Are you willing to leave the 99 to chase after the one who is lost?…..There is a cost - Be willing to pay it

Today at Holy Mass we hear from St Matthew’s Gospel…Jesus tells his friends something that sounds very good on paper and most would agree with it but when it translates into real time, the “good” people who are “left” behind usually get upset….We see this today in the Church….”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”…The Pontificate of Pope Francis has been very controversial…..We can disagree with his methods and style (I will publicly admit I do at times) but at the heart of his pontificate, whenever I read this text from St Matthew’s Gospel I think of Pope Francis…Many traditional Catholics have a big problem with Pope Francis….And frankly, I will also publicly admit, I believe they do not understand him (He can be hard to read)……..The root of this misunderstanding comes from how Pope Francis “reaches his hands out” to those on the margins of society, public sinners far from God…I will admit that I too question is approach at times as far as how he “reaches out”…However, I do believe that Pope Francis in his heart, he is trying to help the lost……And he is more than willing to leave the “99 in the hills” to go after the “one stray”…….We can agree to disagree with how he sometimes does this, but we too should be willing to do the same…..The 99 already “get it”…However, the one lost in “the wilderness” needs someone to “go the extra yard” to bring them back home…That can be a messy process…Did not Jesus do the same?…Jesus ate with public sinners as the “respectable people” spoke badly about him…Jesus approached the woman at the well who was in an adulterous relationship - I am sure that did not go over too well either with the “respectable people” ……In following Jesus's instructions in the gospel today correctly, we must never water down the fullness of Church Teaching…Why?…Because we have no authority to do so…..However, we must ALWAYS be willing to “step out of our comfortable little box” and reach a hand to the “black sheep” who has gone astray…...Let the “respectable people” talk trash!….Jesus had a heart for sinners because he came to save sinners…And so must we…...Why?…..Because we ourselves are sinners too!

“The day of the Lord is near; Behold, he comes to save us”

Having a big family with many children close in age can be challenging, especially when you take them to Mass….My wife and I do our best…..Once in awhile we get invited to event where many traditional (some call them orthodox) Catholics gather and usually there is a Mass along with the event…We have taken our family to these kinds of gatherings from time to time and when our kids (we have five, all of which are under 10 years old) act up, I will tell you, the looks my wife and I get from some of these “traditional” Catholics is far from being charitable…..When this happens, I take it in stride and offer it up…However, what consoles me is I think to myself of how Jesus would be so happy that my family is at Mass, even when the kids misbehave…..As for the people who have a problem with kids at Mass misbehaving…It seems to me, they are “missing it”…….Jesus was willing to jump into the “mix” of life…And so must we…That can be very messy…Why?…Because life is messy…..As Jesus taught his friend’s today…We must be willing to “leave the 99 to go after the one”….In doing that, the 99 may get upset…Why?.....Because to do that "things get very messy" - The “respectable” crowd may question your actions and challenge your motives…..My advice today to you is - Let them talk their trash!…..Like Jesus, who came for sinners, so must we…A father loves all his children, the good and the bad alike…And if we do not pursue the lost, how will they ever find there way back home?

“They shall exult before the LORD, for he comes; for he comes to rule the earth. He shall rule the world with justice and the peoples with his constancy”

In St Matthew’s gospel today, Jesus was trying to teach his friends that we must hate the sin but love the sinner…And to love the sinner may mean we have to leave the “respectable” crowd in order to reach a loving hand to the one who is lost…..In doing so, many people will not understand….Many will challenge your actions…And many will even speak badly of you…In response to those negative outcomes…..Jesus tells us very clearly in the Beatitudes (which are the “blue print” to get us to heaven) how we are to think and to accept the "cost" of discipleship.......….”Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven. Thus they persecuted the prophets who were before you”…..Are you willing to leave the 99 to chase after the one who is lost?…..There is a cost - Be willing to pay it