Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
(Ezekiel 34:11-16; Romans 5:5b-11; Luke 15:3-7)
In his last encyclical letter Dilexit Nos Pope
Francis wrote of how contemporary humans, bombarded by technology, live at a
hectic pace. We have become used to fulfilling
our wants instantly. Quoting St. John
Paul II, Pope Francis said that people are in danger of losing their very
center, which is their heart. Wise
people are wary of Artificial Intelligence because it promises to take decisions
and actions even farther away from our hearts.
Pope Francis recommended a return to the heart, not the
individual heart but one united to the heart of Jesus. Jesus will form it in compassion, a way of opening
the heart to others. In synch with the
heart of Jesus, the person forgets selfish desires as he or she lives for others.
Today we celebrate the compassionate, loving heart of Jesus. The gospel pictures him telling his critics of
a shepherd who hustles to find a lost sheep.
He wants them to know that God loves each human person like the shepherd
loves each of his sheep. Assured of God’s
love, his critics might recover their own hearts in loving others.