JUNE 02, 2016 : SOLEMNITY OF THE MOST SACRED HEART OF JESUS

Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus
Lectionary: 172

Reading 1EZ 34:11-16

Thus says the Lord GOD:
I myself will look after and tend my sheep.
As a shepherd tends his flock
when he finds himself among his scattered sheep,
so will I tend my sheep.
I will rescue them from every place where they were scattered
when it was cloudy and dark.
I will lead them out from among the peoples
and gather them from the foreign lands;
I will bring them back to their own country
and pasture them upon the mountains of Israel
in the land's ravines and all its inhabited places.
In good pastures will I pasture them,
and on the mountain heights of Israel
shall be their grazing ground.
There they shall lie down on good grazing ground,
and in rich pastures shall they be pastured
on the mountains of Israel.
I myself will pasture my sheep;
I myself will give them rest, says the Lord GOD.
The lost I will seek out,
the strayed I will bring back,
the injured I will bind up,
the sick I will heal,
but the sleek and the strong I will destroy,
shepherding them rightly.

Responsorial PsalmPS 23:1-3A, 3B-4, 5, 6

R. (1) The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
In verdant pastures he gives me repose;
beside restful waters he leads me;
he refreshes my soul.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
He guides me in right paths
for his name's sake.
Even though I walk in the dark valley
I fear no evil; for you are at my side
with your rod and your staff
that give me courage.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
You spread the table before me
in the sight of my foes;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
Only goodness and kindness follow me
all the days of my life;
and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD
for years to come.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

Reading 2ROM 5:5B-11

Brothers and sisters:
The love of God has been poured out into our hearts
through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.
For Christ, while we were still helpless,
died at the appointed time for the ungodly.
Indeed, only with difficulty does one die for a just person,
though perhaps for a good person
one might even find courage to die.
But God proves his love for us
in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.
How much more then, since we are now justified by his blood,
will we be saved through him from the wrath.
Indeed, if, while we were enemies,
we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son,
how much more, once reconciled,
will we be saved by his life.
Not only that,
but we also boast of God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
through whom we have now received reconciliation.

AlleluiaMT 11:29AB

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Take my yoke upon you, says the Lord,
and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Or:JN 10:14

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I am the good shepherd, says the Lord,
I know my sheep, and mine know me.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

GospelLK 15:3-7

Jesus addressed this parable to the Pharisees and scribes:
"What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them
would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert
and go after the lost one until he finds it?
And when he does find it,
he sets it on his shoulders with great joy
and, upon his arrival home,
he calls together his friends and neighbors and says to them,
'Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.'
I tell you, in just the same way
there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents
than over ninety-nine righteous people
who have no need of repentance."

www.usccb.org

Meditation: "Rejoice, I have found my sheep which was lost"

Jesus' heart of love and compassion is most clearly revealed in the way he sought out sinners and outcasts of society. No one was excluded from his gracious presence unless they chose to stay away out of jealousy or mistrust. The scribes and Pharisees took great offense at Jesus because he freely associated with sinners and treated them graciously. The Pharisees had strict regulations about how they were to keep away from sinners, lest they incur defilement. They were not to entrust money to them or have any business dealings with them, nor trust them with a secret, nor entrust orphans to their care, nor accompany them on a journey, nor give their daughter in marriage to any of their sons, nor invite them as guests or be their guests. They were shocked with the way in which Jesus freely received sinners and ate with them. Sinners, nonetheless, were drawn to Jesus to hear him speak about the mercy of God. Jesus characteristically answered the Pharisees' charge with a parable or lesson drawn from everyday life.

