Third Sunday after Pentecost/Sunday within the Octave of the Sacred Heart

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INSTRUCTION ON THE THIRD SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

From Fr. Leonard Goffine's Explanations of the Epistles and Gospels for the Sundays, Holydays, and Festivals throughout the Ecclesiastical Year 

36th edition, 1880

The Introit of the Mass the Church calls upon all to invoke our Lord: Look Thou upon me, and have mercy on
me, O Lord, for I am alone and poor. See my abjection and my labor, and forgive me all my sins, O my God. (Ps. xxiv.) To Thee, O Lord, have I lifted up my soul. In Thee, O my God, I put my trust, let me not be ashamed. Glory &c.

PRAYER OF THE CHURCH. O God, the protector of them that hope in Thee, without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy: multiply Thy mercy upon us, that, guided and directed by Thee, we may so pass amid temporal goods as not to lose the eternal. Through &c.

EPISTLE. (i Pet. v. 6 — II.) Dearly beloved, Be you humbled under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in the time of visitation: casting all your care upon him, for he hath care of you. Be sober and watch: because your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion, goeth about, seeking whom he may devour: whom resist ye, strong in faith: knowing that the same affliction befalls your brethren who are in the world. But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory in Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a little, will himself perfect you and confirm you and establish you. To him be glory and empire for ever and ever. Amen.

EXPLANATION. In this lesson St. Peter teaches that if we would be exalted we must humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God. This necessary humility shows itself in us by giving ourselves and all our cares up to the providence of God who, as St. Augustine says, provides for one as for all. We should not fail, however, to be sober and circumspect, and not think ourselves secure from the lusts of the world. The devil like a lion seeking prey, desires the ruin of our souls, tormenting us by temptations and afflictions. By confidence in God's help we can and should resist him, especially when we consider that after the trials of this life the crown of glory will be our portion for all eternity.

ON DRUNKENNESS.

Be sober and watch. (i Peter, v. 8.)

SOBRIETY is the mother of vigilance; intemperance is the mother of sloth and of numberless other vices which
cast many souls into the jaws of the devil who, like a hungry lion, goes about day and night seeking for prey. Woe, therefore, to those who because of their drunkenness live, as it were, in constant night and in the perpetual sleep of sin! How will they feel when, suddenly awakened by death, they find themselves before the judgment seat of God burdened with innumerable sins of which they were unconscious, or which they wished not to know they were guilty! Who can number the sins committed in a state of intoxication, sins for which the drunkard cares nothing, for which he has no contrition, and has not confessed, because the light of reason is extinguished, his life is a senseless stupor, and he is therefore unconscious of his thoughts, words and actions.

But will the divine Judge find no sin in such persons? Will He permit the shameful deeds committed while intoxicated, the curses, blasphemies, sneers, detractions, outrages, and scandals to remain unpunished? He, who demands an account of every idle word, will He demand no account of the time so badly spent, of the money so uselessly squandered, families neglected, church service unattended, education of children omitted, and the other great sins committed? They will indeed excuse themselves, pleading that these sins were committed involuntarily, or as a joke, when they were intoxicated; that their intoxication was excusable, as they were not able to stand much; but will God be content with such excuses? Will they not add to their damnation? That they took more than they could bear of the intoxicating drink, deprived themselves of the use of reason, and thus voluntarily caused all the sins they committed while in that state, is what will be punished.

What then can they expect? Nothing- less than the fate of the rich man spoken of in the gospel, who on account of his debaucheries was buried in hell, where during all eternity his parched tongue was not cooled by one drop of water. (Luke xvi. 22.) Yes, this will be the place of those unconverted drunkards of whom St. Paul says that they will not possess the kingdom of God. (i Cor. vi. 10.) How rare and how difficult is the conversion of a drunkard, because with him as with the unchaste this habit becomes a second nature, and because he generally abuses the remedies: the holy Sacraments of Penance and the Altar.

This should certainly deter any one from the vice of drunkenness; but those who are not thus withheld, may consider the indecency, the disgrace, and the injury of this vice, for it ruins the body as well as the soul.

Is it not disgraceful that man endowed with reason, and created for heaven, should drown that reason in excessive drink, degrading his mind, his intellectual spirit, the image of God, rendering it like the brute animals, and even lower than the beasts. "Are not the drunkards far worse than the animals?" says St. Chrysostom. Yes, not only on account of their drunkenness, but far more so because of the shameful position of their body, their manners, their speech, their behavior. How disgracefully naked lay Noah, although he was intoxicated not through his own fault, exposed in his tent to the ridicule of the impudent Cham! (Gen. ix. 21.) Even the heathen Spartans considered the vice of drunkenness so disgraceful that they were in the habit of intoxicating a slave, and bringing him before their children that they might be disgusted with such a state.

