St. Godfrey

Thursday of the Thirty-first week in Ordinary Time

Commentary of the day
Saint Peter Chrysologus : God in search of the one sheep for the sake of the salvation of all

Reading

Rm 14,7-12.
None of us lives for oneself, and no one dies for oneself. For if we live, we live for the Lord, and if we die, we die for the Lord; so then, whether we live or die, we are the Lord's. For this is why Christ died and came to life, that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living. Why then do you judge your brother? Or you, why do you look down on your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of God; for it is written: "As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bend before me, and every tongue shall give praise to God." So (then) each of us shall give an account of himself (to God).

Ps 27(26),1-4.13-14.
Of David The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom do I fear? The LORD is my life's refuge; of whom am I afraid? When evildoers come at me to devour my flesh, These my enemies and foes themselves stumble and fall. Though an army encamp against me, my heart does not fear; Though war be waged against me, even then do I trust. One thing I ask of the LORD; this I seek: To dwell in the LORD'S house all the days of my life, To gaze on the LORD'S beauty, to visit his temple. But I believe I shall enjoy the LORD'S goodness in the land of the living. Wait for the LORD, take courage; be stouthearted, wait for the LORD!

Lk 15,1-10.
The tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to him, but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying, "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them." So to them he addressed this parable. 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."

Copyright © Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, USCCB

Commentary of the day

Saint Peter Chrysologus (c.406-450), Bishop of Ravenna, Doctor of the Church
Sermon 168, 4-6

God in search of the one sheep for the sake of the salvation of all

The fact of re-finding something we had lost always fills us anew with joy. And this joy is greater than that we felt before losing it, when the thing was safely kept. But the parable of the lost sheep speaks more of God’s tenderness than of the way in which people usually behave. It expresses a profound truth. To leave behind something of importance for love of what is more humble is characteristic of divine power, not of human possessiveness. For God even brings into existence what is not: he sets out in search of what is lost while still keeping what he had left in place, and he finds what had strayed without losing what he has under his protection. That is why this shepherd is not of earth but of heaven. The parable is not in any respect a representation of human achievements but it conceals divine mysteries, as the numbers it mentions immediately show: “What man among you,” says the Lord, “having a hundred sheep and losing one of them…” As you see, the loss of a single sheep has sorely tried this shepherd, as though the whole flock, deprived of his protection, had set out along a treacherous path. This is why, leaving the ninety-nine others there, he sets out in search of the one. He attends to one alone so that, in that one, all may be found and saved.