What does Jesus' story about a lost sheep tell us about God and his kingdom? Shepherds normally counted their sheep at the end of the day to make sure all were accounted for. Since sheep by their very nature are very social, an isolated sheep can quickly become bewildered and even neurotic. The shepherd's grief and anxiety is turned to joy when he finds the lost sheep and restores it to the fold. The shepherd searches until what he has lost is found. His persistence pays off.  He instinctively shares his joy with the whole community. The poor are particularly good at sharing in one anothers' sorrows and joys. What was new in Jesus' teaching was the insistence that sinners must be sought out and not merely mourned for. God does not rejoice in the loss of anyone, but desires that all be saved and restored to fellowship with him. That is why the whole community of heaven rejoices when one sinner is found and restored to fellowship with God. Seekers of the lost are much needed today. Do you persistently pray and seek after those you know who have lost their way to God?

"Lord Jesus, let your light dispel the darkness that what is lost may be found and restored. Let your light shine through me that others may see your truth and love and find hope and peace in you. May I never doubt your love nor take for granted the mercy you have shown to me. Fill me with your transforming love that I may be merciful as you are merciful."

Daily Quote from the early church fathers: Jesus is Son of David and Son of God, by Cyril of Alexandria, 375-444 A.D.

"We also will ask the Pharisees of today a similar question. They deny that he who was born of the holy Virgin is very Son of God the Father and himself also God. They also divide the one Christ into two sons. Let these people explain to us how David's Son is his Lord, not so much as to human lordship as divine. To sit at the right hand of the Father is the assurance and pledge of supreme glory. Those who share the same throne are equal also in dignity, and those who are crowned with equal honors are understood of course to be equal in nature. To sit by God can signify nothing else than sovereign authority. The throne declares to us that Christ possesses power over everything and supremacy by right of his substance. How is the Son of David David's Lord, seated at the right hand of God the Father and on the throne of Deity? Is it not altogether according to the unerring word of the mystery that the Word as God sprung from the very substance of God the Father? Being in his likeness and equal with him, he became flesh. He became man, perfectly and yet without departing from the incomparable excellence of the divine dignities. He continued in that state in which he had always been. He still was God, although he became flesh and in form like us. He is David's Lord therefore according to that which belongs to his divine glory, nature and sovereignty. He is his son according to the flesh." (excerpt from COMMENTARY ON LUKE, HOMILY 137.52)

www.dailyscripture.net

SOLEMNITY OF THE MOST SACRED HEART OF JESUS
FRIDAY, JUNE 3, LUKE 15:3-7
(Ezekiel 34:11-16; Psalm 23; Romans 5:5b-11)

KEY VERSE: "Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep." (v 6c)
TO KNOW: The religious leaders complained that Jesus welcomed sinners and dined with them. It was to this self-righteous group that Jesus addressed three "mercy" parables to describe God's infinite love and forgiveness. In each story, Jesus portrayed something of value that was lost: a sheep, a coin and a son, and of the great joy when they were found. In the first story, Jesus portrayed God as a shepherd who searched for his lost sheep. Jesus asked his listeners: “What man among you …?”  Not many of us would go after the one lost sheep and neglect the 99, but God would. The shepherd’s joy is like God’s joy. His dedication to the individual sheep, carrying it back to the flock, is a reflection of God’s love. Ezekiel said of God, "I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed" (Ez 34:16). God is always ready to pour out love and mercy upon anyone ready to receive it. Only those who recognized their own sinfulness were able to acknowledge their need for salvation.
TO LOVE: Am I a sign of Christ's love to others?
TO SERVE: Sacred Heart of Jesus, help me to love you more and more.

FEAST OF THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS

Sixteenth century Calvinism and seventeenth century Jansenism preached a distorted Christianity held the idea that a whole section of humanity was inevitably damned. The Church countered this view with the infinite love of our Savior who died on the cross for all people. The institution of the feast of the Sacred Heart contributed to a powerful current of devotion among the faithful, which has grown steadily stronger. The first Office and Mass of the Sacred Heart were composed by St. John Eudes, but the institution of the feast was a result of the appearances of our Lord to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque in 1675. The celebration of the feast was extended to the general calendar of the Church by Pius IX in 1856.

www.togetherwithgodsword.com

Friday 3 June, 2016

Fri 3rd.  Sacred Heart of Jesus. 
Ezekiel 34:11-16. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want—Ps 22(23). Romans 5:5-11. Luke 15:3-7.

