 clickable | | The Heart of God Beats for You Our human hearts were made to love and to be loved, to give and receive love. Every beat of every heart is made possible through a God who is love. But do you know that the very heart of God also beats for you? That is what Jesus said to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, Apostle of the Heart of Jesus, as he revealed his enflamed heart to her: "Behold this Heart which has so loved men as to spare Itself nothing, even to exhausting and consuming Itself, to testify to them Its love." This revelation is what we have come to know as the Sacred Heart of Jesus. —from the book Healing Promises: The Essential Guide to the Sacred Heart by Anne Costa |  MorningOffering.com | †Saint Quote "Whatever you do, think not of yourself, but of God."
— St. Vincent Ferrer † MEDITATION OF THE DAY
"And so, in the redemptive economy of grace, brought about through the action of the Holy Spirit, there is a unique correspondence between the moment of the Incarnation of the Word and the moment of the birth of the Church. The person who links these two moments is Mary: Mary at Nazareth and Mary in the Upper Room at Jerusalem. In both cases her discreet yet essential presence indicates the path of 'birth from the Holy Spirit'. Thus she who is present in the mystery of Christ as Mother becomes—by the will of the Son and the power of the Holy Spirit—present in the mystery of the Church. In the Church too she continues to be a maternal presence, as is shown by the words spoken from the Cross: 'Woman, behold your son!'; 'Behold your mother.'"
— Pope St. John Paul II, p. 94
AN EXCERPT FROM
Mary: God's Yes to Man ⛪ TODAY'S FEAST DAY⛪
♥SACRED HEART OF JESUS♥
The Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus is celebrated on the octave day of the feast of Corpus Christi. In the 17th century Jesus appeared in a vision to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque asking her to request that this feast be celebrated in honor of his Sacred Heart in reparation for the ingratitude of mankind toward the sacrifice of his love on the Cross. Pope Pius IX extended the feast of the Sacred Heart to the universal Church in 1856. The imagery of Christ pointing to his heart, on fire with love, signifies his immense and infinite love for humanity which took Him to the Cross to die for our salvation. The Sacred Heart of Jesus desires that all mankind draw close to Him in love and trust. Today this devotion, given to the faithful by Our Lord himself, is among the most popular of the Catholic Church. †VERSE OF THE DAY
"For thus says the high and lofty one who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with those who are contrite and humble in spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite."
Isaiah 57:15 |  click to read more | | ST. IRENAEUS OF LYONS St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. 125 - 203 A.D.) was born in Asia Minor at a time when the direct memory of the Apostles was still alive. He was well educated in Sacred Scripture, theology, philosophy, and literature. He became an astute disciple of St. Polycarp, who himself was a disciple of St. John the Evangelist, one of the Twelve Apostles who belonged to Jesus' inner circle. St. Irenaeus is therefore an early witness of the authentic teaching of the Apostles preserved and handed down in both the written and oral tradition. St. Irenaeus was ordained a priest and became bishop of Lyons in modern-day France. He was one of the Church's first great theologians and apologists, writing his famous and important work 'Against Heresies' to combat the heresy of Gnosticism which greatly threatened the early Church. He is also an early witness of the primacy of Peter over the other Apostles, and thus the authority of the Roman See over the whole Church. St. Irenaeus is one of the most important early Church Fathers and is a Doctor of the Church. His feast day is June 28. | Solemnity of Most Sacred Heart of Jesus Reading 1 Ez 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 Ps 23:1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6. R.(1) 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 Rom 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 Mt 11:29ab R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Take my yoke upon you, says the Lord,
and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Or Jn 10:14 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I am the good shepherd, says the Lord,
I know my sheep, and mine know me.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Lk 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." | Catholic Meditations
