Friar’s Corner: Jesus rejoices in finding the lost sheep
Fr. Bob Hilz, TOR
Exodus 32:7-11, 13-14; Ps 51:3-4, 12-13, 17, 19; 1 Timothy 1:12-17; Lk 15:1-10
Please don’t stop praying daily a Chaplet of Divine Mercy for the conversion of all terrorists. We can also pray another chaplet for our country. We certainly need God’s help. Thank you in the holy Name of Jesus. Thank you for your prayers for my recent missionary trip to Ghana.
The theme this weekend is about finding lost things. From the first book of our Bible to the last, God loves us and wants us to rejoice in his love and blessings. Yet from Adam and Eve, humanity has over and over again turned from God’s plan and direction for us. God, our loving Father, sent his Son to earth to show us in person, how much he loves us.
Jesus’ birth was pre-announced some five hundred years before he was born. His public life was spent healing thousands, delivering many from demonic oppression and teaching countless numbers about God’s love and provision. Jesus took on his own body the sins of the entire human race, forgiveness, so we could be admitted into his new kingdom of love, peace and joy. Jesus collected about 120 men and women he trained to take his message into the whole world so all mankind could benefit from his sacrifice and love. In other words, he directly founded the Catholic Church.
Two parables
The short form for St. Luke’s gospel today has various sinners drawn to listen to Jesus’ loving stories. The first story was about a shepherd leaving his flock of ninety-nine to go in search of the lost one. He brings it home on his shoulders.
The second story was about a woman, sweeping the house until she finds her lost coin. The essence was that Jesus came to gather his lost sheep. We see him doing that throughout the gospel stories and the work of Christ’s followers in the last two thousand years. His good news has not changed. God loves us.
In the last few months, I have been encouraging you to daily get as close to Jesus as you can. I ask you to pray to the Holy Spirit and read a little bit of the gospel life of Jesus. Then, being filled up with more of God’s power, we are sent out to bring God’s good news to others. We ask Jesus, by the guidance of his Spirit, to lead us to do the next right things during our day. We can’t solve all the world’s problems but today God wants us to help him make our area a better place to live, love and prosper.
The end of last month II was in Ghana, West Africa and I am still in shock at what I saw and where the third world is and how it lives. I can’t change those situations except by more prayer in my life for those sheep of Jesus.
I am tired of all the political talk for the last several years about our upcoming election. Last night I watched a few speakers at the “Values Voter Summit,” on C-Span 2 and I was amazed. We are not electing a king or queen for the next four years.
Spiritual warfare
Our country was founded on Biblical principles. We have turned far away from our founding. Many have been trying to throw God out of every area our lives. If we get our heads out of the sand, we can see this everywhere. As in the first chapters of Genesis, the chief demons are trying to take our attachment and attention away from God and his ways to follow them to hell. As a man, I want to “kick them” in you know where and send them back where they chose to go.
I was a bit shocked and amazed at this Sunday, the 15th anniversary of September 11, 2001, an infamous day for our country with the World Trade center and Pentagon bombings. We are under attack from the “dark side.” And this is not going to end soon. Right now we are in a war with the jihad of radical Islam, from supposed “religious groups.” We have been dealing with their tactics for 1400 years. It is time that it stops. As Christians, we serve a loving God who wants us to bring his love and mercy to every person on earth.
What to do?
What must we do? Get on our knees and repent of our own personal sins and beg God for forgiveness. This starts with us and then with our family, church, state, nation and the world. We cannot do it all but can start with ourselves. We ask God what is the next “right step” we need to do each day to spread his good news. Let us attend Mass as much as possible, the best meal and source of God’s power in our lives. Then pray a lot each day and stay as close to God as “fish do to water,” or “the bark to the tree.”
Let us also beg God to show us who of the presidential candidates are the lesser of two evils. Most of us are not happy with either one. God help our country and through us to the world.
Blessings,
+ Fr. Bob Hilz
(© 2016 Fr. Bob Hilz, TOR)
