Solemnity
of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus
Lectionary: 172
Lectionary: 172
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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."
"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."
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)
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)
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.
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.
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.
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.
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”?
June 3
Sts. Charles Lwanga and Companions
(d. 1886)
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.
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."
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."
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
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.
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…..
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.'
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
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.'
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.'
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.
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 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).
“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)
“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;
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.
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;
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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