GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY : Friday - June 24, 2022

  

Friday - June 24, 2022

We should love God because He is God, and the measure of our love should be to love Him without measure.

 

-- St Bernard

June 24, 2022

SOLEMNITY OF MOST SACRED HEART OF JESUS

Lectionary: 172

 

Reading I     

                                                                                    Ez 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 Psalm                                  Ps 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 II    

                                                                                    Rom 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.

 

Alleluia                                              Phil 2:8 Mt 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

 

Gospel                                                           Lk 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."

 

**********************************

The Sacred, Thumping Heart of Jesus

One day many years ago (in 1988), soon after I began to participate in the daily celebration of Holy Mass, it occurred to me that the Lord was hoping that I would stay for a while after Mass to pray in front of his holy presence in the Tabernacle. I said, "Okay".

 

At first I felt embarrassed that others would notice me kneeling there. But then the presence of Jesus became strong, not only in the Sacred Host that was hidden behind the closed Tabernacle door, but in Spirit in front of the Tabernacle. Mind you, I am no visionary, but what I experienced can best be described as a keen awareness that Jesus wanted to show me his Sacred Heart. I "saw" him open the robe that covered his chest (it reminded me of Superman peeling off his shirt). I expected to see an image of the Sacred Heart similar to what artists have painted for holy cards.

 

That's not what I saw. It was a live, beating, pumping, thumping heart. A human heart "on fire" with the glow of pure light -- a "fire" of tremendous love, an often-suffering but powerful love.

 

How sacred his love truly is for you and for me and for everyone! It's without flaw or sin. It's complete and all-consuming. It suffers for us when we sin. It suffers with us when we are hurt by the sins of others. And it's as real as your own beating heart.

 

Jesus did not lose his human body when he ascended to heaven. The heart in his glorified body did not stop existing. The reason why the Church gives us this special feast day to commemorate the Sacred Heart of Jesus -- and the reason why Jesus shows his heart to us -- is because it symbolizes his love, pierced for us on the cross but forever alive, real, and unconditionally caring.

 

Problems and unanswered prayers cause us to doubt the liveliness of Christ's love. The inability to feel his love pumping through us seems to prove that it's not always here. Our unworthiness seems to prove that he should not make it available to us.

 

However, these doubts dissolve away when we give to others the love that we seek from the Lord, for it's in giving that we receive, it's in doing that we understand, and it's in taking action that we become aware of what is real. By giving his sacred love to the people around us, our hearts beat in unison with his Sacred Heart. Then we understand what we hear in today's first reading: "The Lord has set his heart on you and chose you!"

 

You were chosen by God to be loved and to love others on his behalf. Remember this: The same doubt that you've felt is also what others are experiencing. Who in your life needs proof that God loves them? Who's in a bad mood? Who needs a kind, calming, caring word of encouragement and hope? Because you have within you the Sacred Heart of Jesus, you are the proof they need that God's love is real. Give it to them and you will find the proof that cures your own doubts!

 

A SACRED HEART PRAYER FOR ALL PEOPLE

 

Loving Jesus, Your Sacred Heart is open to all mankind and full of love for each one of us.

 

We who love You have experienced Your love in our lives, but we have family and friends who have never fully come to love You, or turned away from Your love.

 

In Your mercy, Jesus, let them feel the touch of Your gentle love and gather them back to You.

 

Lord, Your Sacred Heart is filled with love for all who have not heard of You; help us to teach them of You and bring them to love You.

 

The compassion of Your Sacred Heart does not judge anyone, but calls us to witness Your loving truth to those who scorn or fear You.

 

Through Your precious Sacred Heart, bring all people to come to love You and live in peace and true freedom to give You all praise, honor and glory. Amen.

 

Today's Prayer

 

Forgive me, Lord, for not paying attention to that brother or sister You placed in my path for guidance from You. Teach me how to be aware of those souls who are thirsty for Your love. Amen.

 

 

God Bless You.....

The Rosary Family

The mother of Jesus promised St. Dominic that, “one day through the rosary & the scapular I shall save the world!”