Greeting

We have been called together here
by Jesus Christ, our Lord and Good Shepherd.
He looks after us when we get astray.
He loves us and calls each of us by name.
May you listen to his voice
and may he be with you always. R/ And also with you.

Introduction by the Celebrant

Are we ever sure that love is genuine, that it is going to last and to remain strong? Yes, we are sure that it is authentic when it is tested and tried in difficulties, when it can weather all storms, when it survives disappointments and betrayals. True love wears often such scars that have not destroyed love but often deepened it. We discover such dependable love in God, the source of all love, as evidenced in the heart of his Son. He does not give up on us. The gospel expresses this in the image of the Good Shepherd: Christ who leads his people, seeks out what is lost, brings together what is scattered and binds the wounds of the injured. Let us celebrate this love without measure.

Penitential Act

Let us seek forgiveness
for not always having followed
our shepherd and sure guide.
             (PAUSE)
Lord, you keep caring for us
and you are always ready to forgive
those who seek you with a sincere heart.
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Jesus Christ, your heart was pierced for our sins
and yet, of those entrusted to you by the Father
you did not want any to be lost.
Christ, have mercy. R/ Christ, have mercy.
Lord, in your love
you give strength to the weak
and bind the wounds of those injured by life.
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
To whom else can we go
than to you, Lord?
Forgive us our infidelities,
keep us in your friendship
and lead us to everlasting life. R/ Amen.

Opening Prayer

Let us pray to God with gratitude
for the faithful love he has shown us
in the heart of our Good Shepherd
                 (PAUSE)
How can we ever thank you enough,
our faithful God,
for keeping us in the heart of your Son?
He did not abandon those crushed
under the weight of their sins
but sought them out, lifted them up
and walked by their side.
We praise you for your goodness,
for letting him give us fresh courage
when tired we sat down by the side of the road.
We are certain that he loves us
and will guide us to you, our God for ever. R/ Amen.

Liturgy of the Word

First Reading Introduction: The Lord set his heart on you and chose you

First Reading: Deuteronomy 7:6-11

Moses said to the people:
"You are a people sacred to the LORD, your God;
he has chosen you from all the nations on the face of the earth
to be a people peculiarly his own.
It was not because you are the largest of all nations
that the LORD set his heart on you and chose you,
for you are really the smallest of all nations.
It was because the LORD loved you
and because of his fidelity to the oath he had sworn
your fathers,
that he brought you out with his strong hand
from the place of slavery,
and ransomed you from the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt.
Understand, then, that the LORD, your God, is God indeed,
the faithful God who keeps his merciful covenant
down to the thousandth generation
toward those who love him and keep his commandments,
but who repays with destruction a person who hates him;
he does not dally with such a one,
but makes them personally pay for it.
You shall therefore carefully observe the commandments,
the statutes and the decrees that I enjoin on you today."

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 103:1-2, 3-4, 6-7, 8, 10

R./ The Lord's kindness is everlasting to those who fear him.

Bless the LORD, O my soul;
all my being, bless his holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul;
and forget not all his benefits.
R./ The Lord's kindness is everlasting to those who fear him.

He pardons all your iniquities,
heals all your ills.
He redeems your life from destruction,
crowns you with kindness and compassion.
R./ The Lord's kindness is everlasting to those who fear him.

Merciful and gracious is the Lord,
slow to anger and abounding in kindness.
Not according to our sins does he deal with us,
nor does he requite us according to our crimes.
R./ The Lord's kindness is everlasting to those who fear him.

Second Reading Introduction: God loved us.

Second Reading: 1 John 4:7-16

Beloved, let us love one another,
because love is of God;
everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God.
Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love.
In this way the love of God was revealed to us:
God sent his only Son into the world
so that we might have life through him.
In this is love:
not that we have loved God, but that he loved us
and sent his Son as expiation for our sins.
Beloved, if God so loved us,
we also must love one another.
No one has ever seen God.
Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us,
and his love is brought to perfection in us.

This is how we know that we remain in him and he in us,
that he has given us of his Spirit.
Moreover, we have seen and testify
that the Father sent his Son as savior of the world.
Whoever acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God,
God remains in him and he in God.
We have come to know and to believe in the love God has for us.

