The Sacrificial Love of the Shepherd
June 27, 2025 - Friday, Solemnity of Most Sacred Heart of Jesus
Ezekiel 34:11–16; Romans 5:5b–11; Luke 15:3–7
Today’s liturgy centers on one powerful image: the Shepherd.
In Ezekiel, God says He Himself will come to search for His lost sheep. In the Gospel, Jesus tells a story of a shepherd who leaves the ninety-nine to seek the one who’s gone missing. Paul, in his letter to the Romans, tells us what drives this shepherd—a love that dies for us, even while we’re still sinners. And in the psalm, we hear the voice of the sheep, safe and cared for, finally home.
This is what we celebrate on the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart: a God who doesn’t just love in theory, but in blood, in body, in heartbreak, in pursuit.
This devotion was made known to the world through Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque, a French nun and mystic in the 17th century. Jesus appeared to her many times, revealing His heart—a heart on fire with love, but also wounded by indifference. In one vision, He said:
“Behold this Heart, which has loved people so much… but receives so little love in return—just coldness, contempt, and ingratitude—especially in the Sacrament of Love.”
Those words echo what Paul says in today’s second reading: “God proves His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). That proof is not just in the past—it continues in the Eucharist, which Jesus called the Sacrament of Love.
In fact, Jesus asked Margaret Mary to spend one hour with Him every Thursday night, in memory of His agony in Gethsemane—the night before He gave everything for us. “Couldn’t you keep watch with me for one hour?” (Matthew 26:40). That’s still His question today.
In 1956, Pope Pius XII wrote an encyclical on this devotion. Quoting Isaiah, he titled it “You Shall Draw Waters”—referring to Christ’s pierced side, the fountain of salvation. From His Heart flowed water and blood—the sacraments of Baptism and the Eucharist. In Baptism, God’s love is poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5). In the Eucharist, that love is made present again and again.
Some of the early Church Fathers saw the parable of the lost sheep this way: the 99 sheep represent the angels; the one lost sheep is humanity. Jesus left the glory of heaven to find us—and through His death and resurrection, He carries us back to the Father.
The psalmist speaks for that one sheep that was once lost but now is found. This is the psalm of every person who came to baptismal waters of salvation, was anointed with the oil that symbolises the Holy Spirit and is provided with supernatural food of the Eucharist. From now on, “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” (Ps 23:6).
This is the love of the Sacred Heart:
– a love that seeks
– a love that suffers
– a love that stays
Even when we wander.
Even when we forget.
Even when we turn away.
The Heart of Jesus keeps beating for us.