Luke 15:3-7Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus: I have found my lost sheep

How cool is it that Jesus will stop at nothing to find the lost, just like a shepherd will go into the mountains and dangerous terrain to find that one sheep who is lost and stuck on a ledge with no way to save himself. 

It is truly a time for celebration.  Not only because we are grouped together and united in Christ, but also because our own worries and anxiety for that one is now calmed because of the Lord.  We usually think about the lost sheep in relation to the Good Shepherd.  We sometimes tend to forget its relationship to the others.  When we have someone we know leave the Church, or be sucked into dangerous ruts in life, whether depression, drugs, alcoholism, or self destructive behaviors, don't we worry and become anxious for them?  Prayer is the key.  Prayer can change so many things.  Unconditional love, but a firmness of knowing when we can help and when we can't.  Sometimes things are too great for us alone, and we need to trust in God to intervene.  That is where our Lord comes to us or others as the Good Shepherd.  We need to remember that he is there, and if we need his help, we need only ask--be prepared for him to respond in ways that we don't expect.

John 21: 1-14 Have you caught anything to eat?

Yesterday I mentioned a little of Christ Jesus' humor.  Today in the Gospel, the Risen Christ stands upon the shore and calls out to a boat of adult male fishermen, "Children, have you caught anything to eat?"  I wonder how annoyed they were at first, or if they thought this guy was crazy, especially when he next told them to throw their nets over the other side of the boat.   Here's the catch, they threw their nets on the right side of the boat like the guy on shore said, and they caught so many fish, they nearly couldn't haul it in.  That was when John recognized the Lord and dove into the deep water to be the first to reach Christ on the shore. 

Once all together, the Lord feeds and nourishes them for their trouble and exertions in reaching him when he called out to them.  That is the cool thing about the God, he is always the initiation, the first mover, whether as God the Father, God the Son, or God the Holy Spirit, and then he waits for us to respond, and join into a communion with him.  This Easter season, we have a Risen Lord encouraging us to repent and live do that we might live in him.  How are we responding to that call?