Texts taken from the Missal “On Your Word” May-June 2025
Most Sacred Heart of Jesus (s) (C)
proper
FIRST READING
From the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel (Ez 34:11-16)
Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I myself will search for my sheep and seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so I will seek out my sheep and gather them from all the places where they were scattered on days of cloud and darkness. I will bring them out from among the peoples and gather them from all the regions. I will lead them back to their land and pasture them on the mountains of Israel, in the valleys and in all the inhabited places of the region. I will lead them to excellent pastures, and their pasture will be on the high mountains of Israel; there they will lie down in fertile pastures and graze abundantly on the mountains of Israel. I myself will lead my sheep to pasture, and I will make them lie down. Oracle of the Lord God. I will seek the lost sheep and bring back the strayed one to the fold, I will bind up the injured and heal the sick, I will care for the fat and the strong; I will pasture them with justice.” - The word of God.
Commentary on the First Reading
The shepherd shares every aspect of his flock’s life. He lives with them to such an extent that, during transhumance, he stays away from home and sleeps near the sheep to keep watch. The shepherd’s life is the flock; the sheep feel guided, protected, and loved by him. If Jesus identifies himself with the perfect shepherd, then we can always feel watched over, cared for, and loved by him. The difficult thing about Christianity is believing that Jesus truly cares about us, that our lives are precious to him. We are accustomed to feeling unimportant and poorly loved by those close to us, so it seems impossible to us that an infinite and immense God would “waste time” with us when he has so many other things to do. In this case, faith means believing not so much that we love God, but that we are the ultimate object of his love. Some mystics say that we are “God’s heaven.” Is it possible that he knows and loves us so much that he finds his joy in us? And yet, if we are in Christ, that is how it is. Let us ask ourselves: to what extent are we sure and certain that we are loved by God? To what extent do we experience it?
SECOND READING
From the Letter of Saint Paul the Apostle to the Romans (Rom 5:5b-11)
Brothers and sisters, God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. Indeed, while we were still weak, at the appointed time Christ died for the ungodly. Now, scarcely anyone is willing to die for a righteous person; perhaps someone might dare to die for a good person. But God proves his love for us in that, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. How much more, then, now that we have been justified by his blood, shall we be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, how much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. Not only that, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. – The Word of God.
Commentary on the Second Reading
God’s love finds its finest expression in this passage from the Letter to the Romans. Jesus dies for us while we were “still sinners.” We can understand the heroism of someone who offers to die for good people, or even for complete strangers who are entirely innocent, as in the famous act of the Servant of God Salvo D’Acquisto, who offered to be executed in place of others who had done nothing wrong. But offering to suffer and die for evil people who even mock and reject you reveals a “non-normal” love. Indeed, God’s love is supernatural, superior to nature. God’s gift is not motivated by the worthiness of the one receiving it, but finds its reason in itself. God loves because he is love, and for this reason he pours himself out and gives himself, regardless of everything. In a word, God’s love is freely given. Likewise, when we love those who love us, we do nothing extraordinary; but when we are willing to suffer or pray for those who mistreat us or have harmed us, we bring the power of God’s love forth from within us.
GOSPEL
From the Gospel according to Luke (Lk 15:3-7)
At that time, Jesus said to the Pharisees and scribes: «Which one of you, if he has a hundred sheep and loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the lost one until he finds it? And when he has found it, he joyfully carries it on his shoulders, goes home, calls his friends and neighbors, and says to them: “Rejoice with me, because I have found my sheep, the one that was lost.” I tell you, in the same way there will be joy in heaven over one sinner who repents, more than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance.» –
The Word of the Lord.
Gospel Commentary
Joy is the underlying theme of the short parable that the Lord tells in the Gospel. At first, the shepherd is concerned because one of his sheep has wandered into danger; then, when he finds it, he rejoices and invites his friends to share in the celebration. Finally, we learn that there is rejoicing even in Heaven. This means that joy is genuine when it is shared and participated in. This is the image of Heaven, where one person’s wealth will be available to others, where everyone can share in our blessings, and we can share in those of others. Heaven is a symphony we cannot imagine, because here on earth sin has closed us off from one another, making deep communication about the graces we have received difficult. Even now, we can have a glimpse of this “communal joy” when a sinner converts, when a friend or relative of ours finds the way to God again, returning to the fold after spending years in the world’s arid and dangerous pastures, perhaps in addiction. Authentic joy, therefore, does not depend on the external circumstances of life, which are always so changeable, but on shared grace, especially the grace that comes from true conversion to God.
