Tag: Denver’s Angel of Charity

Servant of God Julia Greeley’s Love for the Sacred Heart of Jesus, by Fr. Blain Burkey, O.F.M. Cap.

Below is a transcript the the video:

Involvement in the Sacred Heart of the, she was, she commanded the church there at that Sacred Heart church, and the Jesuits were running that church and that the ocean is Sacred Heart was promoted strongly by the Jesuits true should not the, they weren’t the only ones I mean there’s actually Franciscan Saints before there were Jesuits, who had talked about the sacred heart, but they did promote that and did have some Jesuit Scholastics that had started the apostleship prayer which it was very… very well known in my lifetime in my childhood we used to get these little leaflets every month and have material about a Saint, like there’s thirty different Saints they would give you information about and also it was encouraging prayer to the Sacred Heart and parish preparation of the in souls in the Sacred Heart.

Every month those things come out and she went all over town delivering them and she couldn’t read or write so somebody had to tell her what… what was in there and you know that somebody told us that she had walked with a limp but we didn’t know the strength of that until after she was disinterred and they found it are covered with arthritis.

She didn’t write about anything she couldn’t write but she left us her message by her actions. A remarkable thing about it is this she goes doing all this stuff for and helping very group of people that enslaved her and left her blind and so forth and she had reason to be bitter but there was no indication anywhere.

The whole devotion to Sacred Heart has to do with the mercy of Jesus and I think that’s the program for life right there.

The Julia Greeley Guild: https://juliagreeley.org/

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Below is a transcript the the video:

Under the cover of night servant of God Julia Greeley was seen distributing clothing, firewood, and even a mattress to those in need. Not only generous but sensitive as well Julia considered how the recipients might feel accepting these items from a woman of color at the turn of the last century. 

 What inspired her charity?

Nothing less than a heart beating in time with the Sacred Heart of Jesus. She collected dresses for girls who did not have the means to purchase their own for a school dance. She donated her original burial plot at Mount Olivet to a man who was to be buried in a Potters field. Each month she walked all over Denver distributing Sacred Heart league pamphlets to every Firehouse in the city even though she herself could not read.  

 The Sacred Heart depicted by Christ’s heart and flames burning with love for humanity kindled a fire in Julia’s own heart Pope Leo the 13th said: “There is in the Sacred Heart the infinite love of Jesus Christ which moves us to love in return.”

Julia’s daily actions revealed the heart of God on display throughout the streets of Denver. Father Blaine Burkey biographer and advocate for Julia’s cause for canonization suggests that one of the secrets of her own spirituality was surely to place all her day’s activities into the Secret Service of the Sacred Heart. 

 Julia Greeley was conditionally baptized at Sacred Heart parish in Denver just two months after it opened, after that she attended mass and received the Eucharist daily. The Jesuits who ran the parish called her the most enthusiastic promoter of a devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus they had ever seen. 

 Perhaps the divine result of her deeply authentic devotion Julia died on the solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus on June 7th 1918. As the date of this feast is tied to Pentecost and varies from year to year it is a beautiful gift that we celebrate the solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus on June 7th this year as well.  

 Julia’s remains are no longer at Mount Olivet cemetery they were transferred to the cathedral basilica of the Immaculate Conception as part of her cause for canonization. Nevertheless, we are honored to be a part of her history.

Whether under the cover of night or the light of day may we all be motivated by the compassionate and merciful Sacred Heart of Jesus revealed through Denver’s Angel of charity Julia Greeley. 

The Julia Greeley Guild: https://juliagreeley.org/

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