From: Luke 15:3-7
The Lost Sheep
[3] So He told them this parable: [4] “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? [5] And when he has found it, he
lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. [6] And when he comes home he calls toge-
ther his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have
found my sheep which was lost.’ [7] 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.
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Commentary:
1-32. Jesus’ actions manifest God’s mercy: He receives sinners in order to con-
vert them. The scribes and Pharisees, who despised sinners, just cannot under-
stand why Jesus acts like this; they grumble about Him; and Jesus uses the op-
portunity to tell these Mercy parables. “The Gospel writer who particularly treats
of these themes in Christ’s teaching is Luke, whose Gospel has earned the title
of ‘the Gospel of mercy’” (John Paul II, “Dives In Misericordia”, 3).
In this chapter St. Luke reports three of these parables in which Jesus describes
the infinite, fatherly mercy of God and His joy at the conversion of the sinner.
The Gospel teaches that no one is excluded from forgiveness and that sinners
can become beloved children of God if they repent and are converted. So much
does God desire the conversion of sinners that each of these parables ends with
a refrain, as it were, telling of the great joy in Heaven over sinner who repents.
5-6. Christian tradition, on the basis of this and other Gospel passages (cf. John
10:11), applies this parable to Christ, the Good Shepherd, who misses and then
seeks out the lost sheep: the Word, by becoming man, seeks out mankind,
which has strayed through sinning. Here is St. Gregory the Great’s commentary:
“He put the sheep on His shoulders because, on taking on human nature, He
burdened Himself with our sins” (”In Evangelia Homiliae”, II, 14).
The Second Vatican Council applies these verses of St. Luke to the way priests
should approach their pastoral work: “They should be mindful that by their daily
conduct and solicitude they display the reality of a truly priestly and pastoral mi-
nistry both to believers and unbelievers alike, to Catholics and non-Catholics; that
they are bound to bear witness before all men of the truth and of the life, and as
good shepherds seek after those too who, whilst having been baptized in the Ca-
tholic Church, have given up the practice of the Sacraments, or even fallen away
from the faith” (”Lumen Gentium”, 28). However, every member of the faithful
should show this same kind of concern — expressed in a fraternal way — towards
his brothers and sisters, towards everyone on the road to sanctification and sal-
vation.
7. This does not mean that our Lord does not value the perseverance of the just:
He is simply emphasizing the joy of God and the saints over the conversion of a
sinner. This is clearly a call to repentance, to never doubt God’s readiness to for-
give. “Another fall, and what a fall!... Must you give up hope? No. Humble your-
self and, through Mary, your Mother, have recourse to the merciful Love of Jesus.
A “miserere”, and lift up your heart! And now begin again” (St. J. Escriva, “The
Way”, 711).
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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.
Scripture readings from the Jerusalem Bible by Darton, Longman & Todd
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour: White.
| First reading |
| Ezekiel 34:11-16 © |
The Lord God says this: I am going to look after my flock myself and keep all of it in view. As a shepherd keeps all his flock in view when he stands up in the middle of his scattered sheep, so shall I keep my sheep in view. I shall rescue them from wherever they have been scattered during the mist and darkness. I shall bring them out of the countries where they are; I shall gather them together from foreign countries and bring them back to their own land. I shall pasture them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines and in every inhabited place in the land. I shall feed them in good pasturage; the high mountains of Israel will be their grazing ground. There they will rest in good grazing ground; they will browse in rich pastures on the mountains of Israel. I myself will pasture my sheep, I myself will show them where to rest–it is the Lord who speaks. I shall look for the lost one, bring back the stray, bandage the wounded and make the weak strong. I shall watch over the fat and healthy. I shall be a true shepherd to them.
| Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 22:1-6 © |
The Lord is my shepherd: there is nothing I shall want.
The Lord is my shepherd;
there is nothing I shall want.
Fresh and green are the pastures
where he gives me repose.
Near restful waters he leads me,
to revive my drooping spirit.
The Lord is my shepherd: there is nothing I shall want.
He guides me along the right path;
he is true to his name.
If I should walk in the valley of darkness
no evil would I fear.
You are there with your crook and your staff;
with these you give me comfort.
The Lord is my shepherd: there is nothing I shall want.
You have prepared a banquet for me
in the sight of my foes.
My head you have anointed with oil;
my cup is overflowing.
The Lord is my shepherd: there is nothing I shall want.
Surely goodness and kindness shall follow me
all the days of my life.
In the Lord’s own house shall I dwell
for ever and ever.
The Lord is my shepherd: there is nothing I shall want.
| Second reading |
Romans 5:5-11 © |
The love of God has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit which has been given us. We were still helpless when at his appointed moment Christ died for sinful men. It is not easy to die even for a good man – though of course for someone really worthy, a man might be prepared to die – but what proves that God loves us is that Christ died for us while we were still sinners. Having died to make us righteous, is it likely that he would now fail to save us from God’s anger? When we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, we were still enemies; now that we have been reconciled, surely we may count on being saved by the life of his Son? Not merely because we have been reconciled but because we are filled with joyful trust in God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have already gained our reconciliation.
| Gospel Acclamation |
Mt11:29 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Shoulder my yoke and learn from me,
for I am gentle and humble in heart.
Alleluia!
Alleluia, alleluia!
I am the good shepherd, says the Lord;
I know my own sheep and my own know me.
Alleluia!
Jesus spoke this parable to the scribes and Pharisees:
‘What man among you with a hundred sheep, losing one, would not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the missing one till he found it? And when he found it, would he not joyfully take it on his shoulders and then, when he got home, call together his friends and neighbours? “Rejoice with me,” he would say “I have found my sheep that was lost.” In the same way, I tell you, there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one repentant sinner than over ninety-nine virtuous men who have no need of repentance.’