Pius XI presents devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus as a response to the loss of Christian charity and to views that portray God chiefly as a harsh judge. The devotion leads believers to know, love, and imitate Christ, and its forms include consecration, Communion on the first Friday, the Feast of Christ the King, the Holy Hour, and Communion of Reparation. Consecration acknowledges Christ’s sovereignty over individuals, families, nations, and society; reparation answers human ingratitude and sin through penance, expiation, and loving participation in Christ’s sacrifice.

Because Christ’s sacrifice alone redeems humanity, the faithful unite their sufferings and self-denial to it through the Communion of Saints, sharing in the Church’s redemptive mission. The address describes persecution of the Church, moral decline, sacrilege, and neglect of Christian teaching as reasons for renewed reparation, while commending religious orders, lay associations, and public acts devoted to it. It mandates reparation throughout the Catholic Church, raises the liturgical rank of the Feast of the Sacred Heart, and requires an annual prayer of expiation on that feast. The appended prayer confesses personal and social sins, asks to console Christ’s Heart, and seeks Mary’s intercession and perseverance in faith, purity, and charity.