Catholic Dictionary

Find accurate definitions of over 5,000 Catholic terms and phrases (including abbreviations). Based on Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

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GREAT PROMISE

The twelfth of the traditional twelve promises made by the Sacred Heart to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647-90). It declares: "I promise you in the excessive mercy of my Heart that my all-powerful love will grant to all who receive Holy Communion on the First Fridays of nine consecutive months the grace of final perseverance; they shall not die in my disgrace, nor without receiving their sacraments. My divine Heart shall be their safe refuge in this last moment." Along with the other promises, the Great Promise was implicitly approved by the Church in the canonization of St. Margaret Mary (1920) and in the favorable references to her revelations in the writings of the popes, e.g., Pius XII in Haurietis Aquas (1956).