Readings

The person of the parable.

In this parable Jesus speaks to the Pharisees of God of his own purpose and more particularly of the aspects that they find so difficult. Through the image of the shepherd searching for a lost sheep, Jesus reveals something of the nature of God. This parable reveals God as not being so concerned with demanding righteousness as the Pharisees believed, but instead with calling people, most particularly those far off, to himself. 

Jesus, the Good Shepherd, is the perfect expression of this desire. Unlike the vindicating Messiah the Pharisees awaited who would reward the righteous, Jesus reveals the endlessly tender heart of God for sinners. 

He is the embodiment of this parable, and points to a mercy far beyond our understanding. This parable calls us to participate in Christ’s work and to joyfully proclaim his love, without imposing limits on his super‑abundant mercy.

www.pray.com.au

MINUTE MEDITATIONS 

God Our Father

Wouldn’t our relationship with God be different if we actually took Christ at His Word when He called Him “Abba”?

— from Tweet Inspiration 

June 3
Sts. Charles Lwanga and Companions
(d. 1886)

One of 22 Ugandan martyrs, Charles Lwanga is the patron of youth and Catholic action in most of tropical Africa. He protected his fellow pages (aged 13 to 30) from the homosexual demands of the Bagandan ruler, Mwanga, and encouraged and instructed them in the Catholic faith during their imprisonment for refusing the ruler’s demands.

For his own unwillingness to submit to the immoral acts and his efforts to safeguard the faith of his friends, Charles was burned to death at Namugongo on June 3, 1886, by Mwanga’s order.

Charles first learned of Christ’s teachings from two retainers in the court of Chief Mawulugungu. While a catechumen, he entered the royal household as assistant to Joseph Mukaso, head of the court pages.

On the night of Mukaso’s martyrdom for encouraging the African youths to resist Mwanga, Charles requested and received Baptism. Imprisoned with his friends, Charles’s courage and belief in God inspired them to remain chaste and faithful.

When Pope Paul VI canonized these 22 martyrs on October 18, 1964, he referred to the Anglican pages martyred for the same reason.

Comment:

Like Charles Lwanga, we are all teachers and witnesses to Christian living by the examples of our own lives. We are all called upon to spread the word of God, whether by word or deed. By remaining courageous and unshakable in our faith during times of great moral and physical temptation, we live as Christ lived.

Quote:

On his African tour in 1969, Pope Paul VI told 22 young Ugandan converts that "being a Christian is a fine thing but not always an easy one."

www.americancatholic.org

LECTIO DIVINA: SACRED HEART OF JESUS (C)

Lectio Divina: 

 Friday, June 3, 2016

The lost and found sheep
The true conversion: from justice to mercy
Luke 15, 3-7

Opening prayer

My Father, I come before You today with a sorrowful heart, because I know I am among the number of those, who even though they are sinners, believe to be just. I feel within myself the weight of my heart made of rock and of iron. Today, I would also like to be among those who get close to Your Son to listen to Him; I would like to stop doing like the Pharisees and the Scribes who, before your love, murmur and criticise.
I beg You, my Lord, touch my heart with your words, with your presence and win it over with only a look, with only one of your caresses. Take me to your table, so that I can also eat your good bread, or even just the crumbs, Your Son Jesus, grain of wheat, who became spike and nourishment of salvation. Do not leave me outside, but allow me to enter to the table of your mercy. Amen.

