As we celebrate the solemnity of The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus today Fr Prodencio Bognay reads from the Gospel of Luke (15: 3-7) in which Jesus tells the parable of the lost sheep and of the joy when it is found.

“Rejoice with me, I have found my sheep that was lost.”

Fr Prodencio says, the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus is about this sense of rejoicing over an act of care. It is about celebrating the outcome of showing compassion.

While our natural tendency is to think of how Jesus loves us so much and how we should imitate him in loving others, I would like to talk about celebrating when we finally show compassion to our very own self. The following are samples of scenarios that we might find worth contemplating:

  • When we have been struggling with anger, we might say “Rejoice with me, I was able to understand with compassion my anger issues.”
  • When it is about our irrational impulses, we might one day say, “Rejoice with me, I was able to tolerate my own unrefined impulses.”
  • When it is about our deep sense of shame, one day we might say, “Rejoice with me, I was able to tolerate my embarrassing memories and now able to move on in life. Rejoice with me, I was able to experience fully the shame that I have been carrying.”
  • When our struggle is about low self-esteem, we might say, “Rejoice with me, I was able to see and understand the impacts of my low self-esteem. Rejoice with me, I was able to express my authentic feelings even if I find it difficult to do it. Rejoice with me, I was able to accept the part of me that I disowned and rejected.”

If we ourselves would be able to own that part of our self that we reject, then we can realize the essence of the Most Sacred Heart.

There is so much rejoicing in heaven when we reconcile with our disowned self just as there is rejoicing when one repentant sinner becomes part of God’s family again.

Fr Prodencio says, Jesus has shown us the way, may we find our way as well.