There may be no trumpet sound or loud applause when we make a right decision, just a calm sense of resolution and peace.
- Gloria Gaither
(Where do you find this peace and resolve in your life?)
|
Is 40:1-11; Psalm 96:1-2, 3 and 10ac, 11-12, 13
Mt 18:12-14
Jesus said to his disciples:
“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.”
Reflection on the Scriptures
Today’s gospel reinforces the tender mercy of our Lord and his care for our souls in the parable of the lost sheep. What might have started out as a pleasant adventure for the sheep became profoundly uncomfortable when that sheep became lost and alone. As much as we like a little adventure and even some peace and quiet, it is hazardous to stray too far from the flock, where the Good Shepherd’s rod and
staff are at the ready to send a message to the predators that are about. When we stray, he comes to find us and save us. After all, we belong to him! But will we welcome his coming? In this Advent season, let us draw close to the Shepherd. Let us also find gratitude for the other bleating sheep. And let us welcome home the lost sheep whose good company we have been missing. Thanks be to God.
- by Edward Morse
The Son of God Became Human
From The Catechism of the Catholic Church
Part One, Section Two, Chapter Three
Article 8: I Believe in the Holy Spirit
V. THE SPIRIT AND THE CHURCH IN THE LAST DAYS
The Holy Spirit - God's Gift
733 "God is Love"124 and love is his first gift, containing all others. "God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us."125
734 Because we are dead or at least wounded through sin, the first effect of the gift of love is the forgiveness of our sins. The communion of the Holy Spirit126 in the Church restores to the baptized the divine likeness lost through sin.
(Footnote references in the Catechism.)
|
|
