I Have Found My Lost Sheep (SOLEMNITY OF THE MOST SACRED HEART OF JESUS - C)

JUNE 24, 2022, FRIDAY
SOLEMNITY OF THE MOST SACRED HEART OF JESUS (White)
DAY OF PRAYER FOR THE SANCTIFICATION OF PRIESTS
CYCLE C - YEAR II
Lectionary: 172

Reading I
Ez 34:11-16

Thus says the Lord GOD:
I myself will look after and tend my sheep.
As a shepherd tends his flock
when he finds himself among his scattered sheep,
so will I tend my sheep.
I will rescue them from every place where they were scattered
when it was cloudy and dark.
I will lead them out from among the peoples
and gather them from the foreign lands;
I will bring them back to their own country
and pasture them upon the mountains of Israel
in the land's ravines and all its inhabited places.
In good pastures will I pasture them,
and on the mountain heights of Israel
shall be their grazing ground.
There they shall lie down on good grazing ground,
and in rich pastures shall they be pastured
on the mountains of Israel.
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.
 

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 23:1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6.

R (1)    The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
            In verdant pastures he gives me repose;
beside restful waters he leads me;
            he refreshes my soul.

R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

He guides me in right paths
            for his name's sake.
Even though I walk in the dark valley
            I fear no evil; for you are at my side
with your rod and your staff
            that give me courage.

R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

You spread the table before me
            in the sight of my foes;
you anoint my head with oil;
            my cup overflows.

R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

Only goodness and kindness follow me
            all the days of my life;
and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD
            for years to come.

R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

Reading II
Rom 5:5b-11

Brothers and sisters:
The love of God has been poured out into our hearts
through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.
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.
How much more then, since we are now justified by his blood,
will we be saved through him from the wrath.
Indeed, if, while we were enemies,
we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son,
how much more, once reconciled,
will we be saved by his life.
Not only that,
but we also boast of God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
through whom we have now received reconciliation.

Alleluia
Mt 11:29ab

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Take my yoke upon you, says the Lord,
and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

OR:

Jn 10:14

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

I am the good shepherd, says the Lord,
I know my sheep, and mine know me.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel
Lk 15:3-7

Jesus addressed this parable to the Pharisees and scribes:
"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.'
I tell you, in just the same way
there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents
than over ninety-nine righteous people
who have no need of repentance."
 
GOSPEL REFLECTION:

The message of today's feast and of today's reading is the most basic truth of all: God loves us, and he sent his Son who loved us to the very end, shedding his blood for us. Like all love, in all its forms, it is something we can never contemplate enough, it is beyond our grasp. Yet I know it is there and makes a huge difference in my life.

Christian faith turns this on its head. God loves me, not because of anything good I may have done. God loves be because he loves me. Any good I might do is because of the gift of life given to me. God loves all his creatures first and always. Can I get my head around this?

PRAYER:

Jesus, make my heart similar to yours in its freedom and mercy.


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