God is love, and whoever remains in love
remains in God and God in him.

Gospel Introduction: I am meek and humble of heart.

Gospel Reading: Mt 11:25-30

At that time Jesus exclaimed:
"I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
for although you have hidden these things
from the wise and the learned
you have revealed them to little ones.
Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will.
All things have been handed over to me by my Father.
No one knows the Son except the Father,
and no one knows the Father except the Son
and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him."

"Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,
and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,
for I am meek and humble of heart;
and you will find rest for yourselves.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden light."

Commentary

The Lord allows His Sacred Heart to be opened by a lance so that we might enter fully into the life He has prepared for us. His death on the cross allows us entrance into heaven; His glorious resurrection allows us to experience life to the full.

Jesus invites us to come to Him, to enter into new life by encountering His Sacred Heart in the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, and to live always with the consciousness that because we are members of His Body, His Blood flows through our veins. May our celebration of this great feast allow us to radiate to others the love that comes from His Sacred Heart.

General Intercessions

Love can hardly be commanded, for it is first an invitation. Let us pray to the Father of all love for the capability to love him and all people, as we pray: R/ Lord, make us instruments of your love.

- That the Church for which Christ died may grow into a universal community of love, which makes Christ's unconditional love visible to everyone, we pray: R/ Lord, make us instruments of your love.

- That Christians everywhere may not be people of legalisms and outward observances but people with a heart, who do what they have to do and more because they are God's children, we pray: R/ Lord, make us instruments of your love.

- That the nations of the world may come to respect and help one another, and build peace and progress not at the expense of each other but on the basis of friendship and brotherhood, we pray: R/ Lord, make us instruments of your love.

- That we may be reliable friends to those marked by suffering in any form; that we may lighten their burdens and help them to keep trusting in God and people, we pray: R/ Lord, make us instruments of your love.

- That our anemic and dried-up love may become rich and spontaneous, like a fresh breath of life and joy brightening the lives of those around us and a wordless song of praise to God, we pray: R/ Lord, make us instruments of your love.

Loving God, we claim to belong to you and to your Son. Help us through your Spirit of love to give to your love a human shape, that we may make people happy and be your happy people, in Jesus Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.

Prayer over the Gifts

God our Father,
we bring bread and wine before you
as signs that we eagerly accept the love
which you offer us in Jesus Christ.
We do so with humility and shame,
for we are aware of the poverty of our unreliable hearts.
But accept them, Father,
on account of the riches and reliability
of the love of our Savior and our brother,
Jesus Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.

Introduction to the Eucharistic Prayer

With Jesus we give thanks to the Father for the healing and compassion he keeps showing us in Jesus, our Good Shepherd.

Introduction to the Lord's Prayer

With one heart and one voice
let us pray now to our Father
the prayer taught us by Jesus. R/ Our Father…

Deliver Us

Deliver us, Lord, from our self-seeking
which brought suffering and death
to your Son Jesus Christ.
Grant us the peace of reconciliation
with your and with our neighbor
and keep us in your love,
that without fear we may look forward
to the full coming among us
of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. R/ For the kingdom…

Invitation to Communion

This is the Lamb who was betrayed
and handed over for our sins.
This is the risen Lord
who sought us out
and brought us life and joy.
Let us receive him with grateful love. R/ Lord, I am not worthy…

Prayer after Communion

Our God and Father,
you have allowed us again
to encounter your Son in the fullness of his love.
It was a crucified and defenseless love
in which he gave himself totally.
Fill our love with his,
that never again we become ungrateful to you.
May we learn from him
to overlook our pride and injuries
and to keep loving those who have hurt us.
We ask this in the name of Jesus the Lord. R/ Amen.

Blessing

God never crushes people.
through he could, and we deserve it.
We have not responded to his love as we should have;
we may have grossly betrayed him
or shown not much more than indifference.
It is good that we keep that in mind,
but God does not remind us;
for him all this belongs to the past,

Wouldn't it be wonderful
if we too could forget injuries,
if we could stop looking at the scars of the past,
if the pains suffered for one another
would only deepen our love?
May God deepen and bless our love,
the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. R/ Amen.

Go in peace
and have a heart for one another. R/ Thanks be to God.