{"id":1477,"date":"2007-06-13T22:03:00","date_gmt":"2007-06-13T22:03:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/deaconsbench\/2007\/06\/homily-for-june-15-2007-solemnity-of-the-sacred-heartand-a-grade-school-graduation.html"},"modified":"2007-06-13T22:03:00","modified_gmt":"2007-06-13T22:03:00","slug":"homily-for-june-15-2007-solemnity-of-the-sacred-heartand-a-grade-school-graduation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2007\/06\/homily-for-june-15-2007-solemnity-of-the-sacred-heartand-a-grade-school-graduation.html","title":{"rendered":"Homily for June 15, 2007: Solemnity of the Sacred Heart…and a grade school graduation"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a> On Friday June 15th, the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, I’ll be delivering the homily at an 8th grade graduation. I’ve never preached to a group of 13-year-olds before. But here’s a draft of my homily.<\/i> <\/p>\n

I\u2019ve never had a sheep, so I can\u2019t tell you what it\u2019s like to lose one. <\/p>\n

But I can tell you that I once lost a sheepdog. <\/p>\n

When I was your age, I had a little Shetland Sheepdog, a miniature collie, named Gerry. He was a great little dog. Very smart. And very quirky. He used to like to sleep on his back. He\u2019d lie next to wall and than roll over, propping himself against the wall so he\u2019d stay on his back. You\u2019d walk through the living room, and he\u2019d be there, on his back, asleep, snoring. <\/p>\n

My wife tells me I sleep the same way. <\/p>\n

Well, one day some men came to do some work on our yard, and they left the gate open, and Gerry got out. I found out about it when I got home from school, and I ran up and down our road, calling his name until my voice was hoarse. People kept saying, \u201cWell dogs have a great instinct, he\u2019ll find his way home.\u201d But he didn\u2019t. One day passed, and then another, and then another. We couldn\u2019t find him. He didn\u2019t come back. I was sure he was gone for good. <\/p>\n

About the third day, my parents decided to go for a drive and look for him. I didn\u2019t want to go. I didn\u2019t want to be disappointed. I stayed home and tried to accept the fact that Gerry was never coming home. <\/p>\n

But about an hour later my parents came home. And they had Gerry with them. He looked awful. They\u2019d found him in the middle of a street in a subdivision about five miles away, just sitting there, lost. He was wobbly, but he was home. I picked him up and he smelled awful \u2013 but it was the most beautiful smell in the world. I looked at my father and he was wiping his eyes. It was the first time I\u2019d ever seen him cry. <\/p>\n

I thought about that little lost dog when I read today\u2019s gospel about the lost sheep. I remembered how I felt when Gerry came home. And I thought: imagine what God feels for us. <\/p>\n

We are used to thinking of God as this great, mysterious figure. But the God in the gospel isn\u2019t that kind of God. He is a God with broad shoulders and warm arms. A God who searches for us when we are lost\u2026and cradles us in his arms when we are found. A God who watches over us and worries over us\u2026and who loves us so much. <\/p>\n

On this feast of the Sacred Heart, we\u2019re reminded of the depth of God\u2019s love for us. The boundless passion of His sacred heart. <\/p>\n

And on this, your graduation day, it\u2019s my prayer for you that you will carry that with you, wherever you go, whatever you do. <\/p>\n

He is with you, no matter what happens. \u201cI will tend my sheep,\u201d the first reading tells us. \u201cI will rescue them from every place where they were scattered when it was cloudy and dark.\u201d The great shepherd will not leave you stranded, or scattered. Trust in that. Cling to it. Hope in it. <\/p>\n

You will need it for the adventure ahead. <\/p>\n

Because this life is, above all, an adventure. <\/p>\n

The writer Joseph Campbell spent years studying mythology \u2013 everything from the ancient Greeks to \u201cStar Wars.\u201d And he said the great myths and legends throughout history all had something in common. \u201cEvery hero\u2019s story,\u201d he said, \u201cbegins when he leaves home.\u201d <\/p>\n

In a way, as you leave this parish school, you are leaving home, a place that\u2019s comfortable, and familiar, and warm. You know the halls and the classrooms and the teachers. This school is where you made friendships, took tests, worked on projects, and grew up. I know when I left grade school I remembered how I had shared a lot of laughter there, and shed some tears \u2013 usually over final exams. <\/p>\n

But as you leave this “home,” remember: you<\/b> are the hero or heroine of your own story. And the narrative is just beginning. You can\u2019t know what will happen, or how the plot will twist, or where life will take you. But that, too, is part of the adventure. <\/p>\n

The important thing is to face it joyfully — and with faith. <\/p>\n

Faith. It\u2019s one of those little words with big meaning. It\u2019s more than remembering to say your prayers or go to church \u2013 though that\u2019s part of it. It is something deeper. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s believing. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s believing that God is tending to you, like a shepherd tends his sheep. It\u2019s believing that God will look for you if you\u2019re lost. It\u2019s believing that He is rooting for you \u2013 and that He loved you so much, He gave His only son for you. <\/p>\n

When I was studying to be a deacon, one of our teachers once told us to remember that \u201cGod has a dream for you.\u201d <\/p>\n

Faith is wanting to make God\u2019s dream for you come true. <\/p>\n

Hold fast to that faith. Ask yourself, every day: What is God\u2019s dream for me? And how can I make it come true? <\/p>\n

After all these years, I\u2019m still asking myself that question. And I hope I\u2019ll be asking it for the rest of my life.<\/p>\n

Whatever God\u2019s dreams, know this much: they are born out of the most profound love you can imagine. The human heart grieves over what is lost and celebrates what is found \u2013 whether it\u2019s a lost ear-ring or a lost dog. <\/p>\n

But God\u2019s sacred heart is beyond all that, for what HE cherishes is each of us<\/b>. Each of you<\/b>. <\/p>\n

As you mark this moment in your lives, remember that. Because whatever happens \u2026 whatever open gate you find yourself going through, whatever unknown road you find yourself on\u2026God will be ready to take you in His arms, and carry you where you belong.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On Friday June 15th, the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, I’ll be delivering the homily at an 8th grade graduation. I’ve never preached to a group of 13-year-olds before. But here’s a draft of my homily. I\u2019ve never had a sheep, so I can\u2019t tell you what it\u2019s like to lose one.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":365,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1477","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nHomily for June 15, 2007: Solemnity of the Sacred Heart...and a grade school graduation - The Deacon's Bench<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2007\/06\/homily-for-june-15-2007-solemnity-of-the-sacred-heartand-a-grade-school-graduation.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Homily for June 15, 2007: Solemnity of the Sacred Heart...and a grade school graduation - The Deacon's Bench\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"On Friday June 15th, the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, I’ll be delivering the homily at an 8th grade graduation. 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