We are not lost

We've all experienced being lost, at some point in our lives; have all known the confusion - panic even - taking over what might have started as a simple detour or a fun adventure. Being lost could take us well away from our destination, or our fellow-travellers; it might mean being late; it could also be frightening on unfamiliar country roads, or in a foreign city where we cannot read the road signs and nobody seems to speak our language. Being lost might only last a few minutes, but we have all experienced its disorientation - and the blessed, blessed relief of finding the right way - or of being found. 

We know what it means to be lost - and we also know what it means to lose: something precious or necessary; someone precious, and loved. And we too have known that blessed, joyous relief - that moment of thanking whichever saint we'd invoked - when whatever was lost is now found, and restored to us. And sadly, we also know the ache, the huge, gaping hole within us, when someone lost can never come back...

Yes, we have all been the sheep in today's Gospel... have all been lost, whether physically for a short time, or spiritually or existentially for many years... whether because we followed our own inclinations, took a wrong turn or believed someone else's directions... And we have all known the joy of the Good Shepherd, especially when it is we ourselves who have been found, and our relief and delight are doubled. Because when we find what has always been our heart's greatest desire... the One we have truly been seeking, even if we did not know his name... when we allow ourselves to be brought home, into that wide-open Heart, where there is space enough for everyone, we also begin to find ourselves, our deepest selves, in an ever-increasing joy. And we know, too: we are not lost, cannot be lost, because we are held in uncontained love and joy, in his all-embracing Heart. 

But we're not held in a motionless, cosy comfort! Because it is from his Heart that we are called, as our Superior General has said in her letter for today's feast to become shepherds and shepherdesses, men and women "for others"... called to live the vocation of loving and desiring that others have life in abundance... In this way, from being cared-for sheep, with His grace, we become shepherds and shepherdesses taking care like Him, of those who most need our care, through closeness and attention, community and tenderness, kindness and gentleness.

Happy feast of the Sacred Heart to you all! And may we continue to find ways to help our Good Shepherd tend and pasture his sheep - especially the ones who are weakest and most vulnerable, unwanted and unloved, or who believe they have strayed beyond the bounds of God's love. May we help our Shepherd gather them all into the unconditional, unlimited love of his Heart, where they too will know life and joy in abundance.