Lk 15:1-10 Living Through LossJesus addressed this parable to the Pharisees and scribes. “What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one 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 his friends and neighbors and says to them, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’”
Yesterday was a day of grace! All Souls day can be a very powerful moment for those who have recently lost a loved one. After our evening Mass, a young girl, age nine, went up to her mother and told her, “Mommy, I wish daddy had a magnet in his pocket.” A bit surprised, her mother responded, “Why?” The little girl responded, “So that I could bring daddy back to us.” This little angel achieved what most of us could only dream of achieving. By using poetry and romance, she was able to combine the laws of physics with the law of love.
Oh what we can achieve when our hearts are united to Him; when our love belongs solely to Him; and when our thoughts surge from Him! It is amazing what we will find when we combine our hearts to his! Not only will we find the poet and romantic made by Him in each of us, we will find faith, hope, meaning, purpose, love and loved ones.
While I was speaking to a high school student, I reminded her of the importance of bringing and praying her rosary every day at school. She sheepishly confided in me that sometimes she forgets it at home, but joyfully told me that while she is in English class, she draws a decade in her notebook and uses it to pray!
Oh the ingenuity of our children! Oh the beauty of their hearts! I was stunned but not surprised! I, because of the Holy Father, have great faith in our children and teenagers. They bring out the best in all of us because their hearts are on fire for love. They still believe in love. And when their hearts are on fire for authentic love, they will find what was lost – and much more!
The surest way for someone to get to heaven is by helping others to get there too. The surest way to become a saint is by helping others to become one too. The surest way to avoid getting lost is by helping those who are lost.
Today, the Lord reminds us to not be content with where you are, what you are doing, and what you have become. The Lord invites us to go, go throughout the neighborhood, school, workplace and home, and help someone; someone who has forgotten their way, the truth and what life is all about; someone who has lost their dignity, their purity, their identity, and the love of their life.