Finally, that which should deter everybody from this vice, is its injuriousness. It ruins the body as well as the soul. By surfeiting many have perished, (Eccles. xxxvii. 34.) and it has ruined the health of many more. Who hath woe? whose father hath woe? who hath contentions? who fall into pits, who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes? Surely they that pass their time in wine, and study to drink off their cups? (Prov. xxiii. 29. 30.) Daily observation confirms this truth of Scripture, and the miserable old age, accompanied by innumerable weaknesses and frailties, of one addicted to drink, is a sufficient testimony of the injuriousness of this vice.

GOSPEL. (Luke xv. 1 — 10.) At that time, The publicans and sinners drew nigh unto Jesus to hear him. And the Pharisees and Scribes murmured, saying: This man receiveth sinners and eateth with them. And he spoke to them this parable, saying: What man of you that hath an hundred sheep, and if he shall lose one of them, doth he not leave the ninety- nine in the desert, and go after that which was lost until he find it? And when he hath found it, lay it upon his shoulders rejoicing: and coming home, call together his friends and neighbors, saying to them:  Rejoice with me, because I have found my sheep that was lost? I say to you, that even so there shall be joy in heaven upon one sinner that doth penance, more than upon ninety-nine just who need not penance. Or what woman having ten groats, if she lose one groat, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently until she find it? And when she hath found it, call together her friends and neighbors, saying: Rejoice with me, because I have found the groat, which I had lost? So I say to you, there shall be joy before the angels of God upon one sinner doing penance.


What moved the sinners to approach Jesus?

The goodness and benevolence with which He met the penitent sinners. Do you also humbly and trustingly approach Him, and you may rest assured that, even if you are the greatest of sinners, you will receive grace and
forgiveness.


What is Christ's meaning in the parable of the lost sheep and groat?

He expresses by this His desire for the salvation of the sinner, His joy and that of all heaven when a sinner
is converted. Moreover, He shows the Pharisees who in vain self-righteousness avoided all intercourse with acknowledged sinners, and who murmured at the goodness of Jesus, that the sinner , being truly unhappy , deserves our compassion rather than our anger.


Why do the angels rejoice more over one sinner who does penance than over ninety-nine just?

Because the places of the fallen angels are thus refilled; because the angels see how the good God rejoices; because they find their prayers for the conversion of sinners granted, as St. Bernard says: "The tears of the penitents are wine for the angels;" because, as St. Gregory says, "the true penitents are usually more zealous than the innocent."

ASPIRATION. I have erred like a sheep that has lost its way; but I thank Thee, O Jesus, my good Shepherd, that Thou hast so carefully sought me by Thy inspirations, admonitions, and warnings, and dost now bring me back to true penance, that I may be a joy to the angels. Amen.

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Third Sunday after Pentecost

Taken from The Liturgical Year by Dom Prosper Guéranger  (1841-1875)

The faithful soul has witnessed, through the sacred Liturgy, the close of the mysteries of our Redemption, which were wrought, in succession, by our Jesus, and applied to us, one after the other, by his Church, in her divine worship of them. The Holy Ghost has been sent, by the Father and Son, and he has lovingly and graciously come, to continue amongst us the work of the Incarnate Word. He, the Spirit of the Father and Son, is come to support the Christian in this second portion of both time and season; it is, as far as the Year of Grace is concerned, the second portion of that Year; and the Holy Spirit is to rule it; and he does so by bringing before us gradually, we might say, week by week of this Time after Pentecost, the fulness of the Christian life, as we received it from our Redeemer, who has now ascended into heaven, and thence has sent us this beautiful Paraclete, to form within us that life, to its full development. Amongst other gifts he gives us for the purpose, he shows us how to pray. Prayer, as our Jesus told us, must be continual; we must be always praying, and not faint or fail. And yet, we know not what we should pray for, nor how we should pray, so as to obtain. This is quite true; but He, the Holy Spirit, knows it all; and comes to us, helping our infirmity, yea, and himself asking for us, with unspeakable groanings. In the Introit and the whole Mass for this Sunday, we are taught that Prayer must have, amongst its other requisite qualities, that of humble repentance for our past sins, and of confidence in God’s infinite mercy.

This is the Third Sunday after Pentecost; it is the first which has no rubrical connection with the great Feasts we have been solemnizing; it is a Sunday with all the simplicity of the Office of the Time.

Introit
Respice in me, et miserere mei, Domine, quoniam unicus et pauper sum ego: vide humilitatem meam, et laborem meum: et dimitte omnia peccata mea, Deus meus. 
Look thou upon me, and have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am alone and poor; see my abjection and my labor: and forgive me all my sins, O my God.

Ps. Ad te, Domine, levavi animam meam: Deus meus, in te confido, non erubescam. Gloria Patri. Respice. 
Ps. To thee, O Lord, have I lifted up my soul: in thee, O my God, I place my trust, let me not be ashamed. Glory, etc. Look thou.


