1. Why the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus?
Let us briefly review the steps of the Life of Repentance; first, you must know your sins (examination of conscience. Second, you must be sorry for your sins (contrition). Thirdly, you must promise to try to avoid those past sins in the future (purpose of amendment). Fourthly, you must make pay for your sins (restitution).
This is what the catechism states. How come the bishop’s Synod of 2012 did not know these steps? Well, it is useless looking back. Note that these four steps must be done perfectly. If you do not know all your sins because as the Psalms says man has many secret sins, then the examination of conscience is defective. Secondly, if you are not so sorry for your sins because some of them are still very attractive, then there is a defect in the contrition. Thirdly, If you promise to avoid the past sins you have committed but will not avoid sins you have not yet tasted, then there is a defect in your purpose of amendment. Fourthly, if you have not paid for the injustice you have committed against your neighbour and, or worst, the injustice you have committed to God, then your restitution is defective. In which case, the repentance is fully defective and there will be no forgiveness of sin.
This is the case for most people. Most of the steps in their repentance is defective and, therefore, their sins are not forgiven. Their salvation is in danger. The Catholic Church had been correcting this defect. Especially in the 1800, both the Popes and the Blessed Virgin through her apparitions had been reminding men to repent properly.
But during the time St. Mary Margaret Alacoque, Jesus wanted to emphasise the importance of the fourth element of repentance; and that is Restitution. Men had been sinning against God and neighbour and are not paying their debts. Justice is the very essence of repentance. Man will not receive mercy and compassion from God unless he gives God and neighbour their due. When man sins he violates the rights of neighbour and God; and he must pay back.,
If was because of this great neglect that Jesus appeared to St. Mary to tell her to beg the world to make up for those who were negligent in this regard. But mankind will never agree to pay his debts or pay someone else’s debts. Man delayed and delayed. When God commands He gives a deadline. He never moves a deadline. He is always on schedule. And God punished France, that prostitute daughter of the Church.
2. The devotion of the Sacred Heart, popularly known as the 9 first Fridays of the month is meant to remind man to make restitution for every sin he commits. The husband who leaves his wife and remarries must return and make amends for the sin committed against the wife and children; and he should make amends to God for having disobeyed the 6th and 9th commandments. The mother who is guilty of abortion; how does she make restitution to the child she has killed. And how does she make restitution to God for killing a life created by God? And how does a person with same sex attraction make up for his sins towards the same sex; and how does he make restitution to God?
Note that it is almost impossible for most to make restitution for the sins they have committed to God and neighbour. This is the reason why most cannot have their sins forgiven. Repentance is lacking because the elements of repentance are not done properly. So what do we do?
Pope Francis had a brilliant idea. He abolished sin because as he said, he cannot imagine a good God sending any soul to hell. He must have a poor imagination because St. Teresa of Avila and the three children of Fatima can imagine God sending souls, even of priests and bishops to hell.
3. The Good Shepherd and the lost sheep.
The Gospel for the feast of the Sacred Heart is about the Good Shepherd looking for the lost sheep and brings it back on his shoulders. The bad shepherd would, on the other hand probably carry goats on his shoulders. Let us define a lost sheep; and we shall easily identify a Good Shepherd.
Briefly, a Good Shepherd is a holy priest or bishop who carries the burden of a repentant sinner and returns him back to God. It takes a holy priest or bishop to do this because, otherwise, he would not know what to carry. The bishop practically carries the guilt as if he were the sinner. This make it easier for the sinner to repent because the holy priest is doing more than half of the work. Superiors and the entire monastic community does this with its members and that is the purpose of monasteries……to make it easy for the sinner to repent. Today few priests or bishops know how to carry the sinner back to the fold.
Instead of carrying the sheep back to the fold, Pope Francis steps on the head of the adulterer so that he sinks further in his sin. That is like stepping on the head of a goat so he further sinks in the mud.
4. But let us describe the lost sheep. This sheep is a rare breed. Sometimes, sinners think that they are lost sheep. More often these sinners are really lost goats.