Meditation: Luke 15:3-7 The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus (Solemnity) He sets it on his shoulders with great joy. (Luke 15:5) Some people would say that the Sacred Heart of Jesus is the heart of a shepherd, and with good reason. Three out of our four readings today speak to us about shepherds: shepherds who take good care of their sheep, who lead them and feed them, who seek and heal the scattered ones. But today's Gospel gives us another insight into the kind of shepherd Jesus is: one who rejoices. That's one aspect of Jesus' Sacred Heart that we might not think about too much. We know that Jesus reveals his love, his "heart," through his suffering and death. You could say he "finds" us, just as the shepherd finds the lost sheep in today's parable. But Jesus adds a detail in this parable that we might pass over too quickly: the shepherd isn't gloomy or annoyed that he has found his lost sheep. Neither does he scold the sheep for running off. Rather, he is filled with joy. Jesus loves to seek and find the lost. He doesn't get frustrated even if you stray time after time. He won't give up on you, and he won't give up on your loved ones. He will keep looking until the very end. Because he loves every one of his sheep and knows what joy awaits when he brings them home, he goes out in joyful anticipation, not in grumbling resentment. Take some time today to consider the Sacred Heart of Jesus not just as a suffering heart but as a joyful heart. Imagine you are that lost lamb, and your shepherd is pursuing you with eagerness and determination. In your mind's eye, see his face light up as he spots you and reaches out for you. Feel the warmth of his joy as he lifts you onto his shoulders to carry you home. Let this joy that Jesus has for you be your strength. Let it also be your comfort as you pray for a loved one who appears to be lost. God is unwearied in his love for you and for them. He rejoices in reaching out to all his wayward children! "Jesus, help me embrace your shepherd's heart today. I want to be found by you." Ezekiel 34:11-16
Psalm 23:1-6
Romans 5:5-11 |  clickable | But despite their differences of nature and moral gravity, contraception and abortion are often closely connected, as fruits of the same tree.
—Pope St. John Paul II
from Evangelium Vitae | my2cents:
"As a shepherd tends his flock when he finds himself among his scattered sheep, so will I tend my sheep."
The Lord is the one who tends and says "I myself will pasture my sheep". And for good reason He asked our first Pope to "Feed My Sheep". Now we have a share in redemptive history. Me and you have a share, not only as the flock, but as the Shepherd, one with Him, thus, the purpose of the Sacred Heart mystery and revelation. We are one in the Spirit. And God is love. Let's pray a Sacred heart prayer and continue. | Let us pray: "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."
The Lord has been the rod and staff, from the staff of Aaron in the times of Moses until today.
He has always been there to guide us. To shepherd His flock. "The Chosen Ones". You are a chosen one through baptism and confirmation. You are chosen and you are chosen to love. You are chosen to lead and to be led. You are chosen to be the light of the fire of God's heart. You are to take comfort in His type of consolations. The kind that reprove and the kind that joins us tighter to His Sacred Love. | Our Lord said "'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"
In Heaven there is rejoicing over a sinner? How does that work? That doesn't make sense to a protestant world that is anti-communion with the Saints and in many cases anti-communion at all.
You see, we are intimately united to the Sacred Heart. We are one in the Spirit and where there Spirit is, the Lord is there, and where the Lord is, Heaven is, and in Heaven there are saints and angels rejoicing, Firstly for God's Love and mercy, but also for the suffering church, here on earth. | Bishop Barron says today:
"Friends, one feature of today's Gospel passage is the craziness of the shepherd: "What man among you, having a hundred sheep and losing one, wouldn't leave the ninety-nine and go after the lost one until he finds it?" Well, the implied answer is "No one." Who would take that great a risk, putting the ninety-nine in danger to find the one? It's just bad economics. Why would God fret over one little soul? Why would he bother?
Well, it's his nature. It's what he does. As Catherine of Siena put it, he is pazzo d'amore (crazy in love). God is as crazy for you as if you were the only one in the world." There's one thing we should recall today, God is amazing, His love is amazing. Be prepared to be amazed. And this will surely be a sign of the Holy Spirit in your life...and Love beginning to shine. |  hear it read | adrian Random Bible Verse1
Micah 6:8 (Listen) 8 He has told you, O man, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness, [1]
and to walk humbly with your God? Thank You Jesus | |