1. READ

a) Text:

3 So he told them this parable: 4 'Which one of you with a hundred sheep, if he lost one, would fail to leave the ninety-nine in the desert and go after the missing one till he found it? 5 And when he found it, would he not joyfully take it on his shoulders 6 and then, when he got home, call together his friends and neighbours, saying to them, "Rejoice with me, I have found my sheep that was lost." 7 In the same way, I tell you, there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner repenting than over ninety-nine upright people who have no need of repentance.

b) The context:

This brief passage constitutes only the beginning of the great chapter 15 of the Gospel of Luke, a very central chapter, almost in the heart of the Gospel and of its message. Here, in fact, are enclosed the three accounts of the mercy, like one only parable: the sheep, the coin and the son, are an image of one only reality, they bear in themselves all the richness and the preciousness of man before God’s eyes, the Father. Here is the last significance of the Incarnation and of the life of Christ in the world: the salvation of all, Jews and Greeks, slaves or free men, men or women. Nobody should remain outside the banquet of mercy.

In fact, precisely the previous chapter to this one narrates the invitation to the table of the king and also gives to us this call: “Come, everything is ready!”. God is waiting for us, next to the place that He has prepared for us, so that we can be His guests, so as to make us also participate in His joy.

c) The Structure:

Verse 3 is the introduction and connects us with the previous situation, that is the one in which Luke describes the joyful movement, of love and conversion, of the sinners and publicans, who without fear, continue to get close to Jesus to listen to Him. It is here that the murmuring, the anger, the criticism are triggered and therefore, the refusal of the Pharisees and the Scribes, convinced of having in themselves justice and truth.

Therefore, the parable that follows, which is structured in three accounts, wants to be the response of Jesus to this murmuring; in last instance, the response to our criticism, to our grumbling and mumbling against Him and His inexplicable love.

Verse 4 begins with a rhetoric question, which already presupposes a negative response: nobody would act as the Good Shepherd, as Christ. And it is precisely there, in his behaviour, in his love for us, for all, where his truth is. Verses 5 and 6 tell the story, they describe the actions, the sentiments of the shepherd: his search, his fatigue, his joy which become tenderness and care for the sheep that has been found, the sharing of this joy with the friends. At the end, with verse 7, Luke wants to depict the face of God, personified in Heaven: He anxiously waits for the return of all his children. He is a God, a Father who loves sinners, who recognize themselves in need of his mercy, of his embrace and he cannot be pleased with those who believe themselves to be just and remain far away from Him.

2. MEDITATE ON THE WORD

a) A moment of prayerful silence:

Now, as the Publican and the sinners, I also desire to get close to the Lord Jesus to listen to his words, to pay attention with heart and mind, to everything which He wants to tell me. Then, I open myself, I allow myself to be reached by his voice, by his look on me, which reaches me to the depth of my being…

b) Some ways to deepening:

“Which one among you?”

It is necessary to begin by this strong question of Jesus, addressed to his interlocutors at that moment, but also addressed to us today. We are seriously placed before ourselves, to understand who we are, how we are in the depth of ourselves. “Who is a true man among us?”, says Jesus. Like a few verses further down he will say: “Which woman?”. It is more or less the same question which the Psalmist asked, when he said: “What is man?” (8, 5) and which Job repeated, speaking with God: “What is this man?” (7, 17).

Therefore, here we, in this brief account of Jesus, in this parable of the mercy, we find the truth: we succeed to understand who is truly a man among us. But in order to do this, it is necessary that we encounter God, hidden in these verses, because we must confront ourselves with Him, we must mirror ourselves in Him and find ourselves. The behaviour of the shepherd with his sheep tells us what we should do, how we should be and reveals to us how we are in reality, it shows us our nakedness and our wounds, our profound sickness. We, who believe that we are gods, we are not even men.

Let us see why…

"Ninety nine – one”

Behold that God’s light immediately places us in confrontation with a very strong reality, shocking for us. In this Gospel we find, a flock, one as many others, quite numerous, perhaps belonging to a wealthy man: one hundred sheep. A perfect, symbolical, divine number. The fullness of the children of God, all of us, each one, one by one, nobody can remain excluded. But in this reality, an unthinkable thing happens: a great, unbalanced maximum division is created. On the one hand 99 sheep and on the other only one. There is no acceptable proportion here. And just the same these are God’s ways. Immediately we think and ask ourselves, to which group do we belong. Are we among the 99? Or are we that only one, that is alone, so great, so important so as to be the counterpart of the rest of the flock?