Collect
Protector in te sperantium, Deus, sine quo nihil est validum, nihil sanctum: multiplica super nos misericordiam tuam; ut, te rectore, te duce, sic transeamus per bona temporalia, ut non amittamus æterna. Per Dominum. 
O God, the protector of those who hope in thee! without whose aid, nothing is strong, nothing holy: increase thy mercy towards us; that under thy direction and conduct, we may so pass through the blessings of this life, as not to lose those which are eternal. Through, etc.

Second Collect
A cunctis nos quæsumus, Domine, mentis et corporis defende periculis: et intercedente beata et gloriosa semper Virgine Dei Genitrice Maria, cum beato Joseph, cumque beatis Apostolis tuis Petro et Paulo, atque beato N. et omnibus Sanctis, salutem nobis tribue benignus et pacem; ut destructis adversitatibus et erroribus universis, Ecclesia tua secura tibi serviat libertate. 
Preserve us, O Lord, we beseech thee, from all dangers of soul and body: and, by the intercession of the glorious and blessed Mary, the ever Virgin-Mother of God, of Blessed Joseph, of the Blessed Apostles Peter and Paul, of Blessed N. (here is mentioned the Titular Saint of the Church), and of all the Saints, grant us, in thy mercy, health and peace; that, all adversities and errors being removed, thy Church may serve thee with undisturbed liberty.

The third Collect is left to the Priest’s own choice.


Epistle
Lesson of the Epistle of St. Peter the Apostle. I Ch. V.

Dearly beloved: Be you humbled therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in the time of visitation: Casting all your care upon him, for he hath care of you. Be sober and watch: because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, goeth about seeking whom he may devour. Whom resist ye, strong in faith: knowing that the same affliction befalls your brethren who are in the world. But the God of all grace, who hath called us into his eternal glory in Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a little, will himself perfect you, and confirm you, and establish you. To him be glory and empire for ever and ever. Amen.

The miseries of this present life are the test to which God puts his soldiers; he passes judgment upon them, and classifies them, according to the degree of courage they have shown. Therefore is it, that we all have our share of suffering. The combat has commenced. God is looking on, watching how each of us comports himself. The day is not far off, when the Judge will pass sentence on the merits of each combatant, and award to each one the recompense he has won. Combat, now; peace and rest and a crown, then. Happy they who, during these days of probation, have recognized the mighty hand of God in all the trials they have had, and have humbled themselves under its pressure, lovingly and confidingly! Against such Christians, who have been strong in faith, the roaring lion has not been able to prevail. They were sober, they were watchful, during this their pilgrimage. They were fully convinced of this, that every one has to suffer in the present life; they therefore never sighed and moaned, as though they were the only sufferers; they did not assume the attitude of victims, and call it Resignation! but they took each trial as it came, and, without talking to every one about it, they quietly and joyously united it with the sufferings of Christ. O true Christians! you will be joyous for all eternity, when there will be made the manifestation of that eternal glory in Christ Jesus, which he will pass on to them, that they may share it with him for ever!

The Gradual keeps up the same strain;—it encourages the faithful soul to confidence. Let him cast all his care upon his heavenly Father; has he not always graciously heard him in all his troubles and necessities? As to enemies, let him cast away the thought; God will think of that, and, if it so please him, will avenge the soul they persecuted.

Gradual
Jacta cogitatum tuum in Domino: et ipse te enutriet. 
Cast thy care upon the Lord: and he shall sustain thee.

℣. Dum clamarem ad Dominum, exaudivit vocem meam ab his qui appropinquant mihi. 
℣. When I cried out to the Lord, he graciously heard my voice against those who were coming upon me.

Alleluia, alleluia. 
Alleluia, alleluia.

℣. Deus judex justus, fortis et patiens, numquid irascitur per singulos dies? Alleluia. 
℣. God is a just judge, strong and patient; is he angry every day?


Gospel
Sequel of the holy Gospel according to Luke. Ch. XV.

At that time: the publicans and sinners drew near unto him to hear him. And the Pharisees and the scribes murmured, saying: This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them. And he spoke to them this parable, saying: What man of you that hath an hundred sheep: and if he shall lose one of them, doth he not leave the ninety-nine in the desert, and go after that which was lost, until he find it? And when he hath found it, lay it upon his shoulders, rejoicing: And coming home, call together his friends and neighbours, saying to them: Rejoice with me, because I have found my sheep that was lost? I say to you, that even so there shall be joy in heaven upon one sinner that doth penance, more than upon ninety-nine just who need not penance. Or what woman having ten groats; if she lose one groat, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently until she find it? And when she hath found it, call together her friends and neighbours, saying: Rejoice with me, because I have found the groat which I had lost. So I say to you, there shall be joy before the angels of God upon one sinner doing penance.

