WHEN ANGELS CELEBRATE
“Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.” – Luke 15:6
Up in heaven, angels were gathered to welcome new souls. They were full of excitement at the arrival area.
The angels welcomed a devoted Christian with joy and celebration by clapping their hands as the man entered the Pearly Gates. The man smiled, almost in tears, as he basked in their warm welcome.
Soon afterwards, the angels erupted in even greater jubilation at the next person who was entering heaven. The angels put out banners and party poppers, and lively music blared. The man became curious and figured it must be a celebrity of some sort — the pope maybe, or a saint.
When he couldn’t take the suspense any longer, he asked one of the angels who the newcomer would be. The angel replied, “One notorious sinner just had his last confession.” JC Libiran (CoachJCLibiran@gmail.com)
Pope Francis Says: “(Jesus) forgets, He has a very special capacity for forgetting. He forgets, He kisses you, He embraces you and He simply says to you: ‘Neither do I condemn you; go, and sin no more’ (John 8:11).”
Sacred Heart of Jesus, make my heart like Yours, full of mercy and compassion. Amen.
Sts. Charles Lwanga and Companions, martyrs, pray for us.
COMPANION
1ST READING
God is the best example to follow. Ezekiel promises us that God will be our Shepherd as there is much to be desired in the leadership of the Jewish people for a few centuries. God has “had enough” and will show His love by leading His people out of exile. Does this sound familiar to you? We do not deserve His love. God’s gift of salvation is unmerited and purely gracious.
Ezekiel 34:11-16
11 Thus says the Lord God: I myself will look after and tend my sheep. 12 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. 13 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. 14 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. 15 I myself will pasture my sheep; I myself will give them rest, says the Lord God. 16 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.
P S A L M 2
Psalm 23:1-3, 3-4, 5, 6
R: The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 In verdant pastures he gives me repose; beside restful waters he leads me; 3 he refreshes my soul. (R) He guides me in right paths for his name’s sake. 4 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) 5 You spread the table before me in the sight of my foes; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. (R) 6 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)
2ND READING
Paul knows that none of us deserve salvation. He was even a persecutor of the Gospel before his conversion. If God can save Paul and make him a great evangelist, then He can do the same for us if we surrender to the grace God gives us. Are you willing to give up everything for the sake of the Kingdom of God? This is what God asks of us.
Romans 5:5-11
5 Brothers and sisters: The love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. 6 For Christ, while we were still helpless, died at the appointed time for the ungodly. 7 Indeed, only with difficulty does one die for a just person, though perhaps for a good person one might even find courage to die. 8 But God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us. 9 How much more then, since we are now justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from the wrath. 10 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. 11 Not only that, but we also boast of God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
GOSPEL
Today we celebrate the mercy of God. There is no sin that God cannot forgive. Let us embrace His mercy and love so that we can live as disciples of Jesus to the world. Let us live under the banner of Jesus’ mercy and love so that we can light the way to salvation for others.
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION
I am the good shepherd, says the Lord; I know my sheep, and mine know me.
Luke 15:3-7
3 Jesus addressed this parable to the Pharisees and scribes: 4 “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? 5 And when he does find it, he sets it on his shoulders with great joy 6 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.’ 7 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.”
think: Are you willing to give up everything for the sake of the Kingdom of God?
SABBATH
ZEAL FOR THE LOST SHEEP
For the solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus today, our Gospel reading is none other than the Parable of the Lost Sheep. It’s helpful to bear in mind the original context of this parable: Jesus addressed it to the Pharisees and the scribes. If we were to take modern-day equivalents of these, then those of us in positions of church authority might do well to heed this parable in a special way.
In the first place, we have a perfect metaphor for God’s utter love for us sinners. It’s a stubborn kind of love, one that never gives up until the poor straying lamb has been found, even risking the other 99 left behind. That is because the lost sheep takes the first priority. It is an emergency situation and it demands more attention from the shepherd. God’s love for the lost, the least, and the last is truly indefatigable and inexhaustible.
In other words, the Lord God will stop at nothing until He finds those who have strayed. For Him, no one must be wasted, unappreciated, obscured or overlooked. No one must ever be lost.
Such pastoral zeal is what we are also called to assume. We simply can’t sit around while a brother or sister of ours is going astray or is in a sinful situation. His state, in fact, might worsen because of our indifference. It’s bad enough that he is lost because of a wrongdoing, but it’s even worse when people who are supposed to care for him neglect doing so.
May the Sacred Heart of Jesus rub off a little bit of that same zeal and ardor for us. Fr. Martin Macasaet, SDB
REFLECTION QUESTIONS: Is there anyone you know who is lost and needs your compassion and support? What is God telling you to do today?
Lord, let me be Your heart today for the least, the lost and the last. Amen.
Special thanks to Bro Bo Sanchez for these inspiring readings!
“Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.” – Luke 15:6
Up in heaven, angels were gathered to welcome new souls. They were full of excitement at the arrival area.
The angels welcomed a devoted Christian with joy and celebration by clapping their hands as the man entered the Pearly Gates. The man smiled, almost in tears, as he basked in their warm welcome.
Soon afterwards, the angels erupted in even greater jubilation at the next person who was entering heaven. The angels put out banners and party poppers, and lively music blared. The man became curious and figured it must be a celebrity of some sort — the pope maybe, or a saint.
When he couldn’t take the suspense any longer, he asked one of the angels who the newcomer would be. The angel replied, “One notorious sinner just had his last confession.” JC Libiran (CoachJCLibiran@gmail.com)
Pope Francis Says: “(Jesus) forgets, He has a very special capacity for forgetting. He forgets, He kisses you, He embraces you and He simply says to you: ‘Neither do I condemn you; go, and sin no more’ (John 8:11).”
Sacred Heart of Jesus, make my heart like Yours, full of mercy and compassion. Amen.
Sts. Charles Lwanga and Companions, martyrs, pray for us.
COMPANION
1ST READING
God is the best example to follow. Ezekiel promises us that God will be our Shepherd as there is much to be desired in the leadership of the Jewish people for a few centuries. God has “had enough” and will show His love by leading His people out of exile. Does this sound familiar to you? We do not deserve His love. God’s gift of salvation is unmerited and purely gracious.
Ezekiel 34:11-16
11 Thus says the Lord God: I myself will look after and tend my sheep. 12 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. 13 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. 14 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. 15 I myself will pasture my sheep; I myself will give them rest, says the Lord God. 16 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.
P S A L M 2
Psalm 23:1-3, 3-4, 5, 6
R: The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 In verdant pastures he gives me repose; beside restful waters he leads me; 3 he refreshes my soul. (R) He guides me in right paths for his name’s sake. 4 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) 5 You spread the table before me in the sight of my foes; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. (R) 6 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)
2ND READING
Paul knows that none of us deserve salvation. He was even a persecutor of the Gospel before his conversion. If God can save Paul and make him a great evangelist, then He can do the same for us if we surrender to the grace God gives us. Are you willing to give up everything for the sake of the Kingdom of God? This is what God asks of us.
Romans 5:5-11
5 Brothers and sisters: The love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. 6 For Christ, while we were still helpless, died at the appointed time for the ungodly. 7 Indeed, only with difficulty does one die for a just person, though perhaps for a good person one might even find courage to die. 8 But God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us. 9 How much more then, since we are now justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from the wrath. 10 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. 11 Not only that, but we also boast of God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
GOSPEL
Today we celebrate the mercy of God. There is no sin that God cannot forgive. Let us embrace His mercy and love so that we can live as disciples of Jesus to the world. Let us live under the banner of Jesus’ mercy and love so that we can light the way to salvation for others.
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION
I am the good shepherd, says the Lord; I know my sheep, and mine know me.
Luke 15:3-7
3 Jesus addressed this parable to the Pharisees and scribes: 4 “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? 5 And when he does find it, he sets it on his shoulders with great joy 6 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.’ 7 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.”
think: Are you willing to give up everything for the sake of the Kingdom of God?
SABBATH
ZEAL FOR THE LOST SHEEP
For the solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus today, our Gospel reading is none other than the Parable of the Lost Sheep. It’s helpful to bear in mind the original context of this parable: Jesus addressed it to the Pharisees and the scribes. If we were to take modern-day equivalents of these, then those of us in positions of church authority might do well to heed this parable in a special way.
In the first place, we have a perfect metaphor for God’s utter love for us sinners. It’s a stubborn kind of love, one that never gives up until the poor straying lamb has been found, even risking the other 99 left behind. That is because the lost sheep takes the first priority. It is an emergency situation and it demands more attention from the shepherd. God’s love for the lost, the least, and the last is truly indefatigable and inexhaustible.
In other words, the Lord God will stop at nothing until He finds those who have strayed. For Him, no one must be wasted, unappreciated, obscured or overlooked. No one must ever be lost.
Such pastoral zeal is what we are also called to assume. We simply can’t sit around while a brother or sister of ours is going astray or is in a sinful situation. His state, in fact, might worsen because of our indifference. It’s bad enough that he is lost because of a wrongdoing, but it’s even worse when people who are supposed to care for him neglect doing so.
May the Sacred Heart of Jesus rub off a little bit of that same zeal and ardor for us. Fr. Martin Macasaet, SDB
REFLECTION QUESTIONS: Is there anyone you know who is lost and needs your compassion and support? What is God telling you to do today?
Lord, let me be Your heart today for the least, the lost and the last. Amen.
Special thanks to Bro Bo Sanchez for these inspiring readings!
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