What is your opinion? If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine in the hills and go in search of the stray?
And if he finds it, amen, I say to you, he rejoices more over it than over the ninety-nine that did not stray.
In just the same way, it is not the will of your heavenly Father that one of these little ones be lost. (Matthew 18:12-14 NABRE)
This parable is an exhortation for the disciples to seek out fellow disciples who have gone astray.
In context, the passage emphasizes that not only must no one cause a fellow disciple to sin, but those who have strayed must be sought out and, if possible, brought back to the community.*
Let us recognize how the Lord sees us. We are his children whom he cares for. We are his flock which he protects. And when one of us drifts away for one reason or another, we need to reach out to that person. We need to encourage him or her back to the community of the faithful. It is the heart of the "new" evangelization. It is not new. It is part of our reason for being. It is a significant part of why we are here. May we prayerfully consider how we can accomplish this great mission which the Lord himself calls us to.
Today, I will look at my own abilities, and my willingness to yield to the Lord's plan, so that I might become a more effective witness to and messenger of faithfulness.
Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein), whose life encourages us to, "Learn to live at God’s hands," pray for us.
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