Solemnity of Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

Jesus addressed this parable to the Pharisees and scribes:
"What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them
would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert
and go after the lost one until he finds it?
And when he does find it,
he sets it on his shoulders with great joy
and, upon his arrival home,
he calls together his friends and neighbors and says to them,
'Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.'
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."
Luke 15:3-7

Prayer

Dear Father many of us live by this example. When a loved one is lost we go in search of them. We look until we find them, and as Jesus also said, how we rejoice when they are found. With this in thought we can understand how you feel when a sinner is found and brought back home to you. But we also understand when one is lost and cannot be found how much it grieves you as it would grieve us until we find them. For you dear Father a repentant sinner brings such gladness to your heart. As with any parent who undergoes so much in this life with their children the joy they feel when they turn their life around. It's not hard to understand this aspect of you, the love you have for us. May we the children of your heart come back to you. Amen