June 7, 2013

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Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus 
Lectionary: 172

Read more about the Sacred Heart of Jesus

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.

This is a prophecy of the coming of Jesus Christ, a Shepherd amongst His 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.

Jesus, when He was raised up upon the Cross, gathered all people to Himself:

John 12:32  And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.

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.

God will gather us all upon Mount Sion, where we will walk with the Saints.  This is a prophecy of the Church which is metaphorically spoken of as a mountain.

Hebrews 12:22 But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,  23 To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,  24 And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.

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.

The sheep are they who are humble and meek.  The sleek and strong are the prideful.  God will bring low those who are filled with pride and exalt those who are humble before Him.

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.

God goes before us and follows behind us, protecting us from the Evil One.  Giving us nourishment and satisfying all our needs.  Blessed is the man who follows the Lord all his days.

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.

This is a description of Baptism, wherein, God washes our sins away as we call    upon the name of Jesus.
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.

This is the gift freely given.  Christ died in order that all men might be saved.  Only those men who reach for the prize by their obedience to the Son of God will receive the prize:

Hebrews 5:9
And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him; 
How much more then, since we are now justified by his blood,
will we be saved through him from the wrath.

To be justified by His Blood is a description of the Sacraments.  But this one     more directly points to the Sacrament of Eucharist.  It is because we are         justified by His Blood that we become members of His Body and will thus be        shielded from the ultimate wrath which will destroy the world.  But that does     not mean we will not suffer.  Unless we suffer, we are not children of God:

Hebrews 12:8
But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastardsand not sons. 
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.

All mankind was reconciled to God by the death of our Lord upon the Cross, but     only those who obey Christ will be saved.  Those who neglect their salvation     which was handed to them, will be lost.

Hebrews 2:3
How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him; 
Not only that,
but we also boast of God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
through whom we have now received reconciliation.

I'm not sure, but I think this means that we recognize God in our Lord Jesus Christ.  Because in coming to Jesus Christ, we come to the Father.

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?

Jesus explains why He has come.  To find the lost sheep of Israel and the world.

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."

Jesus came to call sinners to repentance.  He came to gather His people from every nation into one fold.  Jesus came to bring salvation to mankind.