“his father caught sight of him and was deeply moved”

 
How is God portrayed in the parables, for example how is God like the shepherd, the woman, the father? “The central figure in these parables is God himself. He does everything He can to recover those of his children who have succumbed to temptation. He is the Good Shepherd who goes out in search of the lost sheep. Once He has found it, He brings it home on his shoulders since it is trembling with exhaustion, worn out as a result of its disobedience. God is represented as the woman who, having lost a drachma [coin], lights a lamp and sweeps the house in a careful search for it. Finally, he is seen as the loving father who goes out every day to await the return of his dissolute son. He strains his eyes to see if the newest figure on the horizon is his youngest son.[i]

“O God, how much we value your mercy. All mankind can gather under your protection.”[ii] When we speak of the image of Jesus, we must remember that Jesus is “the image of the invisible God”[iii]. When Saint Philip asked Jesus to show him the Father, Jesus said if you know me you know the Father. In His kind mercy, Jesus, who is the image of God, gives us several images of Himself, allowing us to have a personal relationship with Him. In particular we are given two images, which help us to have confidence in the Mercy of God. Jesus, the Good Shepherd. Jesus, the Sacred Heart.
 
Jesus, the Good Shepherd – The title of Christ, which he gave himself, in so many words and in the Parable of the Good Shepherd. Implicit in the title is God’s mercy on sinners and his concern for the weak and lowly. Already in the catacombs the Savior was often represented as the Good Shepherd.[iv]
 
MUSIC – “King of Love my Shepherd Is” by Saint Columba
(Verse 1) The King of love my Shepherd is, whose goodness faileth never, I nothing lack if I am His, And He is mine forever.
(Verse 2) Where streams of living water flow, My ransomed soul He leadeth, And where the verdant pastures grow, With food celestial feedeth.
(Verse 3) Perverse and foolish oft I strayed, but yet in love He sought me, and on His shoulder gently laid, And home, rejoicing, brought me.
(Verse 4) In death’s dark vale I fear no ill, With Thee, dear Lord, beside me; Thy rod and staff my comfort still, Thy cross before to guide me.
(Verse 5) Thou spread’st a table in my sight; Thy unction grace bestoweth; And O what transport of delight, From Thy pure chalice floweth!
(Verse 6) And so through all the length of days, Thy goodness faileth never; Good Shepherd, may I sing, Thy praise Within Thy house forever.
 
How does this song tell the story of Salvation History? What is Salvation History? This song tells the story of the Good Shepherd and Salvation History. “He [Jesus] 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….We might say that the image of the good shepherd – which was so greatly loved in the early days of the Church – is 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.”[v]
 
What prevents us from having confidence in His mercy, what prevents us from trusting Him? How do the images of the Good Shepherd and the Sacred Heart help us to grow in confidence? God is so good to us, so merciful to us. Satan, the father of lies, sows seeds of doubt in our minds about “Our Father”. From the beginning he said to Eve, “Did God really tell you not to eat from any of the trees in the garden?”[vi] The image of God that Satan portrays is a Father that we cannot trust. This distrust makes us loose confidence in the all-powerful God and have a distorted view of “Our Father” Jesus, in the images of the Good Shepherd and the Sacred Heart, gives both followers of Christ and those who do not yet know God comfort and confidence. Both images are personal, so much so that 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”( Saint Therese of the Child Jesus)
 
Jesus appeared to Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647-90) on several occasions; and in one of these visions He showed her His Heart, pierced with a wound, encircled with a crown of thorns, surrounded by flames and surmounted by a cross - as we see it usually represented in pictures and statues at the present day. He commanded her to practice and to teach others the devotion to His Sacred Heart, because of His ardent desire to be loved by men and His wish to give to all mankind the treasures of His love and mercy.
 
What is the Sacred Heart a symbol of? It shows Jesus love for the Father and the Spirit (the love of the Holy Trinity). It shows that Christ is one person with two natures, divine and human. His divinity is infused into every part of His life and is the burning source of His love. His humanity possesses the full power of feelings, emotions, perceptions, senses like that of a human heart.
 
Activity – Draw the Sacred Heart
The Sacred Heart of Jesus is one of the most popular icons of the Catholic Church and of Jesus. It is very popular even in pop culture including tattoos. A simple five step drawing can teach us a lot about Jesus, His humanity, His passion, and death; His love for us.
 
Step 1 – draw a Heart. This element stresses the humanity of Christ, the Word made flesh, the Jesus is one person with two natures, human and divine. We must not forget that Christ is human. This heart is real and alive and is beating right now for all. Jesus is physically present in only two places, in heaven and in the Blessed Sacrament. In the Eucharistic Miracle of Lanciano, Italy in the 8^th Century the bread and wine turned into the Body and Blood of Christ not only in essence (as they do at each Mass) but also in appearance, meaning that the Body, looked, felt and tasted like flesh. 1300 years later the flesh can still be viewed, when tested by scientists the results declared that 1. The flesh was muscle tissue and 2. The muscle tissue was that of the heart.
 
Step 2 – draw fire around the Heart. Jesus’s heart burns for love of us. The heart of Jesus is not hardened or cold, it is enflamed with love for humanity, a love that motivates Him to save the whole world, even the most lost sinner.
 
Step 3 – draw a crown of thorns. This human heart of Jesus, burning with compassion and love for humanity, is surrounded, wrapped with the crown of thorns. Jesus took on flesh and was embraces not with comfort but with suffering.
 
Step 4 – draw a cross on top of the heart. The culmination of Christ love for us is His passion and death on the Cross. “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”[vii]
 
Step 5 – draw a wound in the side of the heart. This wound is wear Christ was stabbed with the spear. The wound is our entrance the door to the heart of Christ. From this wound in the side flows water (Baptism) and blood (the Eucharistic Sacrifice)?All the steps flow together. Jesus became human (heart) because of His burning love for us (fire), this fire, passion, desire motivated Him to save us even though His life was wrapped in suffering (thorns). This suffering which fully embraced Him, and He also fully embrace “becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross”[viii] (the cross). The fruit of this obedience and charity is our way, our door into the Life of Christ (wound).

[i] Father Francis Fernandez; In Conversation with God; Vol. 5, section 3.1
[ii] Opening Antiphon
[iii] Colossians 1:15
[iv] Father John A. Hardon, S.J.; Modern Catholic Dictionary, page 234
[v] Father Gabriel of Saint Mary Magdalen; Divine Intimacy; Section 210 “Merciful Love”
[vi] Genesis 3:1
[vii] John 15:13
[viii] Philippians 2:8