"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?
The LORD loves us recklessly. He can't sit by while we wander lost. Fortunately, he is omnipresent so no sheep is ever abandon. But what is expressed here is the priority of his heart. Above all else he wants to "seek and save the lost" (cf. Luke 19:10). This is amazing when we consider what it means to be lost. It means to be at enmity with God. It means to be enemies of the shepherd. How prideful sheep must be to think they can be enemies of a shepherd. And yet his heart for us is unwavering. It does not swell with anger or the desire to destroy us.
But God proves his love for us
in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.
We need our shepherd lest we continue to wander lost. We have no way to get our bearings amidst the darkness of this world except the voice of the shepherd calling us. The world, which includes us to one degree or another, spurns this voice. We neglect the one voice that can keep us from the wolves which want to devour. But he proves his love for us and seeks us in spite of protests and neglect.
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.
The only thing which can keep us from him is the pride which refuses to be shepherded.
but the sleek and the strong I will destroy,
shepherding them rightly.
But even if we refuse he will not give up on us. He will hold out the opportunity for mercy to the very end. His heart is to reconcile all who were once enemies of his and enemies of one another around his table.
You spread the table before me
in the sight of my foes;
Enemies are reconciled at this feast. The LORD does this by giving us his heart toward all our brothers and sisters. He wants us to have the same heart for the lost that he does. He wants us to love ourselves and them through his eyes and not through the lens of our own selfish pride. He wants us to find our joy at this table in unity and reconciliation just as he does.
'Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.'
We can trust completely in our shepherd. We don't have to waste time or effort trying to protect our own interests once we come to fully trust that our shepherd has our best interest in mind.
The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
Let us by heartened by the promises of the Sacred Heart which the LORD holds out to us.
1. I will give them all the graces necessary for their state in life.
2. I will establish peace in their families.
3. I will comfort them in their trials.
4. I will be their secure refuge during life, and, above all, in death.
5. I will shed abundant blessings on all their undertakings
6. Sinners will find in My Heart an infinite ocean of mercy.
7. Lukewarm souls will become fervent.
8. Fervent souls will rapidly grow in holiness and perfection.
9. I will bless every place where an image of My Heart shall be exposed and honored.
10. I will give to priests the gift of touching the most hardened hearts.
11. The names of those who promote this devotion will be written in My Heart, never to be blotted out.
12. I promise thee, in the excessive mercy of My Heart, that My all-powerful love will grant to all those who receive Holy Communion on the First Friday of nine consecutive months, the grace of final penitence; they shall not die in My disgrace nor without receiving their Sacraments; My Divine Heart shall be their safe refuge in this last moment.
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