A HEART OF SACRIFICIAL LOVE FOR HUMANITY
Greeting
We have been called together here
by Jesus Christ, our Lord and Good Shepherd.
He looks after us when we get astray.
He loves us and calls each of us by name.
May you listen to his voice
and may he be with you always.
R/ And with your spirit.
Introduction
Are we ever sure that love is genuine, that it is going to last and to remain strong? Yes, we are sure that it is authentic when it is tested and tried in difficulties, when it can weather all storms, when it survives disappointments and betrayals. True love wears often such scars that have not destroyed love but often deepened it. We discover such dependable love in God, the source of all love, as evidenced in the heart of his Son. He does not give up on us. The gospel expresses this in the image of the Good Shepherd: Christ who leads his people, seeks out what is lost, brings together what is scattered and binds the wounds of the injured. Let us celebrate this love without measure.
Penitential Act
Let us seek forgiveness
for not always having followed
our shepherd and sure guide.
(pause)
Lord, you keep caring for us
and you are always ready to forgive
those who seek you with a sincere heart.
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Jesus Christ, your heart was pierced for our sins
and yet, of those entrusted to you by the Father
you did not want any to be lost.
Christ, have mercy. R/ Christ, have mercy.
Lord, in your love
you give strength to the weak
and bind the wounds of those injured by life.
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
To whom else can we go
than to you, Lord?
Forgive us our infidelities,
keep us in your friendship
and lead us to everlasting life. R/ Amen.
Opening Prayer
Let us pray to God with gratitude
for the faithful love he has shown us
in the heart of our Good Shepherd
(pause)
How can we ever thank you enough,
our faithful God,
for keeping us in the heart of your Son?
He did not abandon those crushed
under the weight of their sins
but sought them out, lifted them up
and walked by their side.
We praise you for your goodness,
for letting him give us fresh courage
when tired we sat down by the side of the road.
We are certain that he loves us
and will guide us to you, our God for ever. R/ Amen.
First Reading (Ezekiel 34:11-16) The Lost I Will Seek Out
God’s love prompts him not to abandon his scattered people but to seek what is lost, to care for the injured, and to be attentive to each and every one.
1 Reading: EZEKIEL 34:11-16
For the Lord God says this: “Behold, I Myself will search for My sheep and look after them. As a shepherd cares for his flock on a day when he is among his scattered sheep, so I will care for My sheep and will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a cloudy and gloomy day. I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries and bring them to their own land; and I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the streams, and in all the inhabited places of the land. I will feed them in a good pasture, and their grazing place will be on the mountain heights of Israel. There they will lie down in a good grazing place and feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. I Myself will feed My flock and I Myself will lead them to rest,” declares the Lord God. “I will seek the lost, bring back the scattered, bind up the broken, and strengthen the sick; but the fat and the strong I will eliminate. I will feed them with judgment.
Second Reading (Romans 5:5-11) The Proof of God’s Love
The proof of God’s love is that Christ died for us sinners. He wiped away our sins by his blood and gave us life. The Holy Spirit makes us grow in God’s love.
2 Reading ROMANS 5:5-11
And hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous person; though perhaps for the good person someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only this, but we also celebrate in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.
Gospel (Luke 15:3-7) Share My Joy: I Have Found My Lost Sheep
The leaders of God’s people gave up on sinners and condemned them. Jesus’ leadership is one of love. He does not abandon the wayward but brings them back.
Gospel Luke 15:3-7
And so Jesus told them this parable, saying, “What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the other ninety-nine in the open pasture and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he puts it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbours, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, because I have found my sheep that was lost!’ I tell you that in 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.”
