Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 06-27-14, SOL, Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

June 27, 2014

Solemnity of Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

Reading 1 Dt 7:6-11

Moses said to the people:
"You are a people sacred to the LORD, your God;
he has chosen you from all the nations on the face of the earth
to be a people peculiarly his own.
It was not because you are the largest of all nations
that the LORD set his heart on you and chose you,
for you are really the smallest of all nations.
It was because the LORD loved you
and because of his fidelity to the oath he had sworn your fathers,
that he brought you out with his strong hand
from the place of slavery,
and ransomed you from the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt.
Understand, then, that the LORD, your God, is God indeed,
the faithful God who keeps his merciful covenant
down to the thousandth generation
toward those who love him and keep his commandments,
but who repays with destruction a person who hates him;
he does not dally with such a one,
but makes them personally pay for it.
You shall therefore carefully observe the commandments,
the statutes and the decrees that I enjoin on you today."

Responsorial Psalm Ps 103:1-2, 3-4, 6-7, 8, 10

R/ (cf. 17) The Lord's kindness is everlasting to those who fear him.
Bless the LORD, O my soul;
all my being, bless his holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul;
and forget not all his benefits.
R/ The Lord's kindness is everlasting to those who fear him.
He pardons all your iniquities,
heals all your ills.
He redeems your life from destruction,
crowns you with kindness and compassion.
R/ The Lord's kindness is everlasting to those who fear him.
Merciful and gracious is the LORD,
slow to anger and abounding in kindness.
Not according to our sins does he deal with us,
nor does he requite us according to our crimes.
R/ The Lord's kindness is everlasting to those who fear him.

Reading 2 1 Jn 4:7-16

Beloved, let us love one another,
because love is of God;
everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God.
Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love.
In this way the love of God was revealed to us:
God sent his only Son into the world
so that we might have life through him.
In this is love:
not that we have loved God, but that he loved us
and sent his Son as expiation for our sins.
Beloved, if God so loved us,
we also must love one another.
No one has ever seen God.
Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us,
and his love is brought to perfection in us.

This is how we know that we remain in him and he in us,
that he has given us of his Spirit.
Moreover, we have seen and testify
that the Father sent his Son as savior of the world.
Whoever acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God,
God remains in him and he in God.
We have come to know and to believe in the love God has for us.

God is love, and whoever remains in love
remains in God and God in him.

Gospel Mt 11:25-30

At that time Jesus exclaimed:
"I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
for although you have hidden these things
from the wise and the learned
you have revealed them to little ones.
Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will.
All things have been handed over to me by my Father.
No one knows the Son except the Father,
and no one knows the Father except the Son
and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.

"Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,
and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,
for I am meek and humble of heart;
and you will find rest for yourselves.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden light."

Vultus Christi

Thou hast set Thy Heart on us

Friday, 27 June 2014 06:30

Thou hast set Thy Heart on us (cf. Dt 7:7)
that we might set our hearts on Thee.
In this is consecration,
not that that we have consecrated ourselves to Thee,
but that Thou hast set Thy Heart on us.
“For their sake,” Thou didst say,
“I consecrate Myself,
that they also may be consecrated in truth” (Jn 17:19).

This the Beloved Disciple understood
not by any labour of the mind
but by the resting his head
on the Heart of the Lamb.
“In this is charity,
not as though we had loved God,
but because He hath first loved us,
and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 Jn 4:10).

This he learned
not by searching far and wide,
but by abiding with Mary near the cross,
there to gaze on the “One whom they have pierced” (Jn 19:37).
This he learned, John the eagle,
gazing unblinking into the Sun
that rose each day before his eyes
in the Breaking of the Bread.
“This is My Body which is given for you.
Do this for a commemoration of Me.
In like manner the chalice also,
after He had supped, saying:
‘This is the Chalice, the new testament in my blood,
which shall be shed for you’” (Lk 22:19-20).

Teach us, John of the seeing heart,
how to gaze with unveiled faces
on the Face here veiled,
that we may discern in the Bread broken and given
the Eucharistic Heart, the water and the blood (cf. Jn 19:34).

He who gazes
is drawn into mysteries hidden from the wise and clever,
to “what no eye hath seen, nor ear heard,
nor the heart of man conceived,
what things God hath prepared for those who love him” (1 Cor 2:9).

These things children understand
and those who like them
gaze through the crystal of a pure heart.
For this is given the water and the blood
that we with eyes bathed in light
might look upon the Sacred Host
and see the Face, the Heart of Love.

“Come to me, all you who labour and are heavy laden”
–Love’s invitation –
“and I will refresh you” (Mt 11:28).
No crushing deity here.
No annihilating power.
Here lies bare the weakness of Love
and the meekness of one Humble unto death.

Love waits
not for our gaze alone
but for the “Yes” of hearts already claimed by Love.
On us He hath set his heart,
the Pierced One, the Victim and the Priest.

Regnum Christi

“YES”
2014-06-27

| SPIRITUAL LIFE | NEWS

Matthew 11:25-30

At that time Jesus said in reply, "I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike. Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him. "Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for your selves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light."

Introductory Prayer: Lord Jesus, I ask you for the grace during this meditation to say “yes” to you at each moment of my life. What a beautiful program—that every day I renew my unconditional “yes” to you. This acceptance must be based in faith and trust. I believe in you because you are truth itself and are faithful to your promises. You never abandon me or let me down. I want this moment of prayer to be an expression of my love for you, seeking to console you instead of being consoled.