This parable of the Sheep that is carried back to the fold on the Shepherd’s shoulders was a favorite one with the early Christians; and they made representations of it at almost every turn. The same is put before us in today’s Gospel, that our confidence may be strengthened in God’s infinite mercy. It reminds us, in its own beautiful way, of our Lord Jesus; whom we contemplated, a few weeks back, ascending triumphantly into heaven, carrying thither, in his arms, the lost human family, which he had won back from Satan and death and sin. For, as St. Ambrose says, “who is the Shepherd of our parable? It is Christ, who carries thee, poor man, in his own Body, and has taken all thy sins upon himself. The Sheep is one, not by number, but by its kind. Rich Shepherd this, of whose flock, all we human beings form but the hundredth part! for he has the Angels, and Archangels, and Dominations, and Powers, and Thrones, and all the rest,—all those other countless flocks, whom he has left yonder up the mountains, that he might run after the one Sheep he had lost.”

But it is from St. Gregory the Great that the Church, in her Matins of this Sunday, took the Commentary of this Gospel. And, in the sequel of that Homily, the holy Doctor gives us the explanation of the Parable of the Woman and the ten Groats. “He,” says St. Gregory, “that is signified by the Shepherd, is also meant by the Woman. Jesus is God; he is the Wisdom of God. And because good coin must bear the image of the king upon it, therefore was it that the Woman lost her groat, when Man, who had been created after God’s image, strayed from that image by committing sin. But, the Woman lights a lamp; the Wisdom of God hath appeared in human flesh. A lamp is a light which burns in a vessel of clay; and Light in a vessel of clay, is the Divinity in our flesh. It is of the vessel of this Body, that this Wisdom says: My strength is dried up like a potsherd. For, just as clay is made hard by fire, so His strength was dried up like a potsherd, because it has strengthened unto the glory of his resurrection, in the crucible of sufferings, the Flesh which it (Wisdom) had assumed … Having found the groat she had lost, the Woman calleth together her friends and neighbors, saying: ‘Rejoice with me! because I have found the groat which I had lost.’ Who are these friends and neighbors, if not the heavenly Spirits, who are so near to divine Wisdom, by the favors they enjoy of the ceaseless vision? But we must not, meanwhile, neglect to examine why this Woman, who represents divine Wisdom, is described as having ten groats, one of which she loses, then looks for, and again finds it? We must know, then, that God made both Angels and Men, that they might know him; and that having made both immortal, they were both made to the image of God. The Woman, then, had ten groats, because there are nine orders of Angels, and Man, who is to fill up the number of the elect, is the tenth groat; he was lost by his sin, but was found again, because Eternal Wisdom restored him, by lighting the lamp, that is, by assuming his flesh, and, through that, working wonderful works, which led to his recovery.”

The Offertory is an outpouring of gratitude and love for the God who dwelleth in Sion; he does not abandon them that seek him; he does not forget the poor man’s prayer.

Offertory
Sperent in te omnes, qui noverunt Nomen tuum, Domine: quoniam non derelinquis quærentes te: psallite Domino, qui habitat in Sion, quoniam non est oblitus orationem pauperum. 
Let them trust in thee, O Lord, who know thy name: for thou hast not forsaken them that seek thee. Sing ye to the Lord who dwelleth in Sion: for that he hath not forgotten the prayer of the poor.


Secret
Respice, Domine, munera supplicantis Ecclesiæ: et saluti credentium perpetua sanctificatione umenda concede. Per Dominum. 
Look down, O Lord, on the offerings of thy suppliant Church; and grant that thy faithful may always worthily partake thereof in order to their salvation. Through, etc.

Second Secret
Exaudi nos, Deus Salutaris noster: ut per hujus Sacramenti virtutem, a cunctis nos mentis et corporis hostibus tuearis, gratiam tribuens in præsenti, et gloriam in futuro. 
Graciously hear us, O God our Savior: that by virtue of this sacrament, thou mayest defend us from all enemies, of both soul and body: grant us grace in this life, and glory in the next.

The third Secret is left to the Priest’s own choice.


The Preface is that appointed for all Sundays during the year, for which no proper one is fixed, either of the Time, or for a Fast. 


The Communion-Anthem recalls to our minds, and with much appropriateness, the merciful teaching of today’s Gospel, now that Eternal Wisdom has regained full possession of the last groat, by means of the sacred Banquet, which He Himself had given to the repentant prodigal.

Communion
Dico vobis: gaudium est Angelis Dei super uno peccatore pœnitentiam agente. 
I say to you: there is joy among the Angels of God over one sinner doing penance.


Postcommunion
Sancta tua nos, Domine, sumpta vivificent: et misericordiæ sempinternæ præparent expiatos. Per Dominum. 
May thy sacred mysteries, O Lord, which we have received, give us life; and cleansing us from our sins, make us worthy of thy eternal mercy. Through, etc.

