20190628
COMPASSION
AS THE HEART OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD
28 JUNE, 2019,
Friday, The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour:
White.
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First reading
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Ezekiel 34:11-16 ©
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I will look after my flock myself and
keep all of it in view
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The Lord God says this: I am going to look
after my flock myself and keep all of it in view. As a shepherd keeps all his
flock in view when he stands up in the middle of his scattered sheep, so shall
I keep my sheep in view. I shall rescue them from wherever they have been
scattered during the mist and darkness. I shall bring them out of the countries
where they are; I shall gather them together from foreign countries and bring
them back to their own land. I shall pasture them on the mountains of Israel, in
the ravines and in every inhabited place in the land. I shall feed them in good
pasturage; the high mountains of Israel will be their grazing ground. There
they will rest in good grazing ground; they will browse in rich pastures on the
mountains of Israel. I myself will pasture my sheep, I myself will show them
where to rest – it is the Lord who speaks. I shall look for the lost one,
bring back the stray, bandage the wounded and make the weak strong. I shall
watch over the fat and healthy. I shall be a true shepherd to them.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 22(23) ©
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The Lord is my shepherd:
there is nothing I shall want.
The Lord is my shepherd;
there is nothing I shall want.
Fresh and green are the pastures
where he gives me repose.
Near restful waters he leads me,
to revive my drooping spirit.
The Lord is my shepherd:
there is nothing I shall want.
He guides me along the right path;
he is true to his name.
If I should walk in the valley of darkness
no evil would I fear.
You are there with your crook and your
staff;
with these you give me
comfort.
The Lord is my shepherd:
there is nothing I shall want.
You have prepared a banquet for me
in the sight of my foes.
My head you have anointed with oil;
my cup is overflowing.
The Lord is my shepherd:
there is nothing I shall want.
Surely goodness and kindness shall follow
me
all the days of my life.
In the Lord’s own house shall I dwell
for ever and ever.
The Lord is my shepherd:
there is nothing I shall want.
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Second reading
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Romans 5:5-11 ©
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Now we have been reconciled by the death
of his Son, surely we may count on being saved by the life of his Son
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The love of God has been poured into our
hearts by the Holy Spirit which has been given us. We were still helpless when
at his appointed moment Christ died for sinful men. It is not easy to die even
for a good man – though of course for someone really worthy, a man might
be prepared to die – but what proves that God loves us is that Christ died
for us while we were still sinners. Having died to make us righteous, is it
likely that he would now fail to save us from God’s anger? When we were
reconciled to God by the death of his Son, we were still enemies; now that we
have been reconciled, surely we may count on being saved by the life of his
Son? Not merely because we have been reconciled but because we are filled with
joyful trust in God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have
already gained our reconciliation.
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Gospel Acclamation
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Mt11:29
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Shoulder my yoke and learn from me,
for I am gentle and humble in heart.
Alleluia!
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Or:
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Jn10:14
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Alleluia, alleluia!
I am the good shepherd, says the Lord;
I know my own sheep and my own know me.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Luke 15:3-7 ©
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There will be rejoicing in heaven over
one repentant sinner
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Jesus spoke this parable to the scribes
and Pharisees:
‘What
man among you with a hundred sheep, losing one, would not leave the ninety-nine
in the wilderness and go after the missing one till he found it? And when he
found it, would he not joyfully take it on his shoulders and then, when he got home,
call together his friends and neighbours? “Rejoice with me,” he would say “I
have found my sheep that was lost.” In the same way, I tell you, there will be
more rejoicing in heaven over one repentant sinner than over ninety-nine
virtuous men who have no need of repentance.’
COMPASSION AS
THE HEART OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Ez 34:11-16; Ps 23:1-6; Rom 5:5-11; Lk 15:3 ]
What does it take for us
to reach out to the wounded, the lost, the broken, the forlorn, the downhearted
and the sinner? Only
this, a heart of compassion! What is compassion? How does one have a
heart of compassion? The word “compassion” means that we must be able to
share the passion with someone who is suffering and someone whom we love.
