FIRST READING
“If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord.”
A reading from the Letter of Saint Paul to the Romans (Romans 14:7-12)
Brethren: None of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living. Why do you pass judgement on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgement seat of God; for it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall give praise to God.” So each of us shall give account of himself to God.
The word of the Lord.
RESPONSORIAL PSALM Psalm 27: 1.4.13- 14 (R. 13)
R/. I believe I shall see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living.
The Lord is my light and my salvation;
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life;
whom should I dread? R/.
R/. I believe I shall see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living.
There is one thing I ask of the Lord,
only this do I seek:
to live in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to gaze on the beauty of the Lord,
to inquire at his temple. R/.
I believe I shall see the Lord’s goodness
in the land of the living.
Wait for the Lord; be strong;
be stouthearted, and wait for the Lord! R/.
ALLELUIA Matthew 11:28
Alleluia. Come to me, all who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest, says the Lord. Alleluia.
GOSPEL
“There is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Luke 15: 1-10)
At that time: The tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear Jesus. And the Pharisees and the scribes murmured, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.” So he told them this parable: “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbours, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. “Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it? And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbours, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin which I had lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
TODAY’S REFLECTION
Human wisdom would think it unprofitable to abandon ninety-nine sheep in search of one the one that is lost; there is even a proverb that says: “Better one bird in the hand than one hundred flying around!” but the profound love of God moves in ways contrary to human wisdom; a love that does not want to see even a single soul lost. In other words, Jesus today is telling all those who feel rejected, abandoned or unforgivable: you are too valuable to God and he would do anything to save you, even if it means abandoning the other ninety-nine in search of you; he loves you. And to those who, like the Pharisees and scribes, prefer to abandon the lost one, he says: learn to accept and assist the fallen ones and do not push them deeper into misery.