Gospel Reflection

June 07, 2013

Friday – Year of Faith – Ordinary Time

Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

by Rev. Fr. Benjamin “Benjo” Fajota (Vice Rector of the EDSA Shrine)

6:30AM Mass, Mary, Queen of Peace Shrine (Our Lady of Peace Quasi Parish/EDSA Shrine)

Reading 1 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 2 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.

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."  

HOMILY

The parables have very common characteristics. They start with an experience which the hearer is very familiar with. But then something happens, which changes his mindset or attitude.

This is similar to our Gospel Reading. Sino kaya ang isang pastol na iiwanan ang kanyang siyamnapu't siyam na tupa para lamang hanapin ang isang nawawala? Dito ay nakita natin ang isang larawan o imahen ng Diyos na nagmamahal. Sasabihin ng ibang mga pastol, ok lang na mawala ang isa, meron pa naman silang siyamnapu't siyam. But then in our image of God as a good Shepherd, as we celebrate today the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, we see a God who cares. Mayroon Siyang pagkalinga. Mayroon Siyang pagbibigay ng tunay na pag-ibig.

At one point in our lives, all of us get lost with our sinfulness. But no matter what those sins are, kahit na gaanong kabigat ang lahat ng ating mga kasalanan, sinasabi sa atin ni Hesus ngayon, 'Hahanapin Ko kayo....I will find you, and I will bring you home to the Father."

So, on this Feast of the Sacred Heart, God is asking us for a conversion of our hearts. Sinasabi Niya sa atin, 'Talikdan n'yo ang inyong mga kasalanan dahil ang pagmamahal Ko ang inaalay Ko. Ito ang tunay na magbibigay sa inyo ng kaligayahan - ang pakikipagkaisa sa Akin, ang pagbabalik-loob sa Akin....Pero tandaan n'yo ito. Kahit na ano ang inyong kasalanan, kahit na kayo ang pinaka-makasalanang tao sa buong daigdig, hahanapin at hahanapin Ko kayo, dahil ganoon Ko kayo kamahal. Ibabalik Ko kayo sa tahanan ng Diyos Ama.'

My dear brothers and sisters, this is the promise of our Lord Jesus Christ. He loves us, He understands us, He forgives our sins. And that is the start of healing. Let us pray, as we celebrate this day of the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ, for a transformation of our hearts. Because deeply, God cares. Let us celebrate the great love of God for us. Amen.