Second Postcommunion
Mundet et muniat nos, quæsumus, Domine, divini Sacramenti munus oblatum, et intercedente beata Virgine Dei Genitrice Maria, cum beato Joseph, cumque beatis Apostolis tuis Petro and Paulo, atque beato N. et omnibus Sanctis, a cunctis non reddat et perversitationibus expiatos, et adversitatibus expeditos. 

May the oblation of this divine Sacrament, we beseech thee, O Lord, both cleanse and defend us; and by the intercession of Blessed Mary, the Virgin-Mother of God, of Blessed Joseph, of the Blessed Apostles Peter and Paul, of Blessed N. and of all the Saints, free us from all sin, and deliver us from all adversity.

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Fr. Hewko's Sermons for the Sunday within the Octave of the Sacred Heart/Third Sunday after Pentecost


June 10, 2018





June 30, 2019 - "The Lost Drachma" - in East Vale, CA





June 26, 2022 in St. Mary's, Kansas





June 18, 2023 in Pennsylvania





June 9, 2024 in North Carolina

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SERMON XXXII. THIRD SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. – ON THE MERCY OF GOD TOWARD SINNERS
by St. Alphonsus Liguori



"There shall be joy in heaven upon one sinner that doth penance, more than ninety -nine just, who need not penance.” LUKE xv. 7

In this day’s gospel it is related that the Pharisees murmured against Jesus Christ, because he received sinners and eat with them. ”This man receiveth sinners and eateth with them” (v. 2).  In answer to their murmurings our Lord said: If any of you had a hundred sheep, and lost one of them, would he not leave the ninety-nine in the desert, and go in search of the lost sheep? would he not continue his search until he found it? and having found it, would he not carry it on his shoulders, and, rejoicing, say to his friends and neighbours:  “Rejoice with me, because I have found my sheep that was lost ?” (v. 6.) In conclusion, the Son of God said: “I say to you, there shall be joy in heaven upon one sinner that doth penance, more than, upon ninety-nine just, that need not penance.” There is more joy in heaven upon one sinner who returns to God, than upon many just who preserve the grace of God. Let us, then, speak today on the mercy which God shows to sinners, first, in calling them to repentance; secondly, in receiving them when they return.


First Point, Mercy of God in calling sinners to repentance

1. After having sinned by eating the forbidden apple, Adam fled from the face of the Lord through shame of the sin he had committed. What must have been the astonishment of the angels when they saw God seeking after him, and calling him as it were with tears, saying: “Adam, where art thou ?” (Gen. iii. 9.) My beloved Adam, where art thou? These words, says Father Pereyra, in his commentary on this passage, “are the words of a father in search of his lost son.” Towards you, brethren, the Lord acts in a similar manner. You fled from him and he has so often invited you to repentance by means of confessors and preachers. Who was it that spoke to you when they exhorted you to penance? It was the Lord. Preachers are, as St. Paul says, his ambassadors. ”For Christ, therefore, we are ambassadors; God, as it were, exhorting by us.” (2 Cor. v. 20.) Hence he writes to the sinners of Corinth: “For Christ, we beseech you, be reconciled to God.” (Ibid.) In explaining these words St. Chrysostom says:  “Ipse Chris tus vos obsecrat: quid autem obsecrat? Reconciliamini Deo.” Then, says the holy doctor, Jesus Christ himself entreats you, sinners: and what does he entreat you to do? To make peace with God. The saint adds: “Non enim ipse inimicus gerit, sed vos.” It is not God that acts like an enemy, but you; that is, God does not refuse to make peace with sinners, but they are unwilling to be reconciled with him.

2. But notwithstanding the refusal of sinners to return to God, he does not cease to continue to call them by so many interior inspirations, remorses of conscience, and terrors of chastisements. Thus, beloved Christians, God has spoken to you, and, seeing that you disregarded his words, he has had recourse to scourges; he has called you to repentance by such a persecution, by temporal losses, by the death of a relative, by sickness which has brought you to the brink of the grave. He has, according to holy David, placed before your eyes the bow of your damnation, not that you might be condemned to eternal misery, but that you might be delivered from hell, which you deserved. “Thou hast given a warning to them that fear thee, that they may flee from before the bow, that thy beloved may be delivered.” (Ps. lix. 6). You regarded certain afflictions as misfortunes; but they were mercies from God; they were the voices of God calling on you to renounce sin, that you might escape perdition. ”My jaws are become hoarse.” (Ps. lxviii. 4.) My son, says the Lord, I have almost lost my voice in calling you to repentance. ”I am weary of entreating thee.” ( Jer. xv. (5.) I have become weary in imploring you to offend me no more.

