XI — MERCIFUL LOVE

Sunday within the octave of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Presence of God. — O Jesus, deign to unveil for me the infinite treasures of mercy enclosed in your Heart.

Meditation

1 — Today’s liturgy, in perfect harmony with the octave of the Sacred Heart, is a warm invitation to confidence in Jesus’ merciful love. From the beginning of Mass the Church has us pray thus: “Turn to me and have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am desolate and afflicted. See my misery and my pain and forgive all my sins” (Introit). In the Collect she then has us ask: “O God, pour out your mercy upon us”; and a little later she exhorts us: “Cast your care upon God, and He will sustain you” (Gradual). But how can we justify such confidence in God, if we are still poor sinners? We find this justification in today’s Gospel, which reports the parables Jesus Himself used to teach us that we shall never trust too much in his infinite mercy: the parable of the sheep and that of the lost drachma. First we are shown the good shepherd who goes in search of the lost sheep: this is the figure of Jesus who came down from heaven to seek poor humanity lost amid the dark caverns of sin. To find it, save it, and lead it back to the fold, He does not hesitate to face the bitterest sufferings and even death. “And when he has found it, he lays it upon his shoulders rejoicing; and when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors and says to them: Rejoice with me, because I have found my sheep that was lost.” This is the history of Jesus’ love, and not only for all humanity but for each individual soul, a history well summarized in the sweet figure of the good shepherd under which Jesus Himself wished to represent Himself. It may well be said that the image of the good shepherd - so beloved in the first centuries of the Church - is equivalent to that of the Sacred Heart; both are the living and concrete expression of Jesus’ merciful love and urge us to go to Him with full confidence.

2 — “I tell you, there shall be joy in heaven over one sinner doing penance, more than over ninety-nine just who need no penance.” With this thought, though expressed in different form, all three parables of mercy end: that of the lost sheep, the lost drachma, and the prodigal son. This insistent repetition tells us how eager Jesus was to instill in us a deep sense of infinite mercy, mercy absolutely opposed to the hard and contemptuous attitude of the Pharisees who murmured, saying: “This man [Jesus] receives sinners and eats with them.” Indeed, the three parables are precisely the Master’s answer to the malicious and narrow insinuation of the Pharisees.

For us, limited creatures with such short spiritual sight, it is not easy to understand this ineffable mystery deeply; and not only is it difficult for us to understand it with regard to others, but also with regard to ourselves. And yet Jesus has said and repeated it: “there is greater joy in heaven over one repentant sinner than over ninety-nine just”; and by this He meant to tell us how much glory is given to God by the soul that, after its falls, returns to Him repentant and trusting. The meaning of these words should be applied not only to great sinners, to those converted from mortal sin, but also to those who are converted from venial sins, who humble themselves and rise again after infidelities committed through weakness or thoughtlessness. This is our daily history: how many times have we proposed to conquer our impatience, irritability, sensitivity, and how many times do we fall again! But if, humbly acknowledging our fault, we go trustingly “to throw ourselves into Jesus’ arms, asking his pardon, He thrills with joy”; indeed, “He will do even more: He will love us more than before our fault” (T.B.G. Lt.; CR.).

In the Communion antiphon, today’s liturgy repeats the Gospel’s final verse: “I tell you: the Angels of God rejoice over one sinner who repents”; and in Holy Communion we ask Jesus to make us penetrate the secrets of his infinite merciful love.

Colloquy

“And in whom, O Lord, can your mercy shine better than in me, who by my deeds have so many times profaned your great graces? If I look for excuses, I find none. The fault is no one’s but wholly mine, because if I had responded even in part to your love, I would have loved none but You. But if I have not shown myself worthy of so much, let at least your infinite mercy avail for me, O Lord.

“From so much ignominy of mine, your infinite goodness has already known how to draw good, because where misery is greater, the benefits of your mercies shine more brightly. Oh, your mercies - with what reason should I always sing them! Lord, grant me to sing them forever, since You have pleased to lavish them on me with such munificence. I remain astonished at them, so that praise pours abundantly from me. Without You, O my Good, I can do nothing but uproot again the flowers of my garden and bring this miserable land of mine back to the state of a dungheap. But do not permit it, O Lord, do not permit this soul to be lost, this soul that, redeemed one day at the price of so many of your sufferings, You have then ransomed so many other times and snatched from the jaws of the infernal dragon” (T.G. Vi. 4, 4; 14, 10).

“O Jesus, I know it: your Heart is much more afflicted by the thousand little imperfections of your friends than by even grave faults committed by your enemies. Yet it seems to me that only when we make a habit of our lack of delicacy and do not ask your pardon for it can You say: ‘These wounds that you see in the midst of my hands, I received in the house of those who loved me!’ But if after every least fault we come to throw ourselves into your arms asking your pardon, You thrill with joy and say to your Angels what the father of the prodigal son said to his servants: ‘Put a ring on his finger and let there be a feast.’ O Jesus, how little known are the goodness and merciful love of your Heart!” (cf. T.B.G. Lt.).