed you milk, not solid food, because you were unable to take it. Indeed, you are still not able, even now, for you are still of the flesh. While there is jealousy and rivalry among you, are you not of the flesh, and behaving in an ordinary human way?” This passage reminds us of our spiritual immaturity and human weakness. Knowing this, Christ, in His mercy, provided us—through this devotion—an image or icon of Himself to help us fix our gaze on Him, despite our frailty and short attention span. Like lovers longing and looking at a photo of the one they love, may we all say: “Sacred Heart of Jesus, Thy Kingdom come!”