3. By your ingratitude you deserved that he should call you no more; but he has continued to invite you to return to him. And who is it that has called you? It is a God of infinite majesty, who is to be one day your judge, and on whom your eternal happiness or misery depends. And what are you but miserable worms deserving hell? Why has he called you? To restore to you the life of grace which you have lost. “Return ye and live.” (Ezec. xviii. 32.) To acquire the grace of God, it would be but little to spend a hundred years in a desert in fasting and penitential austerities. But God offered it to you for a single act of sorrow; you refused that act, and after your refusal he has not abandoned you, but has sought after you, saying: “And why will you die, house of Israel?” (Ez. xviii. 31.) Like a father weeping and following his son, who has voluntarily thrown himself into the sea, God has sought after you, saying, through compassion to each of you: My son, why dost thou bring thyself to eternal misery?  “Why will you die, house of Israel?”

4. As a pigeon that seeks to take shelter in a tower, seeing the entrance closed on every side, continues to fly round till she finds an opening through which she enters, so, says St. Augustine, did the divine mercy act towards me when I was in enmity with God. “Circuibat super me fidelis a longe misericordia tua.” The Lord treated you, brethren, in a similar manner. As often as you sinned you banished him from your souls. The wicked have said to God: “Depart from us.” (Job xxi. 14.) And, instead of abandoning you, what has the Lord done? He has placed himself at the door of your ungrateful hearts, and, by his knocking, has made you feel that he was outside, and seeking for admission. ”Behold I stand at the gate and knock.” (Apoc. iii. 20.) He, as it were, entreated you to have compassion on him, and to allow him to enter. “Open to me, my sister.” (Cant. v. 2.) Open to me; I will deliver you from perdition; I will forget all the insults you have offered to me if you give up sin. Perhaps you are unwilling to open to me through fear of becoming poor by restoring ill-gotten goods, or by separating from a person who provided for you? Am not I, says the Lord, able to provide for you? Perhaps you think that, if you renounce a certain friendship which separates you from me, you shall lead a life of misery? Am I not able to content your soul and to make your life happy? Ask those who love me with their whole hearts, and they will tell you that my grace makes them content, and that they would not exchange their condition, though poor and humble, for all the delights and riches of the monarchs of the earth.



Second Point. Mercy of God in waiting for sinners to return to him

5. We have considered the divine mercy in calling sinners to repentance: let us now consider his patience in waiting for their return. That great servant of God, D. Sancia Carillo, a penitent of Father John D’Avila, used to say, that the consideration of God’s patience with sinners made her desire to build a church, and entitle it “The Patience of God.” Ah, sinners! who could ever bear with what God has borne from you? If the offences which you have committed against God had been offered to your best friends, or even to your parents, they surely would have sought revenge. When you insulted the Lord he was able to chastise you; you repeated the insult, and he did not punish your guilt, but preserved your life, and provided you with sustenance. lie, as it were, pretended not to see the injuries you offered to him, that you might enter into yourselves, and cease to offend him. “Thou overlookest the sins of men for the sake of repentance.” (Wis. xi. 24.) But how, Lord, does it happen, that thou canst not behold a single sin, and that thou dost bear in silence with so many? “Thy eyes are too pure to behold evil, and thou canst not look on iniquity. Why lookest thou upon them that do unjust things, and boldest thy peace?” (Hab. i. 13.) Thou seest the vindictive prefer their own before thy honour; thou beholdest the unjust, instead of restoring what they have stolen, continuing to commit theft; the unchaste, instead of being ashamed of their impurities, boasting of them before others; the scandalous, not content with the sins which they themselves commit, but seeking to draw others into rebellion against thee; thou seest all this, and holdest thy peace, and dost not inflict vengeance.

6. “Omnis creatura,” says St. Thomas, “tibi factor! deserviens excandescit adversus injustos.” All creatures the earth, fire, air, water because they all obey God, would, by a natural instinct, wish to punish the sinner, and to avenge the injuries which he does to the Creator; but God, through his mercy, restrains them. But, Lord, thou waitest for the wicked that they may enter into themselves; and dost thou not see that they abuse thy mercy to offer new insults to thy majesty? “Thou hast been favourable to the nation, O Lord, thou hast been favourable to the nation: art thou glorified?” (Isa. xxvi. 15.) Thou hast waited so long for sinners; thou hast abstained from inflicting punishment; but what glory have you reaped from thy forbearance? They have become more wicked. Why so much patience with such ungrateful souls? Why dost thou continue to wait for their repentance? Why dost thou not chastise their wickedness? The same Prophet answers: “The Lord waiteth that he may have mercy on you.” (Isa. xxx. 18.) God waits for sinners that they may one day repent, and that after their repentance, he may pardon and save them. “As I live, saith the Lord, I desire not the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live.” (Ezech. xxxiii. 11.) St. Augustine goes so far as to say that the Lord, if he were not God, should he unjust on account of his excessive patience towards sinners. “Deus, Deus incus, pace tua dicam, nisi quia Deus esses, injustus esses.” By waiting for those who abuse his patience to multiply their sins, God appears to do an injustice to the divine honour. ”We,” continues the saint, “sin; we adhere to sin (some of us become familiar and intimate with sin, and sleep for months and years in this miserable state); we rejoice at sin (some of us go so far as to boast of our wickedness); and thou art appeased! “We provoke thee to anger thou dost invite us to mercy.” We and God appear to be, as it were, engaged in a contest, in which we labour to provoke him to chastise our guilt, and he invites us to pardon.

