True love is wastefully generous

F

irst Point – God’s Love Never Waits Idly

Each time I hear confessions, I often say: “The Lord has forgiven you already, even before you came here.”

Why? Because true love never waits idly.

We know the parable of the lost sheep. The Good Shepherd did not sit idly when one sheep went missing. Instead, he left the ninety-nine in search of the one that was lost. To a practical mind, this seems unreasonable. Shouldn’t a shepherd guard the many rather than risk everything for one? It’s perplexing if we read it literally.

But like many of Jesus’ stories, this parable uses hyperbole—a deliberate exaggeration meant to reveal a deeper truth. It is not a lesson on efficiency or productivity. It is a lesson on forgiveness and love that searches for the least, the last, and the lost.

In God’s eyes, love always takes the first step. Mercy moves before repentance. The Shepherd’s heart is restless until every lost one is found.

Second Point – True Love Is Wastefully Generous

If true love never waits idly, it also gives of itself wastefully. Love, by its nature, does not calculate. It pours itself out completely.

The Good Shepherd, in searching for the lost, faces every danger—the steep ravines, the dark valleys, the thorny paths. The lost sheep does not see the Shepherd’s wounds or feel the weight of His sacrifice while He searches. Only later, when it is found and carried home, does it realize how deeply it was loved—that it had already been forgiven even before it was found.

That is why the Sacrament of Reconciliation is not so much about earning forgiveness as it is about receiving what has already been given, and even more—receiving the overflowing love that God continues to offer.

Third Point – True Love Invites Us to Forgive Ourselves

If God has already forgiven us, then what is the Sacrament for? I often tell my penitents: “You must also learn to forgive yourself.”

Each time we do, we allow the living presence of God to touch our hearts. We are temples of the Holy Spirit, created in God’s image and likeness. Christ’s presence never leaves us. Even when we stray, He is already on His way to look for us. We are always in the heart of Jesus.

That is why I remind penitents: Be gentle with yourself. Speak tenderly to the hurting part within you: “I feel you. I understand you. I accept you.” This gentleness is the gentleness of Jesus Himself living in us. And when we live this way, we begin to experience the peace that the world cannot give.

In the parable of Luke 18:9–14, both the Pharisee and the tax collector prayed in the temple. The Pharisee was harsh and self-righteous, unable to see his own need for mercy. Self-righteousness is, in fact, the greatest harshness or violence we can inflict upon ourselves. It pushes God away by pretending that we can stand apart from Him, as if our own goodness were enough. It is harsh because it denies the deepest truth about who we are—that within us lies a hunger that only God can fill, a wound that only His mercy can heal.

The Pharisee, in his pride, silenced that inner longing for grace. But the tax collector did the opposite: he was gentle with himself. He acknowledged his weakness and brought his hurting, needy heart before God. In that humility, he opened the door to mercy.

Conclusion:

Each time we come to confession, we are reminded of three movements of God’s love.

First, love never waits idly—God is always the first to seek us out. Like the Good Shepherd, He takes the first step toward us even before we turn back.

Second, love is wastefully generous—it does not count the cost. The Shepherd bears every wound and burden, not because we deserve it, but because His mercy overflows.

And third, love restores peace within. The Sacrament teaches us not only that God has forgiven us, but that we must also learn to forgive ourselves. To be gentle with our own wounds is to let the gentleness of Jesus live in us.

When we receive this sacrament, we are not earning God’s mercy—we are letting ourselves be found, embraced, and healed by it. In that moment, heaven rejoices, and we find ourselves once again resting in the heart of the Good Shepherd, where we have always belonged. Amen. Fr JM Manzano SJ