Let us look attentively to the text. The only sheep, the one alone, immediately emerges from the group because it is lost, gets lost, in one word, lives a negative experience, a dangerous one, perhaps even a mortal one. But, surprisingly, the shepherd does not allow it to leave like that, he does not wash his hands; rather he abandons the others, who had remained with him and goes to look for it. Is such a thing possible? Can an abandonment of this dimension be justified? Here we began to enter into crisis, because surely it came spontaneous to us to classify ourselves as being among the 99, who remained faithful. And instead, the shepherd goes and runs in search of the bad one, the one which did not merit anything, but only the solicitude and the abandonment which it sought for itself.

And then what happens? The shepherd does not give up immediately, he does not even think of returning or going back, he does not seem to be concerned about his other sheep, the 99. The text says that he “goes “on” after the lost one, until he finds it”. The preposition is most interesting “on”; it seems almost a picture of the shepherd, who bends down with the heart, with the thought, with the body on that only sheep. He searches the land, seeks for the prints, which he most surely knows and which he has engraved on his hands (Is 49, 16); he questions the silence, to hear if there is still an echo of its bleating at a distance. He calls it by name, he repeats the conventional sign, the one with which each day he has welcomed and accompanied it. And finally, he finds it. Yes, it could not be otherwise. But there is no punishment, no violence, no harshness. Only an infinite love and an overflowing joy. Luke says: “He places it on his shoulders very happily…”. And he rejoices, celebrates at home, with his friends and neighbours. The text does not even say if the shepherd returned to the desert to take back the other 99 sheep.

Before all this, it is clear, very clear, that we should be that only one, that sheep which was alone, loved so much, preferred in that way. We should recognize that if we are lost, that we have sinned, that without the shepherd we are nothing. This is the great passage that the word of the Gospel calls us to fulfil, today: to free ourselves from the weight of our presumed justice, to remove or set aside the yoke of our self-sufficiency and also that we place ourselves on the side of sinners, of the impure, of robbers.

Behold why Jesus begins by asking us: “Which man among you?”

“In the desert”

This is the place of the just, of those who believe that they are right, without sin, without a stain. They have not as yet entered into the Promised Land, they are outside, far away, excluded from the joy, from the mercy. Like those who have not accepted the invitation to the banquet of the king and who withdrew, some with one excuse, others with another.

In the desert and not in the house, just like the only one. Not at the table of the shepherd, where there is good and substantial bread, where there is the wine which rejoices the heart. The table prepared by the Lord: His Body and His Blood. Where the Shepherd becomes Himself the sheep, the immolated Lamb, nourishment of life.

He who does not love his brother, who does not open his heart to mercy, like the Shepherd of the flock does, cannot enter into the house, but remains outside. The desert is his inheritance, his dwelling place. And in the desert there is no food, no water, no pasture, neither enclosure for the sheep.

Jesus eats together with sinners, with the publicans, with the prostitutes, with the least, the excluded and prepares the table, his banquet with rich dishes and excellent wine, with tasty food (Is 25, 6). He also invites us to this table.

c) Interesting Parallel Passages:

2 Samuel 12, 1-4:
In the same town were two men, one rich, the other poor. The rich man had flocks and herds in great abundance; the poor man had nothing but a ewe lamb, only a single little one which he had bought. He fostered it and it grew up with him and his children, eating his bread, drinking from his cup, sleeping in his arms; it was like a daughter to him…..

Matthew 9, 10-13:
Now while he was at table in the house it happened that a number of tax collectors and sinners came to sit at the table with Jesus and his disciples. 11 When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, 'Why does your master eat with tax collectors and sinners?' 12 When he heard this he replied, 'It is not the healthy who need the doctor, but the sick. 13 Go and learn the meaning of the words: Mercy is what pleases me, not sacrifice. And indeed I came to call not the upright, but sinners.'

