Daily Gospel Reflection
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June 24, 2022
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.”
The Via Dolorosa or “Way of Sorrows” in Jerusalem that Jesus walked before his death is a
twisting and confined path through imposing city walls. Street vendors yell out to catch the
attention of passing pilgrims as tour groups push past one another, straining to listen to their
guide amidst a host of different languages. On a busy day, the experience is profoundly disorienting.
I remember walking along that path when I think of the lost sheep in today’s gospel. I remember wanting to run away to escape the chaos of the street and find a moment to recognize the cosmic importance of this place.
Fortunately, the corridors are dotted with several small chapels along the way. That feeling of being lost and overwhelmed quickly dissipated as I found a still space to stop and shift my attention to the sacred. It reminds me now of my parents’ directive to me as a child on our first visit to Disneyland: “If you get lost, stop moving!”
When we find ourselves lost in life, how are we to be found? Throughout the gospels, Jesus reminds us through acts and parables that our spiritual deserts, however daunting, have a purpose. That the answer to being lost isn’t always a constant wandering but a hope in the love that envelops our existence. Perhaps instead of pushing on and continuing to wander, we should stop moving and allow the good shepherd to find us.
The end of the Way of Sorrows is ultimately a joy so great that no one is beyond its reach. Without frustration or hesitation, Christ seeks the lost and rejoices upon finding the wandering sheep that has, perhaps, just stopped for a moment.
May we always remember the love of Christ calling us home.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, like the angels in heaven, may our hearts rejoice over the sinner who repents, over the doubting who find faith, over the despairing who find hope, over the lonely who find love. With you, may we zealously seek out the lost of our world, so that, like us, they may find their true home in you. Amen.
Saint of the Day
Today’s feast, the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, is a moveable feast, which means that it depends on the date of Easter Sunday. It is celebrated 19 days after Pentecost Sunday, which falls on the 50th day of Easter.
Jesus’ Sacred Heart is a special image for the brothers and priests of Holy Cross, who founded the University of Notre Dame. Blessed Basil Moreau, founder of Holy Cross, saw the heart as an image of God’s love for humanity and of humanity’s love for God. In the Sacred Heart, he saw the encounter between these two loves, so he consecrated the priests and seminarians of Holy Cross to the Sacred Heart of Jesus in 1841.
“One of the principal goals of this devotion,” preached Moreau in one of his sermons, “is to present us a model for imitation. The sight of the Savior’s adorable heart should say to each one of us … ‘Look at this example and make a faithful copy.’ This is the heart of the One given to you as master; your duty is to conform your heart to his.”
For Moreau, devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus was intimately and essentially tied to the Eucharist, which he saw as both the principal gift to flow out of Jesus’ heart as well as the greatest manifestation of that heart’s love for us:
“It is at the altar that … Jesus offers us a manna more appealing than that of the desert; there that he gives us his flesh to eat and his blood to drink; there that he becomes present in such a way within our soul, his heart speaking to us with all of its affection and bringing our own hearts to beat with his.”
The Sacred Heart of Jesus is depicted in several places on campus and in the Basilica, but perhaps nowhere on campus more prominently than in the famous Sacred Heart of Jesus statue that stands in front of the Dome (pictured above). Several relics of Jesus rest in the reliquary chapel, including a part of his scarlet robe, a portion of his crown of thorns, and a sliver from the true cross. Learn more about the priests of the Congregation of Holy Cross here.
On this feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, let us look upon this image of Jesus’ love and make a faithful copy of it in our own lives!