Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Happy Solemnity of the Sacred Heart!

The readings for Mass this year (Year C) were all related to the image of Our Lord as Good Shepherd. The readings really spoke to me today- an important reminder in these crazy times that God always takes care of his people!

The first reading from Ezekial 34:11-16 was very profound: "Thus says the Lord God: I myself will look after and tend my sheep. . . . I will rescue them from every place where they were scattered when it was cloudy and dark . . . 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." Awesome!

The Gospel (Luke 15:3-7) was also very rich today. It was the parable regarding the shepherd who leaves the ninety-nine sheep behind in search of the one lost sheep and greatly rejoices at finding that one lost lamb. Our Lord sums it up, "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."

As I was reflecting on these passages, I realized that each one of us, in some way, is the one lost sheep; and, just like in the Gospel parable, our Good Shepherd, Christ, intently seeks us. We are uniquely loved and uniquely precious to our dear Lord, who longs to hold each one of us in his Sacred Heart! Never forget that!

Sacred Heart of Jesus, source of all consolation, have mercy on us!

Hitting the Links

Today, I added links to three of my favorite websites over on the right hand side of the web page. Each of them has been helpful to me in my journey to the Lord and I am hopeful that they will prove helpful to the people that visit this site.

They are:

1. The Mother of God Forum- a lovely place for faith-filled discussion on a myriad of topics related to the Blessed Mother, the Catholic Faith and our strange times.

2. The Pelianito Blog- a blessed and inspiring site from a Canadian "mystic" who hears Our Lord speaking to her through the words of Scripture and shares her inspired thoughts/messages with the world.

3. Mark Mallett's Blog- a true prophet of our times, Mark is a talented musician, a husband and a father. He writes periodically about a variety of subjects related to the faith, but most often about these unique times in which we find ourselves. Mark also has a webcast, Embracing Hope, that is beautiful and inspired.

I would encourage anyone reading this to check out those websites! Again, you can find the links in the right hand column of this web page, just under the picture and profile information.

Praise God!

Random Thoughts on the Annunciation

I realize that it is Palm Sunday today, and so my thoughts are a few days late (and a few dollars short!). But, on Thursday, which was the Feast of the Annunciation, I was thinking quite a bit about Mary's humility -- her "littleness"-- and I wanted to put those thoughts down.

First, during the homily at Mass on Thursday morning, the priest related something that Thomas Merton once wrote about Mary, that "the greatest thing about her is how little we know about her." That struck me as something worth pondering.

So I pondered... and as I did, I thought about that young woman in Nazareth all those years ago. And how "insignificant" she was in the greater world. Yet, in her "yes" to God, she changed the shape of history!

Mary's fiat was a bit like a small pebble that is thrown into a pool of water. It barely makes a splash when it enters, and yet the ripples from the pebble spread to the far reaches of the pool. Mary's humble submission to the will of God has a profound effect on the world even today.

I find that comforting- particularly when I feel like I am struggling in anonymity, doing nothing "important" other than quietly living out my vocation as a husband and father. But when I look at Mary, I realize that I do not have to make a "big splash" to achieve great things. None of us do. All we have to do is humbly say "yes" to God in whatever task He places before us. Then, we too can change the world.