Luke 19, 1-10:
Zacchaeus

Luke 7, 39:
When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, 'If this man were a prophet, he would know who this woman is and what sort of person it is who is touching him and what a bad name she has.'

Luke 5, 27-32:
When he went out after this, he noticed a tax collector, Levi by name, sitting at the tax office, and said to him, 'Follow me.' And leaving everything Levi got up and followed him. In his honour Levi held a great reception in his house, and with them at table was a large gathering of tax collectors and others. The Pharisees and their scribes complained to his disciples and said, 'Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?' Jesus said to them in reply, 'It is not those that are well who need the doctor, but the sick. I have come to call not the upright but sinners to repentance.'

Matthew 21, 31-32:
Jesus said to them, 'In truth I tell you, tax collectors and prostitutes are making their way into the kingdom of God before you. For John came to you, showing the way of uprightness, but you did not believe him, and yet the tax collectors and prostitutes did. Even after seeing that, you refused to think better of it and believe in him.

d) Brief comments of the spiritual tradition of Carmel:

S. Therese of the Child Jesus:
Speaking of Father Giacinto Loyson, who had left the Carmelite Order and then abandoned the Church, Theresa writes to Celine as follows: “It is certain that Jesus desires much more than we do to lead back this poor lost sheep to the flock…” (L 129).
“Jesus deprives his sheep from his sensible presence, in order to give his consolation to sinners…” (L 142).

Speaking about Pranzini, of whom she had read his conversion at the supreme moment, just before his execution, when taking the crucifix, he kissed the holy wounds, she writes: “Then his soul went to receive the merciful sentence of the One who declares that in Heaven there will be greater joy for one sinner alone who does penance than for 99 just ones who do not need to do penance…” (MA 46 r).

Blessed Elizabeth:
“The priest in the confessional is the minister of this God who is so good, who leaves his 99 faithful sheep to run and look for the one alone which got lost…” Diary, 13.03.1899).

Saint John of the Cross:
“His desire was so great that the Spouse would liberate and redeem his spouse from the hands of sensuality and of the devil, that having accomplished this, he rejoices like the good Shepherd who, after having gone around very much, he finds the lost sheep and with great joy places it on his shoulders” (CB XXI, Annotation)

3. THE WORD AND LIFE

Some questions:

● “… having lost only one of them…” The Gospel immediately calls our attention on the strong and painful reality of getting lost, of the loss. That one sheep of the flock stranded away from the road, separated from the others. It is not a question only of an event, something that happened, but rather it is a characteristic of the sheep; in fact, in verse 6 it is called ‘the lost one’, almost as if this was its true name.

Here is the starting point, the truth. Because it is speaking about us. We are the dispersed sons, the lost ones, the erring ones; that is, the sinners, the publicans. It is useless to continue to believe that we are just, to consider ourselves better than others, worthy of the Kingdom, of God’s presence, almost with the right to grumble, to murmur against Jesus who, instead, pays attention to those who make a mistake. I should ask myself, before this Gospel, if I am ready to fulfil or go through this profound course of conversion, of a very strong interior revision. I must decide myself on which side I want to be: if to allow myself to be carried on the shoulders of the shepherd or to remain at a distance, that is alone, with my own justice. But if I do not know how to use mercy, if I do not know how to accept, to forgive, to esteem, how can I expect all this for myself?

● “…the 99 in the desert…” I should open the eyes on this reality: the desert. Where do I believe that I am? Where do I live? Where do I walk? Which are my pastures? Do I believe that I am secure, that I dwell in the house of the Lord, among his faithful sons, but perhaps it is truly like that. The Psalm says: “In grassy meadow, the Lord lets me lie”. But do I feel that I am in this rest? Then, why am I so anxious, restless, unsatisfied, always searching something more, better, greater? I look at my life: is it not a bit of a desert? Where there is no love and compassion, where I remain closed up to my brothers and sisters and I do not know how to accept them as they are, with their limitations, with the errors that they commit, in the sufferings, that perhaps they inflict on me, there the desert begins, there I am less and there I feel hungry and thirsty. This is the moment to allow my heart to be changed: to recognize myself as miserable in order to become merciful.

