God comes searching for us

Sisters and brothers in Christ, in the Rite of Baptism, the Church gives the child (through his/her parents) a white garment and says, "With your family and friends to help you by word and example, bring it unstained into eternal life." Then, the Church gives the father lights the child's Baptismal candle as the minister says, "your child, enlightened by Christ, may walk always as a child of the light and, persevering in the faith, may run to meet the Lord when he comes with all the Saints in the heavenly court."

This is the desire of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, which is also the desire of the Catholic Church, as we hear in today's Gospel parable: "it is not the will of your heavenly Father that one of these little ones be lost." Unfortunately, somewhere along the way, parents (and child) lose sight of this and others things in life take priority of their child's relationship with God, and the child strays from the faith. In those times, we should be grateful that our Good Shepherd goes searching for us.

However, something Jesus says in the parable struck me - "if he finds them. . ." This struck me because sometimes, even when someone has gone astray and is lost, they do not want to be found. In other words, of their own freewill, they are unwilling to repent. The miracle of Christmas is the we are never beyond redemption. Our Lord and our God, the King of the universe, comes searching for us, and he comes as a child, born of a Virgin, to save us. As a baby, He invites us to be vulnerable, childlike, and dependent on Him. This is our reason to hope, not only this Advent season as we wait, but all year long.

. . .

Gospel of the Day

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."