Table of Contents
A reading from the Letter of St. Paul to the Philippians
PHIL 3:3-8A
Brothers and sisters:
We are the circumcision,
we who worship through the Spirit of God,
who boast in Christ Jesus and do not put our confidence in flesh,
although I myself have grounds for confidence even in the flesh.
If anyone else thinks he can be confident in flesh, all the more can I.
Circumcised on the eighth day,
of the race of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin,
a Hebrew of Hebrew parentage,
in observance of the law a Pharisee,
in zeal I persecuted the Church,
in righteousness based on the law I was blameless.
But whatever gains I had,
these I have come to consider a loss because of Christ.
More than that, I even consider everything as a loss
because of the supreme good of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.
Gospel of the day LK 15:1-10
From the Gospel according to Luke
LK 15:1-10
The tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to Jesus,
but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying,
“This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
So Jesus addressed this parable to them.
“What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them
would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert
and go after the lost one until he finds it?
And when he does find it,
he sets it on his shoulders with great joy
and, upon his arrival home,
he calls together his friends and neighbors and says to them,
‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’
I tell you, in just the same way
there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents
than over ninety-nine righteous people
who have no need of repentance.
“Or what woman having ten coins and losing one
would not light a lamp and sweep the house,
searching carefully until she finds it?
And when she does find it,
she calls together her friends and neighbors
and says to them,
‘Rejoice with me because I have found the coin that I lost.’
In just the same way, I tell you,
there will be rejoicing among the angels of God
over one sinner who repents.”
The Gospel of the Lord: Praise to You, Lord Jesus Christ.
The Word of God for Everyone
Dear People of God, The Word of God in today’s Gospel speaks of God’s love and mercy for all humanity, especially for sinners, the poor, and those who are in need of God’s mercy. God uses the parable of the shepherd searching for lost sheep, and the parable of the woman searching for a lost coin to express how immense God’s kindness and mercy is for humanity. He came to the world to save sinners and the sick, not to save the righteous; but in fact, in this world, no one is righteous before God, except the Blessed Virgin Mary.
In the public life of preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ, He went throughout the world to proclaim to all humanity the love of God. The love of God is engraved in the heart of everyone when born into this world, and will be given to His fellow human beings.
Today’s Word of God reminds everyone: to never judge, criticize or condemn your fellow human beings, because that is not pleasing to God. Look up to the love and mercy of God that has been bestowed upon mankind, shown through two parables; that is the parable of the shepherd who leaves ninety-nine sheep in the wilderness to look for one lost sheep, and after finding it, the shepherd is very happy.
That shepherd is the image of God; when a sinful sheep is far from the loving arms of God, He patiently and determinedly searches for it, and when He finds it and brings it back to Him, the heavenly court, along with the angels and saints, rejoice and sing praises to God because the lost sheep is a sinner who has returned to God.
Through the parable of the shepherd searching for the lost sheep, we can see how immense God’s love and mercy is. God always patiently waits for sinners to repent and return to God. He does not abandon any soul. He always creates opportunities for people to repent and return to God. Through that, He wants to teach the disciples of the past and everyone today a lesson: be patient and wait for sinners to repent and return to God. Do not shun or condemn them. Look at God’s love and mercy for all humanity.
Now, people must also have love, tolerance, and forgiveness for sinners. Help them come back to God, because when someone assists a sinner to return to God, that person is also helping his own soul to live in a way that pleases God. If we can do that, the whole heavenly court will be happy, joyful, and sing praises to God for saving sinful souls to return to Him.
Through the parable of the woman who lost a coin. A coin is nothing compared to the wealth of this world; but God’s love and mercy are shown through the image of the woman looking for the coin; thereby showing that: God always loves every human soul that He created, He does not want to lose any soul that falls into Satan’s captivity, because He knows that: any soul that falls into Satan’s captivity will suffer greatly, will not enjoy happiness with God. Therefore, the Word of God today invites everyone:
- Always be patient, persevere in being faithful to God’s love and mercy
- Live in love and tolerance with everyone, especially with sinful souls.
- Help sinful souls return to God; because as God’s love and mercy are bestowed upon humanity and each person, each person should live and share God’s love and mercy with others.
Thanks be to God. Amen.
