THE WORD
Ez 34,11-16 / Rom 5,5-11 / Lk 15,3-7
Jesus spoke this parable to the scribes and Pharisees, ‘What man among you with a hundred sheep, losing one, would not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the missing one till he found it? And when he found it, would he not joyfully take it on his shoulders and then, when he got home, call together his friends and neighbours? “Rejoice with me,” he would say “I have found my sheep that was lost.” In the same way, ‘I tell you, there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one repentant sinner than over ninety-nine virtuous men who have no need of repentance.’
IN OTHER WORDS
Today, we celebrate the Feast of the Sacred Heart. I always look forward to celebrating First Friday Masses, intended as Votive Masses of the Sacred Heart. We thank Pope Leo XIII for granting in 1889 the remarkable privilege to promote this devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus!
I personally see the importance of this Feast of and devotion to the Sacred Heart given that our human heart is very ambivalent. We know how our emotions change and fluctuate. How many families and relationships have been destroyed because of our emotional ambivalence?
Human love is not enough. Our human heart needs a solid foundation. After studying philosophy, theology and psychology, I came to be more convinced that my human heart/love should be founded on the Sacred Heart and Divine Love of Jesus Christ! The Feast of and devotion to the Sacred Heart finds meaning in this realization. Without this sacred and divine foundation, our human heart/love will remain insecure and imperfect.
But with the Sacred and Divine Heart of Jesus, our human heart/love will remain stable and strong. In today’s Gospel we discover that only with this kind of heart can one leave the ninety- nine in the wilderness and go after the one missing sheep.
Tomorrow, we’ll celebrate the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. What a wonderful combination: Sacred Heart and Immaculate Heart of Mary! With these two hearts, our hearts are fully secure – banal at malinis na puso! With sacred and immaculate heart, we’ll become compassionate, forgiving and, above all, loving!
- Fr. Glenn Paul Gomez, SVD | DWC, San Jose Occ. Mindoro
The Word in other words 2016
An annual project of Logos Publications, The WORD in Other Words Bible Diary contains daily scripture readings and reflections written by priest, brothers, and sisters of the three congregations founded by St. Arnold Janssen (the SVD, SSpS, and SSpSAP). It hopes to serve as a daily companion to readers who continually seek the correlation of the Word of God and human experience.
