While We Were Still Sinners

June 15, 2007

Solemnity of Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

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. Ezekiel 34:15-16

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. Romans 5:6-8

"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.' Luke 15:4-6

Piety

LORD, you are my shepherd; with what you provide, there is nothing more I want. In green pastures you let me graze; to safe waters you lead me; you restore my strength. You guide me along the right path for the sake of your name. Even when I walk through a dark valley, I fear no harm for you are at my side; your rod and staff give me courage.

You set a table before me as my enemies watch; You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Only goodness and love will pursue me all the days of my life; I will dwell in the house of the LORD for years to come. (Psalm 23)

Study

http://www.usccb.org/nab/061507.shtml

Today on the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, we encounter images of the shepherd, the generous host and the defender.

These images are all images of the strong heart of Jesus. However, as he hung on the cross, humiliated, naked and beaten, a sword was thrust into his side…piercing his heart like the thorns pierced his head and the whip pierced his back and our sins pierced his soul.

The heart is the central organ of life. Because Jesus became man incarnate, he had a body and soul and all the appropriate parts, especially a heart. His sacred heart started beating on Christmas night in the arms of Mary and Joseph. It continued beating when Satan tempted Christ in the desert. His heart was broken when John the Baptist preceded him on Death Row. His heart cried when his friend Lazarus died. His heart quickened knowing what awaited him after the Last Supper. How fast it must have beat while St. John lay his head upon the breast of his Savior and friend! He heart shook in the Garden of Gethsemane as he prayed. His heart tore like the veil of the sanctuary was he was arrested, convicted, condemned and executed -- until a Roman soldier thrust his sword into the Savior’s side pouring forth blood and water.

As we conclude the week which began with the celebration of Corpus Christi (the Body of Christ), we now concentrate on this heart that poured out love yet only met ingratitude and forgetfulness.

If the human heart represents an unfathomable mystery that only God knows, how much more sublime is the heart of Jesus, in which the life of the Word itself beats.

Pope John Paul II

Action

How would your life be different if you had not received the gift of a Sacred Heart?

Please reflect and name a few of your own special gifts and talents.

How does the Sacred Heart contribute and nurture your strongest attributes?

How are you as an individual, in your own life using your gifts and talents to continue living in faith, intellectual life, social awareness, community and personal growth?

Through our shared value and faith, what actions can we take (or are we already taking) in our communities and throughout the world to continue the efforts of our founders by building Christian values of social awareness?