Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
(Ezekiel
34:11-16; Romans 5:5b-11; Luke 15:3-7)
The author
Oscar Wilde famously wrote, “…every saint has a past and every sinner has a
future.” Although no one is perfect, we are
all called to perfection, that is to sanctity.
Saints made mistakes in the past but were able (or better were enabled
by God’s grace) to repent of their sins.
Sinners, perhaps the case of Wilde himself, can respond to God’s grace
so that they always do His will.
In today’s
first reading Ezekiel describes how God promises to save His people. Using the image of a shepherd searching out
lost sheep, the prophet says that God will gather His suffering people in peace
and joy. In today’s gospel Jesus recalls
Ezekiel’s prophecy. It should be read as
a self-description of Jesus’ mission to save the world. The reading from Romans provides the dynamics
of that mission. Jesus died on the cross
to justify those who believe in him. Now
they can achieve the sanctity of God’s beloved children.
We must
realize that God’s greatest gift is not material prosperity or even good
health. No, Jesus Christ is the measure
of God’s love for us. He is God’s Son
who sacrificed himself out of God’s love for us. On this Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of
Jesus we recall that sacrifice. His
heart symbolizes divine love for us. The pierce wound, that most always is displayed in images of the Sacred Heart, indicates
the price of that love.