Otherwise, we will not be able to identify with the person and come to the help
of that person who is suffering in whichever way. If people lack
compassion for the poor and the suffering or when people take revenge and
refuse to forgive their enemies and those who have hurt them, it is because
they are not feeling with them. They only feel for themselves. St
Teresa of Calcutta says, “If you judge, you have no time to love them.”
This explains why
parents, especially mothers, are born with a heart of compassion. Mothers are the exemplars of what
compassion entails. The love of a mother is described as a womb-love, a
love that comes from a very special, intense and close association with the
child in her womb. A mother always worries for her children. She is
overly protective of them, anxious over what they do, whether they have eaten,
whether they are studying well, whether they get back home every evening,
whether they are safe, whether they are fulfilled and happy in their career,
whether they are able to find a good partner in marriage, whether their
grandchildren are well raised, etc. Endless worries of a mother unto
death.
Indeed, parents will
stand by their children even when they are wrong. So when their children are hurt
because of an accident, a misunderstanding with someone, disagreement, bullied
or injured, and even if they run foul of the law, they will still give them
their support. It is not a matter of who is right or wrong. It does
not matter. All it matters is that their sons or daughters or their loved
ones are hurting and so they are hurting too. This is the love of
mothers. Because of their love for them, they always forgive, regardless
of the many mistakes they had made, and even when they are selfish,
self-centered and incorrigible. Mothers will always love them, feel with
them, cry for them, hoping that they will come to their senses and ever ready
to welcome them back when they return. They can be drug addicts,
gangsters, addicted gamblers and failures in life. That is why all
mothers love their children even if they are mentally and physically challenged.
In fact, they care even more for them because they are weak and need more help
and attention.
If you are a parent, or
if you have loved someone as much as a mother loves her child, then we will
understand a little of the compassion of God. God’s compassion is even more intense and
deeper than that of a mother’s! The Israelites in exile lamented,
“The Lord has forsaken me my Lord has forgotten
me.” What was the reply of God? “Can a woman forget her nursing
child, or show no compassion for the child of her womb? Even these may
forget, yet I will not forget you. See, I have inscribed you on the palms of my
hands; your walls are continually before me.” (Isa 49:14-16) God loves us with such
compassion that He feels for us and with us. He understands our misery,
our pains and our anxieties. He feels indignant when we are hurt,
injured, hungry and oppressed. He comes for the lost sheep as we read in
the gospel. He asked, “What man among you with a hundred sheep, losing
one, would not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the missing
one till he found it? And when he found it, would he not joyfully take it on
his shoulders and then, when he got home, call together his friends and
neighbours? ‘Rejoice with me,’ he would say ‘I have found my sheep that was
lost.’ In the same way, I tell you, there will be more rejoicing in heaven over
one repentant sinner than over ninety-nine virtuous men who have no need of
repentance.'” Indeed, every sheep that is lost and found brings great joy
to God.
So great is His love for
us that He wants us to feel and know His love that He became man in Christ
Jesus. In assuming our
humanity, Jesus identifies with us in every way. He suffered and was
tempted like all of us. He was hungry. He was misunderstood by His
relatives and of course, His critics and enemies. He was rejected by
those whom He loved and served. He was betrayed by His closest friends
and disciples who denied Him, sold Him to His enemies and abandoned Him when He
was in agony in the Garden and when He was arrested. He was alone with a
few women when He hung on the cross. That is why we know that God feels
with us in our sorrows. He was the suffering servant of Isaiah. “He
was despised and rejected by others; a man of suffering and acquainted with
infirmity; and as one from whom others hide their faces. He was despised, and
we held him of no account. Surely he has borne our infirmities and carried our
diseases; yet we accounted him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted. But
he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was
the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed. All we
like sheep have gone astray; we have all turned to our own way, and
the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (Isa 53:3-6) Indeed, Jesus carried our
sufferings and infirmities. He is not alien to human sorrows, pains and
our struggles.