7. Lord, exclaimed holy Job, what is man, that thou dost entertain so great an esteem for him? Why dost thou love him so tenderly? ”What is man that thou shouldst magnify him? or why dost thou set thy heart upon him ?” (Job. vii. ] 7.) St. Denis the Areopagite says, that God seeks after sinners like a despised lover, entreating them not to destroy themselves. ”Deus etiam a se aversos amatorie sequitur, et deprecatur ne pereant.” Why, ungrateful souls, do you fly from me? I love you and desire nothing but your welfare. Ah, sinners! says St. Teresa, remember that he who now calls and seeks after you, is that God who shall one day be your judge. If you are lost, the great mercies which he now shows you, shall be the greatest torments which, you shall suffer in hell.


Third Point. Mercy of God in receiving penitent sinners

8. Should a subject who has rebelled against an earthly monarch go into the presence of his sovereign to ask pardon, the prince instantly banishes the rebel from his sight, and does not condescend even to look at him. But God does not treat us in this manner, when we go with humility before him to implore mercy and forgiveness. “The Lord your God is merciful, and will not turn away his face from you if you return to him.” (2 Par. xxx. 9.) God cannot turn away his face from those who cast themselves at his feet with an humble and contrite heart. Jesus himself has protested that he will not reject any one who returns to him. “And him that cometh to me, I will not cast out.” (John vi. 37.) But how can he reject those whom he himself invites to return, and promises to embrace?” Return to me, saith the Lord, and I will receive thee.” (Jer. iii. 1.) In another place he says: Sinners, I ought to turn my back on you, because you first turned your back on me; but be converted to me, and I will be converted to you. “Turn to me, saith the Lord of hosts, and I will turn to you, saith the Lord of hosts.” (Zach. i. 3.)

9. Oh! with what tenderness does God embrace a sinner that returns to him! This tenderness Jesus Christ wished to declare to us when he said that he is the good pastor, who, as soon as he finds the lost sheep, embraces it and places it on his own shoulders. ”And when he hath found it, doth he not lay it upon his shoulders rejoicing?” (Luke xv. 5.) This tenderness also appears in the parable of the prodigal son, in which Jesus Christ tells us that he is the good father, who, when his lost son returns, goes to meet him, embraces and kisses him, and, as it were, swoons away through joy in receiving him. ”And running to him, he fell upon his neck and kissed him.” (Luke xv. 20.)

10. God protests that when sinners repent of their iniquities, he will forget all their sins, as if they had never offended him. “But, if the wicked do penance for all the sins which he hath committed. .. .living, he shall live, and shall not die. I will not remember all his iniquities that he hath done.” (Ezech. xviii. 21,22.) By the Prophet Isaias, the Lord goes so far as to say: “Come and accuse me, saith the Lord. If your sins be as scarlet, they shall be made white as snow.” (Isa. i. 18.) Mark the words, Come and accuse me. As if the Lord said: Sinners, come to me, and if I do not pardon and embrace you, reprove me, upbraid me with violating my promise. But no! God cannot despise an humble and contrite heart. “A contrite and humble heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.” (Ps. l. 19.)

11. To show mercy and grant pardon to sinners, God regards as redounding to his own glory. “And therefore shall he be exalted sparing you.” (Isa. xxx. 18.) The holy Church says, that God displays his omnipotence in granting pardon and mercy to sinners. ”O God, who manifested thy omnipotence in sparing and showing mercy.” Do not imagine, dearly beloved sinners, that God requires of you to labour for a long time before he grants you pardon: as soon as you wish for forgiveness, he is ready to give it. Behold what the Scripture says: ”Weeping, thou shalt not weep, he will surely have pity on thee.” (Isa. xxx. 19.) You shall not have to weep for a long time: as soon as you shall have shed the first tear through sorrow for your sins, God will have mercy on you. ”At the voice of thy cry, as soon as he shall hear, he will answer thee.” (Ibid.) The moment he shall hear you say: Forgive me, my God, forgive me, he will instantly answer and grant your pardon.

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Taken from Divine Intimacy: Meditations on the Interior Life for Everyday of the Year:

210. MERCIFUL LOVE
THIRD SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

PRESENCE OF GOD - O Jesus, reveal to me the infinite treasures of mercy contained in Your Heart.


