A friend of mine who was prone to losing things once complained to me that it seemed to him that he only found things in the very last place he looked. I replied to him: “Of course you do: once you find it, you stop looking.”
God is so good to us. He truly wants us to be united with Him because it is in Him that we find our happiness. And Jesus gives us parables, profound teaching contained in stories from our everyday life so that we can appreciate and esteem this teaching in a deeper way. This is one way he uses to bring us lost souls back to him.
Today Jesus compares God’s efforts to bring people back to Him to a shepherd seeking a lost sheep, to a woman looking for something precious that she lost. An example in our modern world might be that of someone strong in faith who takes in a wayward family member who desperately needs help, tolerating minor bad behavior but insisting on rules for important matters. Perhaps other family members feel that the wayward person is getting special treatment; yet the faithful warrior is striving to bring back the lost sheep.
Sometimes I hear complaints from strong Catholics about the loss of the Latin Mass. And indeed the Latin Mass done right is a beautiful work of art. But I have heard converts to the Church say that they could not have entered the Church if the Mass were still in Latin. Mass in the vernacular appeals to many people who can hear all the Scripture references in the Mass and be inspired to a deeper love of our Lord. Those Catholics who make the sacrifice of attending Mass where the language and music is maybe not as uplifting might be paving the way for others present to come to a deeper knowledge and love of our faith.
I once read of a vision of St. Pio of Pietrelcina in which there were three patients in a hospital room. Jesus entered the room, briefly greeted the first patient, sat on the bed of the second patient and spoke to him for a few minutes, then pulled up a chair and conversed with the third for several hours. On his way out, Jesus again spoke to the second for a few minutes and nodded good-bye to the first.
St. Pio explained that the first patient is the most advanced in the prayer life, who didn’t need extra encouragement to continue in prayer. The second is less advanced, but firmly on a spiritual path in life. The third is the one who is just starting out on a life in pursuit of spiritual goods, who needs the encouragement, the consolation of our Lord. If it seems sometimes that others get favored or special treatment, I hope we continue untroubled on our spiritual journey, focusing on the good that awaits us in the next life.
The example I used, in the beginning, is not completely accurate. Once our Lord brings back a lost sheep to the fold, he does not stop looking: he looks all the more for other souls to bring into the fold. Thus more and more people can enjoy the happiness of a strong relationship with Him.
