Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus ~ 3 June 2016

O Jesus meek and humble of Heart, 

make my heart like unto thine, 

truly beating and throbbing in the Eucharist!

19 days after Pentecost Sunday and on the Friday after the feast of Corpus Christi, we celebrate the solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. This year this solemnity is enriched by the Jubilee for Priests as it falls on the same day said by Pope Francis and he also quoted “I invite everyone to pray the Heart of Jesus for the entire month of June and to support with closeness and affection your priests so that they always reflect the image of that Heart full of merciful love,”

The Sacred Heart of Jesus is the symbol of the fidelity of the love of God. Jesus stands with his heart, burning with joy and love for us, exposed to all., it reminds us that God loves us unconditionally with a love we cannot earn or ever be worthy of. It also reminds us Jesus' humanity and the significance of his sacrifice, the ultimate example of love, laying down one’s life for another, and thus he set his heart upon us. 

May we worship and adore the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and may our hearts be open to others, imitating Jesus in deepening our love for him, we learn to love each other. 

"I promise you 

in the excessive mercy of my Heart 

that my all-powerful love will grant 

to all those who receive Holy Communion 

on the First Fridays in nine consecutive months 

the grace of final perseverance; 

they shall not die in my disgrace, 

nor without receiving their sacraments. 

My divine Heart shall be their safe refuge 

in this last moment" 

~ Jesus to St. Margaret Mary ~

Grant, we pray, almighty God, that we, who glory in the Heart of your beloved Son and recall the wonders of his love for us, may be made worthy to receive an overflowing measure of grace from that fount of heavenly gifts. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

“Jesus Christ is the center of the universe. His pierced Heart, as the symbol of His infinite and divine charity united to his human affections and love, is the focal point of all time. Those who lived during the long period before his incarnation and redemptive death and resurrection waited with yearning for the promised redeemer. Those who witnessed the piercing of his side, as well as all people who will live, are invited to gaze upon and contemplate this mystery. . . As Christians lovingly gaze upon his Heart, they are given the grace to believe in God's mercy and forgiveness.” ~  extract from the book The Secret of the Heart

Reading 1

Ezekial 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

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

Romans 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

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

Or:

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


Gospel

Luke 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."