[media presentation below] GospelThink Friday, June 24, The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus LUKE 15:3-7 Accepting the Kingdom, that is, my words, is so important that you should do everything to make them part of your life. Prayerthoughts a. What are the things that give me “great joy”? Should there be more “spiritual” things for which I am joyful? What are some ways to be more spiritually joyful? d. What are some things in my life for which I must be more sorrowful? What can I do to show more repentance? c. Do I consider myself “self-righteous” (in no need of repentance)? What can I do about it? d. The story of the lost sheep has this meaning: Jesus will search out those who are lost. In what ways during my life have I been “lost” in one way or another, and the Lord brought me back? Thanksgiving to the Lord, again, should be part of my life. e. The feast of Jesus’s Sacred Heart is traditionally a time to think of the great love that God has for us. In my life, where have I felt especially the love that God has shown me? (This is the task of the meditation.) f. My prayerthoughts….   Today I will carry out letter e. Some Thoughts on the Liturgy  LOVING THE LOST  + The feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is a feast dedicated to the thought that Jesus our God has loved us in every way         – there are different aspects of that love, of course                 – and the liturgy of this cycle concentrates on the idea of love which can be phrased:                         – if someone loves us—as Jesus does—that someone will seek out and help those who are lost  + From the prophet Ezechiel: with the Lord talking: “The lost I will seek out, the strayed I will bring back.”         – from Psalm 23, even though we walk in the dark valley, that is, lost, we need not fear         – from Paul’s letter to the Romans: Paul, explaining that while we were still helpless, that is, lost, Jesus sought us out         – and the Gospel parable—Jesus saying that he will seek out those who are lost: he will “go after the lost one until he finds it”   + The problem that we might have with this though is that we don’t think that we are lost         – in fact, because of all the things that have been given to us by God, we may feel that we do not need God                 – we go through life without thinking of God’s presence and the fact that we have to have God in order to even breathe another breath                         – in many ways, we have become complacent about the fact that God is necessary for our lives, and we don’t even think of God                                 – we have become the “righteous” of the Gospel and feel that we do not need repentance  + Therefore, perhaps the thought that should guide us today on this feast         – is the fact that we are indeed lost                 – that is, we need God’s help in order to live                 – we need God’s guidance through the Holy Spirit to recognize that there are some areas in our lives that definitely need to change                 – we need the words and actions of Jesus to guide us along the path that will bring us from the area of “being lost” to “being found”  + It is true that we are not lost completely         – we know who the Lord is and what the Lord is all about                 – or else we wouldn’t be here, we wouldn’t spend our time in prayer         – but in many respects, we are not quite what we should be, and to that extent, we are lost  + The Lord always gives us the love that we need, and because we realize it, we will make use of His help. MEDIA PRESENTATION Song: “Stressed Out” — Twenty-One Pilots STRESSED OUT BY MATURITY The Gospel MATTHEW 19:16-22 Someone approached Jesus and said, “Teacher, what good must I do to gain eternal life?” He answered him, “Why do you ask me about the good? There is only One who is good. If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.” He asked him, “Which ones?” And Jesus replied, “You shall not kill; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness; honor your father and your mother”; and “you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” The young man said to him, “All of these I have observed. What do I still lack?” Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell, what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” When the young man heard this statement, he went away sad, for he had many possessions.

Gospelthink: If you wish to be perfect, give to the poor. Do I possess too many things? Can I give something away to a shelter?

“I was told when I get older all my fears would shrink, but now I’m insecure and I care what people think. My name’s ‘Blurryface’ and I care what you think. Wish we could turn back time, to the good ol’ days when our momma sang us to sleep but now we’re stressed out. Out of student loans and treehouse homes, we all would take the latter. We used to play pretend, give each other different names; we would build a rocket ship and then we’d fly it far away. Used to dream of outer space but now they’re laughing at our face, saying, ‘Wake up, you need to make money.'”

The young man in the evangelist Matthew’s Gospel had a good past. He had led a fairly good spiritual life, keeping the commandments of his Jewish religion, and he had also been somewhat prosperous in his life up to that point. Matthew mentions that he had “many possessions.” However, when Jesus answered his question about what he should do in the future, he could not give up his past, even though Jesus promised him “treasure in heaven.” In Twenty One Pilots’ song “Stressed Out,” the person wants to live in the past as well–“when our momma sang us to sleep” and we had “treehouse homes.” Such living was easier, and he loved to pretend and dream. Now, he is “stressed out” because of the responsibilities that he must take on. He has student loans and he needs money. He has left the security of someone taking care of him, and now must face the insecurity of the future, of not knowing exactly what will happen in that future. A young man or woman growing up in today’s world knows exactly the situation of the song. They must give up the security of a past that usually is without care and worry. Everyone around them has given to them, and now they must face a present and future that is not as kind and is much more demanding than anything they have had to face up to that point in their lives. Becoming “stressed out” is a good way of describing such a birth into maturity. We would much rather live in a past where everything is not nearly as complex as a present in which we have to make it on our own. We do not want to worry about the future, but because we are not sure of what will happen in that future, we feel obliged to worry about it, to begin to care what others think, as the song reminds us. The rich young man in the Gospel even turned down the “treasure” of heaven in order to live in his past. He no doubt discovered later in his life what we must discover in our own lives. We must become a little “stressed out” because we must work in the present and in the future no matter how good our past may have been.

PRAYER Good and gracious God, you call all of us as Your Son called the young man in the Gospel to the treasure of eternal life. Give us the grace to accept Your call and turn to you in order to be Your true follower. Be with us, we pray.

+++++ GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT   Theme: Remembering the past is easy, but we must live in the present and prepare for the future. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: 1. In general, why do you think that in the Gospel Jesus is so outspoken against people who have riches? 2. In general, do you think that Christian people follow the Lord’s directive to “give to the poor”? Yes or no and why? 3. If someone wants to donate a large amount of money, to whom should it be given? Why? 4. According to the duo, “Blurryface” is a name that was made up signifying an insecure person. Give your own definition of someone who is insecure. 5. If you could turn back time, what time would you like to live in more than any other time? 6. What are the ways in which we act “stressed out” in our world?   7 . In general, why would people prefer “many possessions” instead of “treasure in heaven”? 8. What is fearful about the future? Why? 9. What is your definition of maturity? 10. What do you think the meditation means when it says that we must “become a little stressed out” as we enter maturity? 11. What does the song “Stressed Out”  teach young people today?