Indeed, the heart and
compassion of God go out to all, even for sinners. For most of us, we only feel with
those who are close to us and whom we love and share our life with. God
even shares the pains and sufferings of the wicked and the sinners. St
Paul wrote, “We were still helpless when at his appointed moment Christ died
for sinful men. It is not easy to die even for a good man – though of
course for someone really worthy, a man might be prepared to die – but
what proves that God loves us is that Christ died for us while we were still
sinners.” No one is excluded from the love, forgiveness and compassion of
God. Because Christ could feel with the sinners, He had nothing but
empathy, forgiveness and compassion. He does not judge us for that is
what the Lord will say to His Father when we die. “Father, forgive them;
for they do not know what they are doing.” (Lk 23:34)
No one is excluded from the love, forgiveness
and compassion of God. Because Christ could feel with the sinners, He had
nothing but empathy, forgiveness and compassion. He does not judge us St
Paul said, “Having died to make us righteous, is it likely that he would now
fail to save us from God’s anger? When we were reconciled to God by the death
of his Son, we were still enemies; now that we have been reconciled, surely we
may count on being saved by the life of his Son? Not merely because we have
been reconciled but because we are filled with joyful trust in God, through our
Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have already gained our
reconciliation.” He is searching and waiting for us to come home.
No sinner, therefore, need ever condemn himself because Christ condemns no one.
If ever anyone condemns us, it is the devil and ourselves and the world.
But God wants us to be saved, to be forgiven and loved no matter how great a
sinner we may be. The return of the lost sheep gives Him great joy
because He loves us.
But He is not just
looking for the lost sheep; He also wants to tend to the weak, injured, wounded
and downtrodden as well. This
is what the prophet Ezekiel says, “I myself will pasture my sheep; I myself
will show them where to rest – it is the Lord who speaks. I shall look for the
lost one, bring back the stray, bandage the wounded and make the weak strong. I
shall watch over the fat and healthy. I shall be a true shepherd to
them.” It is His desire to lead us to the green pasture. He wants
to give us real security, rest, fulfillment and fullness of life with
Him. As the responsorial psalm says, “Fresh and green are the pastures
where he gives me repose. Near restful waters he leads me, to revive my
drooping spirit. He guides me along the right path; he is true to his
name. If I should walk in the valley of darkness no evil would I fear. You are
there with your crook and your staff; with these you give me comfort. You
have prepared a banquet for me in the sight of my foes. My head you have
anointed with oil; my cup is overflowing. Surely goodness and kindness
shall follow me all the days of my life. In the Lord’s own house shall I dwell
for ever and ever.” He comes to lead us to the right path for He is the
Way, the Truth and the Life. He is our healer.
Today, as we celebrate
the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, we are once again called to contemplate
on His love and mercy for us sinners. So
that becoming conscious and confident of His “love poured into our hearts by
the Holy Spirit which has been given us”, we too might repent and turn back to
Him. After being reconciled with Him, then we too must be the Heart of
Jesus to those who are broken, wounded and lost. We too must lead them
back to Jesus the Good Shepherd, unlike the bad shepherds of Israel who only
cared for themselves. We do this not just by showing and telling others
about the Good Shepherd but we must be shepherds of love and compassion
ourselves. What is most needed in the world today is compassion,
understanding and forgiveness. Indeed, St Teresa of Calcutta said, “Being
unwanted, unloved, uncared for, forgotten by everybody, I think that is a much
greater hunger, a much greater poverty than the person who has nothing to
eat.” That is why shepherds after the heart of Christ must begin where we
are, in our homes, in our family, at the place of work and in our
community. Let us show compassion, understanding, tolerance and
forgiveness to each other when we fail, when we are in need and in pain.
Be shepherds with a compassionate heart like Jesus.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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