● “… he goes after the lost sheep until he finds it…” We have seen that the text describes very delicately the action of the shepherd: he leaves behind all the sheep and goes to look for the only one which is lost. The verb may seem a bit strange, but it is very effective. Like Hosea says concerning God, that He speaks to His People whom He loves, like to a spouse: “There I will speak to her heart” (2, 16). It is a movement, it is being carried by love; a patient bending down, tenacious, which does not give up, but which always insists. In fact, the true love is never diminished. The Lord acts in this way towards each one of his sons. Also toward me. If I look back, if I rethink about my own history , I become aware of how much love, how much patience, how much pain, He has also experienced for me, to find me, to give me back that which I wasted and lost. He has never abandoned me. I recognize this, it is truly like that.

But, at this point, what do I do, with such gratuitous love, such great love, overflowing love? If I keep it closed up in my heart, it gets lost. It cannot be kept until the following day, like the manna; otherwise it gets worms, it becomes rotten. Today, I have to hand it over, distribute it, diffuse it. Beware, if I do not love. And I try to think about my attitude toward my brothers and sisters, those whom I meet every day, with whom I share my life. How do I behave before them? At least, am I similar, in some way to the beautiful shepherd, to the good shepherd, who goes out to seek, who gets close to, who bends down with tenderness, attention, friendship, or even with love? Or am I superficial, truly I am not concerned about anybody, I leave each one to make his own choice, to live his own sorrows, without being ready, in any way, to share with him, to bear them together? What kind of a brother or sister am I? What father or mother am I?

● “Rejoice with me!”. This passage ends with a feast, which then becomes a true and proper banquet, according to the description which Luke gives at the end of the parable. A king’s meal, a solemn feast, with the best dishes, held apart, to fatten the animal, for the occasion, with the most beautiful dresses, with shoes on the feet and the ring on the finger. A joy which always becomes greater, which is contagious, a joy together. This is the invitation which the Father, the King, addresses to us every day, every morning; He desires that we also participate in his joy because of the return of his sons, our brothers. Does this upset me, get me angry? Would I rather want to remain peacefully, perhaps with a threatening face of one who wants to settle the accounts with the errors, with the loss of one or the other? Is my heart open, is it ready for this joy of God? Or do I prefer to remain outside, perhaps to recriminate or reproach what seems to me that is not given, that is, the part of the patrimony which corresponds to me, the special prize or reward to celebrate with whomever I wish? But I understand well that if I do not enter now to God’s banquet, where the poor have been invited, the limping, the cripple, the blind, those whom nobody wants; if I do not participate in the common joy of mercy, I will remain outside forever, sad, closed up in myself, in darkness and weeping, as the Gospel says.

4. THE WORD BECOMES PRAYER

a) Psalm 102, 1-4, 8-13

The Lord is good and great in His love.

Bless Yahweh, my soul,
from the depths of my being,
his holy name;
bless Yahweh, my soul,
never forget all his acts of kindness.
He forgives all your offences,
cures all your diseases,
he redeems your life from the abyss,
crowns you with faithful love and tenderness;

Yahweh is tenderness and pity,
slow to anger and rich in faithful love;
his indignation does not last for ever,
nor his resentment remain for all time;
he does not treat us as our sins deserve,
nor repay us as befits our offences.

As the height of heaven above earth,
so strong is his faithful love for those who fear him.
As the distance of east from west,
so far from us does he put our faults.
As tenderly as a father treats his children,
so Yahweh treats those who fear him;

b) Final Prayer

Good and merciful Father, praise to you for your love which you have revealed to us in Christ, Your Son! You, merciful, call all to become mercy. Help me to recognize that every day I need your pardon, your compassion, that I need the love and understanding of my brothers and sisters. May your Word change my heart and make me capable to follow Jesus, to go out every day, together with Him to look for my brothers in love. Amen.

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