It is not the will of your God the Father that one of these little ones be lost

Gospel of the Day (Matthew 18:12-14)

What is your opinion? 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.

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Reflections:

"It is not the will of your heavenly Father that one of these little ones be lost"

If only men knew what the love of the Lord is like they would run as one mass to be near Christ and he would warm them all with his grace. His mercy is inexpressible. The Lord loves the repentant sinner and clasps him tenderly to his breast: «Where were you, my child? I have been waiting for you so long» (cf. Lk 15,20). The Lord calls all men to himself through the Gospel and his voice resounds through all the world:

«Come to me, all you who labor and I will give you rest (Mt 11,28). Come and drink living water (Jn 7,37). Come and learn that I love you. If I did not love you I would not have called you. I am unable to endure that a single one of my sheep should be lost. Even for one alone the shepherd goes into the mountains to seek for it everywhere. Come, then, to me, my sheep. I have created you and I love you. It was my love for you that caused me to come down to earth and I have endured everything for your salvation. I desire you to know my love and to say like the apostles on Mount Tabor: 'Lord, it is good that we are here with you'» (Mk 9,5)...

You have drawn the souls of the saints to yourself, Lord, and they flow towards you like rivers of silence. The spirit of the saints is inseparable from you, Lord, and reaches out towards you, our light and our joy. The heart of your saints is established in your love, Lord, and cannot forget for an instant, not even in sleep, how sweet is the grace of the Holy Spirit.