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Epistle 1Pet5:6-11 Douay-Rheims Be you
humbled therefore under the mighty Hand of God, that He may exalt you in
the time of visitation: Casting all your care upon him, for He hath care
of you. Be sober and watch: because your adversary the devil, as a
Roaring lion, goes about seeking whom he may devour. Whom resist ye,
strong In faith: knowing that the same affliction befalls your brethren
who are in the world. But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto
His eternal glory in Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a little,
will Himself perfect you, and confirm you, and establish you. To Him be
glory and empire for ever and ever. Amen.
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Gospel Lk15:1-10 Douay-Rheims Now the
publicans and sinners drew near unto him to hear him. And the Pharisees
and the scribes murmured, saying: This man receiveth sinners, and eateth
with them. And he spoke to them this parable, saying: What man of you
that hath an hundred sheep : and if he shall lose one of them, doth he
not leave the ninety-nine in the desert, and go after that which was
lost, until he find it? And when he hath found it, lay it upon his
shoulders, rejoicing: And coming home, call together friends and
neighbours, saying to them: Rejoice with me, because I have found my
sheep that was lost? I say to you, that even so there shall be joy in
heaven upon one sinner that doth penance, more than upon ninety-nine
just who need not penance. Or what woman having ten groate; if she lose
one groat, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek
diligently until she find it? And when she hath found it, call together
her friends and neighbours, saying: Rejoice with me, because I have
found the groat which I had lost. So I say to you, there shall be joy
before the angels of God upon one sinner doing penance. |
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Where do you stand?
June/2005
There shall be joy before the angels of God upon one sinner doing
penance. The joy that spreads from the Eternal Father through all of
heaven because another prodigal son has repented. How will there be
repenters if nobody goes after them, if no one prays for them, if there
are no labourers in the field? As in the example at the last supper, in
the washing of the feet by Jesus, so must all, his true believers, do.
They must go after the sheep, firstly by living their duty in life and
by doing the little things well.
All, have an example to follow, Jesus. The priests have clearly the
example of Jesus. Did not the woman sweep the whole house to find the
missing coin? Did not the Sheppard leave the ninety-nine (in a safe
place) who did not need as much attention? The Father sent his Son for
these, did He not? The priest must help all, but especially the ones
that go astray, for he stands between God and man in a manner similar
to Moses. The priest must be the first light to help find the coin. Most
of the coins were close together where they fell because of the Masters
words, like the ninety-nine sheep, were close together and thus easy to
gather up. But where did the lonely coin hide itself but, among the
filth of the sweepings of the house. Where did the lost sheep hide
but among the sins of desire, power, greed, lust, pride, and
selfishness. Wounded by sin, that soul did not have courage. That soul
was full of shame and could not return to the Father to say, "I have
been wounded, I have sinned, forgive me."
Adam and Eve were ashamed of their nakedness and hid from their
Father. They were ashamed to ask for the healing they needed. Do you
think that the Father would have refused them anything, if but they
would have asked. He would have gladly healed them of the bite of Satan.
But they hid.
The tempter, led them by the lure of their own weaknesses using the
flesh and the world, into a life that is not holy. They were led into a
life without love of neighbour. The Life of Christ is the story of
the love for souls. Christ admitted, "That is what I came for" and the
infinite love of God proves that love on the cross. What Jesus preached,
He practiced. Does not the good Shepard search them out and bring them
back? Does he not give all, for one soul, for me, even to the death on
the cross?
We must accept our littleness, our weakness, and our
humanness. If we think that we have done well in following Jesus, then,
let us think about the prodigal son and how he reacted to the
conversion of his brother. We must ask, "would we behave with
selfishness, or jealousy and envy?" Let us use this yardstick as
in Maria Valtorta Jesus says, "And I tell you that the way a man
welcomes the conversion of a sinner is the measure of his own goodness
and his union with God." (Maria Valtorta bk2, pg542).
To put this into another light, let us think about the foot of the
cross and how there were three people mentioned who stood there. St
john, the innocent child, Mary Magdalen, the great sinner, and Mary
Immaculate, co-redeemer with Christ. There are no lukewarm places under
the cross. It costs to stand there. By standing there, souls are saved.
Remember the life long suffering of Jesus from birth to death. From
swaddling clothes in the manger to a loin cloth on the cross. From no room
in the inn to rejection of the cross. From fleeing from death to death.
From love to unending love. This is the cost of souls. Where do you stand? |
