On Friday, June 27th, the two SSCC communities in Rome gathered at the General House on Via Rivarone.
On this occasion, the Eucharist was presided over by Poldo Antolín sscc. This is a summary of his homily:
"On this feast of the Heart of Jesus, the readings speak to us about the Good Shepherd.
It is one of the most beloved images in the Bible. The prophets use it to speak to us of Mercy, which is not simply an action of God, but His deepest identity: 'Mercy is the word that reveals the mystery of the Holy Trinity' (Misericordiae Vultus 2).
When defining God, the Old Testament uses two key words:
One has a more masculine connotation, referring to the unmerited gift that does not arise from feelings but rather from a conscious decision — the deliberate choice to stay with the people of the Covenant and remain faithful even in the midst of their infidelity (Hesed).
The other has a more feminine connotation: it refers to the womb, the maternal heart moved by the suffering of the child. This is a visceral feeling of compassion and tenderness, an inner need to help, independent of the recipient's merits, and associated with promptness in response. It is the deep, intimate love that binds two people with ties of blood (Rahamin).
When we see Jesus as the Good Shepherd carrying the lost sheep on His shoulders, we should realize how He holds it with the strength of two arms that draw it to Himself: the strength of fidelity and mercy, both rooted in one single source — the Heart of Jesus, the face of the Father's mercy."
06/28/2025