Petition: Lord, grant that I may be generous with God and others.

1. Short and Sweet: When we confront the daily struggles and trials, we tend to get confused because we keep turning the problems around and around until they become such a tangled mess that they really begin to drag us down. Something similar can happen in our spiritual lives too. We begin to juggle around a lot of ideas and good desires and proposals but never really get anywhere because we lack clarity and direction. All we really need is just one idea and one word; “yes”. It’s a word which is easy to say, but at times difficult to fulfill. It needs to be part of our daily vocabulary to say yes to God and to our brothers and sisters. Jesus says to us, “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for your selves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light."

2. Learn from Christ: Our Lord Christ Jesus is the one from whom we learn what it means to say “yes.” He said “yes” at the moment of his incarnation and birth. He said “yes” during those 30 silent years in Nazareth. He said “yes” at the moments of his passion, death and resurrection, and he continues to say “yes” in the Eucharist. All over the world he is present, giving himself to us once again through this wonderful sacrament.

3. Sacred Heart of Jesus: A heart that always says “yes” is a heart that loves. Christ’s heart is a heart that loves all of us with a love that is infinite. The Sacred Heart of Jesus seeks to show mankind that his love reaches even to all those who say “no” to his will. His heart invites all of them back into his flock. We need never despair. All we have to do is turn back to him, convert. He is waiting for us with open arms.

Conversation with Christ: Lord Jesus, I know that you always said “yes” to the will of the Father. I ask you to grant me the same willingness to do your most holy will at each moment of my life.

Resolution: I will pray an Our Father for peace in the world.

Homily of the Day

June 27, 2014

Jesus calls God his Father, and God calls Jesus His Son. No one is called Father unless there is a son who calls him Father. And no one is Son unless there is a father who calls him Son. Jesus’ relationship with his Father is one of mutual self-giving and reciprocity of love – the Father giving Himself to the Son and the Son giving himself to the Father. It is a bond of unity between Father and the Son in the Holy Spirit. This makes Jesus the perfect Revealer of God; “All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son (Mt. 11:27; NRSV).” Jesus is the begotten Son of the Father. He comes from God and he is himself God Incarnate.

Jesus reveals to us the love of the Father through his Most Sacred Heart. Christ’s heart knows all human experiences of pain and suffering, grief and sorrow, loneliness and despair. No single experience of the human heart is alien to him. Christ, moved with his love, took all of our woundedness as his own into his heart, unto his cross. We received the gift of salvation through his pierced heart from which blood and water flowed. Through his resurrection, we were given the “Heart of Christ” – from wounded hearts to healed hearts. He marked our hearts with his own identity as Son of the Father that made us worthy sons and daughters of our heavenly Father.

However, our hearts can get challenged, jolted, and even shattered with life’s experiences such as a progressive illness, death of a spouse, breakdown of relationships, a debilitating depression, and the overwhelming burden of responsibility to take care of an aging parent. As we face these experiences, we start to depend on the strength of our hearts. And as we hold on to the strength of our hearts, we slowly let go of the Heart that is the inexhaustible source of strength.
The Heart of Jesus infuses our hearts with the grace of his strength to withstand all that is unimaginable to bear in life with our own strength alone. This is sheer gift. The greater our dependence on the Heart of Jesus, the greater our hearts can endure anything in life.

Come to think of it, Christ walks with us through the dark alleys of our life. Christ takes us by His hand to pull us out from our self-absorption. Christ takes a share in carrying the weight of the burden on our shoulders. This is the compassionate Heart of Jesus. This is how his Heart gives us strength. We just have to surrender our hearts to his Most Sacred Heart in loving response to his invitation; “Come to me, all you who are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest (Mt. 11: 28; NRSV).”
What weighs me down today? Come to the Heart of Jesus. Beg from the Heart of Jesus for the grace of his strength. Pray to the Heart of Jesus.

One Bread, One Body

Language: English | Español

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Sacred Heart of Jesus

Deuteronomy 7:6-11
1 John 4:7-16
View Readings

Psalm 103:1-4, 8, 10
Matthew 11:25-30
Similar Reflections

"THE BREADTH AND LENGTH AND HEIGHTAND DEPTH" OF LOVE (Eph 3:18)

"If we love one another God dwells in us." —1 John 4:12

The vision of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is probably the most powerful prophecy in history. The picture of the Sacred Heart continues to open millions of people to the unconditional love God the Father has for them. The Sacred Heart of Jesus proclaims a God Who loves us so much that:

He became a human being.
He suffered and died on the cross for us.
He makes Himself present under the appearances of bread and wine.
He literally lives inside us.
He will come back to take us with Him, and we will be perfectly happy with Him forever in heaven.
He disciplines and chastises us to prevent us from damnation (see Heb 12:7).
He will never reject us even if we reject Him (Jn 6:37).
He respects our freedom to the point that He lets us choose to decide to go to hell forever (see Dt 7:10).
No eyes have seen, no ears have heard, nor has it even dawned on our minds what He has prepared for us (1 Cor 2:9).

The Sacred Heart of Jesus proclaims that God's love for us is forgiving, merciful, unconditional, crucified, infinite, perfect, everlasting, Trinitarian, eucharistic, and mysterious. May we "come to know and to believe in the love God has for us" (1 Jn 4:16). Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.

Prayer: Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place my trust in You.

Promise: "Come to Me, all you who are weary and find life burdensome, and I will refresh you." —Mt 11:28

Praise: Praise the Heart of Jesus, on fire with love for us!

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