“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. He guides me in right paths for His name’s sake. Even though I walk in the dark valley I fear no evil.” (Psalm 23:1-4)
Reflections on the readings for the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus (June 24, 2022): EZ 34:11-16; PS 23:1-3,3-4,5,6;ROM 5:5-11; LK 15:3-7
MISSIO offers “Mission In Scripture” to nurture a missionary heart, providing reflections on the missionary themes in the readings of Sundays, Feast Days and Holy Days.
Lost. Strayed. Injured. Sick. God will leave none behind who allow Him to find them, help them, and show them the way.
“Blessed be God. Blessed be His holy name. Blessed be Jesus Christ true God and true man. Blessed be His Sacred Heart. …” The Divine Praises that we pray, particularly during Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, remind us to honor the Sacred Heart of Jesus. This feast expresses the love of Christ for us and calls us to reciprocate His love. Our Lord, through His Sacred Heart, demonstrates His personal concern for the well being of each and every person. Both the Old and New Testament readings for this Solemnity focus on the depth of compassion that God -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit -- has for each of His children. The particular image used is that of a shepherd caring for his flock. “This 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 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” (Ezekiel 34:11-12,16).
Lost. Strayed. Injured. Sick. God will leave none behind who allow Him to find them, help them, and show them the way. In the letter of St. Paul to the Romans, we hear specifically about what God has done for us. He has done the unthinkable, the unimaginable; that is, according to human thinking and imagining. But God has done what seem incredible to us: He sent His Son to lay down His life in order to save us from the darkness of sin and the permanence of death. The Sacred Heart of Jesus reveals the divine and human love that raises us up with Him. The Shepherd became the Lamb for us, sacrificed on the altar of the cross only to transform a tomb into a place of life and light, of redemption and eternity. Let us express our thanks to the Sacred Heart of Jesus today. More than that, we can continue to show our devotion to our Lord in a special way on the first Friday of each month.
Suggested missionary action: We can best honor the Sacred Heart of Jesus by hiding our hearts in His, by sharing His love with others, by adoring Him all the days of our lives. We can also pray for those who do not yet know Christ and all who carry the Gospel to them.