MEDITATION

1. Today’s liturgy is a warm invitation to confidence in the merciful love of Jesus. Even from the beginning of the Mass, the Church has us pray thus: “Look toward me and have pity on me, O Lord, for I am desolate and unhappy. See my misery and my sadness, and pardon all my sins” (Introit); then in the Collect we add: “O God... pour out upon us Your mercy,” and a little later we are exhorted: “Cast your care upon the Lord, and He will support you” (Gradual). But how can we justify all this confidence in God, since we are always poor sinners? The Gospel (Lk 15,1-10) explains the grounds for this justification by relating two parables used by Jesus Himself to teach us that we can never have too much confidence in His infinite mercy: the story of the lost sheep and the account of the missing drachma. First He shows us the good shepherd who goes in search of the lost sheep; it is a picture of Jesus coming down from heaven to search for poor human beings lost in the dark caves of sin. In order to find them, rescue them, and bring them back to the sheepfold, He does not hesitate to undergo the greatest sufferings and even death. “And when he hath found it.. .[he lays] it upon his shoulders, rejoicing: and coming home, [he calls] together his friends and neighbors, saying to them: ‘Rejoice with me for I have found my sheep that was lost.”

This is the story of the love of Jesus for all mankind and especially for every individual soul. The story has a beautiful symbolism in the tender figure of the good shepherd, to which Jesus likened Himself. We might say that the image of the good shepherd—which was so greatly loved in the early days of the Church—is the equivalent of that of the Sacred Heart; both are living, concrete expressions of the merciful love of Jesus, and they urge us to go to Him with complete confidence.


2. “I say to you, that even so there will be joy in heaven over one sinner who repents, more than over ninety-nine just who have no need of repentance.” Here we have the underlying idea of all three parables about mercy—the lost sheep, the missing drachma, and the prodigal son—each expressing this thought in a different way. This insistent repetition tells us how earnestly Jesus would inculcate the profound lesson of His infinite mercy, a mercy which is the exact opposite of the hard, scornful attitude of the Pharisees who murmured, saying, “ He [Jesus] receives sinners and eats with them.” The three parables are the Master’s answer to their mean and treacherous insinuations.

It is not easy for finite creatures with a limited spiritual outlook to understand this ineffable mystery completely; not only is it difficult to understand in respect to others, but it presents a problem even in what concerns ourselves. However, Jesus said and repeated: “There will be joy in heaven over one sinner who repents, more than over ninety-nine just” thus giving us to understand what great glory a soul gives to God when, after many falls, it comes back to Him, repentant and confident. The message of this parable applies not only to great sinners, those converted from serious sin, but also to those who turn from venial sins, who humble themselves and rise again after faults committed through weakness or lack of reflection. This is our everyday story : how many times we resolve to overcome our impatience, our quick temper, our sensitiveness, and how many times we fall again! But the Heart of Jesus “thrills with joy when, humbly acknowledging our fault, we come to fling ourselves into His arms, imploring forgiveness; then, He loves us even more tenderly than before we fell” (T.C.J. L-C). The liturgy repeats in the Communion hymn the last verse of the Gospel: “I say to you, there shall be joy before the angels of God over one sinner doing penance.” Let us ask Jesus, when He comes to us in Holy Communion, to help us penetrate the secrets of His infinite, merciful love.


COLLOQUY

“In whom, Lord, can Your mercies shine forth as in me, who with my evil deeds have thus obscured the great favors which You had begun to show me? Alas, my Creator! If I would make an excuse, I have none, and no one is to blame but I. For had I cooperated even a little with Your love which You had begun to show me, I would not have been able to love aught but Yourself Lord...but as I have not deserved this...may Your mercy be availing for me.

“Yet even from me some good has been brought forth by Your infinite goodness, and, the greater have been my sins, the more has the great blessing of Your mercies shone forth in me. How many reasons have I for singing of them forever! I beseech You, my God, that it may be so: may I sing of them, and that without end, since You have deigned to work such exceeding great mercies in me that they amaze those who behold them, while as for me, I am drawn out of myself continually, that I may be the better able to sing Your praise. For so long as I am in myself, my Lord, and without You, I can do nothing but be cut off like the flowers in this garden, and this miserable earth will become a dunghill again as before. Permit it not, Lord. Let it not be Your will that a soul which You have purchased with so many trials should be lost, when You have so often redeemed it anew and have snatched it from the teeth of the horrible dragon” (T.J. Life, 4-14).

“O Jesus, I know that Your Heart is more grieved by the thousand little imperfections of Your friends than by the faults, even grave, which Your enemies commit. Yet, it seems to me, that it is only when those who are Your own are habitually guilty of thoughtlessness and neglect to seek Your pardon, that You can say: ‘These wounds which you see in the midst of My hands I have received in the house of those who love Me.’ But Your Heart thrills with joy when You have to deal with all those who truly love, and who after each little fault come to fling themselves into Your arms, imploring forgiveness. You say to Your angels what the prodigal’s father said to his servants: ‘Put a ring upon his finger, and let us rejoice.’ O Jesus, how little known is the merciful love of Your Heart!” (cf. T.G.J. L-C).

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A reminder ....