Notice that in the Gospel the Shepherd was after a lost sheep. St. Thomas wrote that the 99 left behind were the angels that did not fall. The lost sheep is mankind who was kicked out of Paradise. Notice, also, that the animal was a sheep; not a goat. What is the difference.
One of the best encyclicals of recent years is Pope John Paul’s ‘Veritatis Splendour.’ It is a summary of the ‘Plan of Salvation.’ It is,also, the only encyclical, of recent history, that is addressed only to the Bishops. And it is an encyclical that very few Bishops really have read. I don’t blame them. They are really very busy to read encyclicals. But how come they read ‘Amoris Laetitia’ that is more than 260 pages? Really, they did not read it. They just heard that Pope Francis allowed the divorced and the remarried to receive Holy Communion and they just went on and implemented it, like in the Philippines.
“Veritatis Splendour” begun and kept on repeating the story of the young rich man. It describes ‘who will go to heaven.’ The story described a young man who went to Christ and asked Him; ‘how can I attain eternal life.’ Now, those who want to go to heaven listen to what Christ said. Christ said; ‘if you want to attain eternal life obey the 10 commandments.’ Now, listen to what the young man said; ‘I have obeyed those commands since my youth.’ Goodness gracious. Not even bishops and priest can say that. That young man was as good as St. Therese of Lisieux who ‘never committed a single mortal sin.’ Now that is the description of a sheep. A sheep is one who have obeyed all the 10 commandments. So Pope Francis’ adulterers, remarried, atheist friends; Lutherans, Evangelists, communist, Jewish and immigrant friends; Curial assistants, ‘amores laetitia’ written by Fernandex, former Volpi, etc……because they disobeyed the 10 commandments are not sheep but goats. The Good Shepherd will never pick them up. In fact the Good Shepherd was not willing to pick up the young rich man that had obeyed the 10 commandments. He was a lost sheep who was not yet picked up.
Then Christ prepared him to be picked up and said; ‘but there is still one thing that is lacking. ‘Go home, sell all your things and give it to the poor and come follow Me.’ There was still ONE THING LACKING, without which he cannot attain eternal life…..he cannot go to heaven. ‘Go home and…’ That was a command given to all the Apostles and to all who would follow Christ. It is the same command given to Therese of Lisieux, to St. Bernard, to St. Benedict, St. Thomas of Aquinas…..to all destined to go to heaven. And the young man could not do it because he owned much. Because the young man could not do it…….he was a sheep but Christ could not carry him on His shoulder to bring him with the 99 in heaven. He could not! Even if He wanted to. Christ would not violate any one’s free will.
This ‘giving up of all things’ that are not evil things in themselves, like one’s parents, brothers and sister, ones home, ones job……is to enable us to give up our individual, personal erroneous opinions. He who cannot give up his cell phone or computer will not be able to give up his personal opinion that the remarried, adulterous is not sinful enough to be deprived of Holy Communion; or the opinion that all religions are brothers……silly. Or that we can modify the church according to our private thinking.
Because, unlike the young rich man, we have not obeyed the 10 commandments since our youth we have behaved, not as sheep, but as goats. The Good Shepherd will never pick us up. Maybe the other kinds of fake shepherd will.
5. So, there is no rejoicing in heaven today. No sheep had been picked up by the Good Shepherd; because there is no sheep to be picked up; naturally, God will not send a Good Shepherd, either. So what do we do? Like the young rich man as well explained in ‘Veritatis Splendour’ study the 10 commandments and obey them. After that, know that there is still one thing lacking. One thing is still lacking before the Good Shepherd will carry you on His shoulders. ‘Go home and sell………’. Never mind. Nobody will do this anyway. See, why the Church is in a mess.
Even Pope Francis in his biography ‘E Francesco’ has not done these from his youth. He cannot still do it in his old age. As a consequence he will not be able to do what is still lacking. How can he be a shepherd when he is not even a sheep?
The Official Website of the Caryana Community