Commentary
An Open Heart
Pope Benedict XVI (Ratzinger, Behold the Pierced One) places the Sacred Heart right at the center of the Easter Mystery, which overturns the understanding of heart as the organ of self-preservation:
“The task of the heart is self-preservation, holding together what is its own. The pierced Heart of Jesus has also truly ‘overturned’ (cf. Hos 11:8) this definition. This Heart is not concerned with self-preservation but with self-surrender. It saves the world by opening itself. The collapse of the opened Heart is the content of the Easter mystery. The Heart saves, indeed, but it saves by giving itself away. Thus, in the Heart of Jesus, the center of Christianity is set before us. It expresses everything, all that is genuinely new and revolutionary in the New Covenant. This Heart calls to our heart. It invites us to step forth out of the futile attempt of self-preservation and, by joining in the task of love, by handing ourselves over to him and with him, to discover the fullness of love which alone is eternity and which alone sustains the world.”
Intercessions
Love can hardly be commanded, for it is first an invitation. Let us pray to the Father of all love for the capability to love him and all people, as we pray:
R/ Lord, make us instruments of your love.
– That the Church for which Christ died may grow into a universal community of love, which makes Christ’s unconditional love visible to everyone, we pray:
R/ Lord, make us instruments of your love.
– That Christians everywhere may not be people of legalisms and outward observances but people with a heart, who do what they have to do and more because they are God’s children, we pray:
R/ Lord, make us instruments of your love.
– That the nations of the world may come to respect and help one another, and build peace and progress not at the expense of each other but on the basis of friendship and brotherhood, we pray:
R/ Lord, make us instruments of your love.
– That we may be reliable friends to those marked by suffering in any form; that we may lighten their burdens and help them to keep trusting in God and people, we pray:
R/ Lord, make us instruments of your love.
– That our anemic and dried-up love may become rich and spontaneous, like a fresh breath of life and joy brightening the lives of those around us and a wordless song of praise to God, we pray:
R/ Lord, make us instruments of your love.
Loving God, we claim to belong to you and to your Son. Help us through your Spirit of love to give to your love a human shape, that we may make people happy and be your happy people, in Jesus Christ our Lord.
R/ Amen.
Prayer over the Gifts
God our Father,
we bring bread and wine before you
as signs that we eagerly accept the love
which you offer us in Jesus Christ.
We do so with humility and shame,
for we are aware of the poverty of our unreliable hearts.
But accept them, Father,
on account of the riches and reliability
of the love of our Savior and our brother,
Jesus Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.
Introduction to the Eucharistic Prayer
With Jesus we give thanks to the Father for the healing and compassion he keeps showing us in Jesus, our Good Shepherd.
Introduction to the Lord’s Prayer
With one heart and one voice
let us pray now to our Father
the prayer taught us by Jesus. R/ Our Father…
Deliver Us
Deliver us, Lord, from our self-seeking
which brought suffering and death
to your Son Jesus Christ.
Grant us the peace of reconciliation
with your and with our neighbor
and keep us in your love,
that without fear we may look forward
to the full coming among us
of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. R/ For the kingdom…
Invitation to Communion
This is the Lamb who was betrayed
and handed over for our sins.
This is the risen Lord
who sought us out
and brought us life and joy.
Let us receive him with grateful love. R/ Lord, I am not worthy…
Prayer after Communion
Our God and Father,
you have allowed us again
to encounter your Son in the fullness of his love.
It was a crucified and defenseless love
in which he gave himself totally.
Fill our love with his,
that never again we become ungrateful to you.
May we learn from him
to overlook our pride and injuries
and to keep loving those who have hurt us.
We ask this in the name of Jesus the Lord. R/ Amen.
Blessing
God never crushes people.
through he could, and we deserve it.
We have not responded to his love as we should have;
we may have grossly betrayed him
or shown not much more than indifference.
It is good that we keep that in mind,
but God does not remind us;
for him all this belongs to the past,
Wouldn’t it be wonderful
if we too could forget injuries,
if we could stop looking at the scars of the past,
if the pains suffered for one another
would only deepen our love?
May God deepen and bless our love,
the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. R/ Amen.
Go in peace
and have a heart for one another.
R/ Thanks be to God.