June 28 2019, Solemnity of Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

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Sacred heart of Jesus, the feast of God’s singular love for mankind.

READINGS: Ez 34:11-16; Ps 23:1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6; Rom 5:5b-11; Lk 15:3-7

A German proverb says, “Fire in the heart sends smoke into the head.” He who has love in his heart burns of that love to serve.
We are like brought back, by steps of giants, to Holy Week, exactly at the foot of the Cross on Good Friday, to contemplate the pierced heart of Jesus, fountain of God’s love and mercy. This solemnity of today sets us in a great confidence because through the heart of His Beloved Son, God the Father shows us His unmeasurable love and washes away the stains and marks of our sins. The heart rightly is presented as the symbol of love because only love can restore everything and cancel the past.
The Gospel of John tells us that after Jesus died on the Cross, one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water (Jn 19: 34). When we look at the piercing of Christ, we can easily see a fulfilment of a prophecy, it is about how God "loved them (us) to the end" (Jn 13:1).
From Jesus’ pierced side, came blood and water; the blood as the greatest expression of love given till the last drop and the water as source of purification, a baptismal bath. Rightly, today, we are urged to unite ourselves to the universal Church and pray for the Sanctification of our priests. Because, the water and blood flowing from the Lord’s heart are fountain of purification and sanctification.
The readings given for our meditation are expression of the singular love of God for mankind that he sees as his own sheep. The heart being symbol of love, in the first reading, the Prophet Ezekiel presents us with the image of a God who, burning of love for his people, decided himself, to be their shepherd. He is a shepherd with particular concern for his sheep that he can says, “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.” The Lord, also, gave himself the obligation to rescue and gather his flock, to search for the lost one, cure the injured, and lead them unto the best pasture.
God as shepherd, we read, does not feed himself of the sheep, but instead have great concern for it and feed it. He is ready of all the sacrifices for the safety of his sheep. This first point raises some provocations that I will like to make with us shepherd and pastors of the Lord’s flock. Today’s shepherds, we priests included, seek more how to feed ourselves of the weak sheep than to feed them. We weaken those sheep who look strong by taking away everything from them. Instead of caring for our sheep, we want that it should be the sheep to care for us. Many priests and pastors are living in continual, to not say perpetual assistance, unable to do anything by themselves. All for them is done by their sheep. And sadly, we even fail doing our basic, the spiritual care and concern for God’s flock. While we ask the faithful to support the physical life of the priests and pastors, we neglect to provide the spiritual nourishment to our sheep. We look not for the lost one and we lose those who are quite safe.
Jesus in the Gospel of Luke gives us a beautiful image of the love of God for us his sheep. The Lord runs for the lost sheep and feast upon finding it. It is so because of the great love that the Lord has for us. And Paul expresses it in the second reading. In his love, though we were sinners, God reconciled us to himself. Do we make the effort, as shepherd of the Lord’s flock to search for those who are lost and reconcile them with the community and with God? Are we shepherds or business people searching for their personal interests?
Let us never lose this is mind, that as priests and pastors of God’s flock, our sanctification will pass from the concern and the real care and love we give to our people. The solemnity of the Sacred heart of Jesus shows us till where love can go, giving up everything, till the last drop. Let us quench ourselves in that love and in return give love to all those in need of us. The Heart of Jesus is a burning furnace of love, let us give ourselves to burn of that same love for others and serve them as Christ did for us.

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