WHAT DO YOU THINK…

Isaiah 40:1-11

1 Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the LORD’s hand double for all her sins.3 A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
4 Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain.5 And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”6 A voice says, “Cry!” And I said, “What shall I cry?” All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field.
7 The grass withers, the flower fades, when the breath of the LORD blows upon it; surely the people is grass.
8 The grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of our God will stand for ever.
9 Get you up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good tidings; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good tidings, lift it up, fear not; say to the cities of Judah, “Behold your God!”10 Behold, the Lord GOD comes with might, and his arm rules for him; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him.
11 He will feed his flock like a shepherd, he will gather the lambs in his arms, he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.

Matthew 18:12-14

12 What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray?13 And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray.
14 So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.  

MEDITATION

THE FIRST READING: Isaiah’s prophecy is comforting in so far as it points to the imminent pardoning and redemption of the bride of the Lord, provided that she has cleared the way for His return. 

Catec 796: “The theme of Christ as Bridegroom of the Church was prepared for by the prophets and announced by John the Baptist. The Lord referred to himself as the “bridegroom.” The Apostle speaks of the whole Church and of each of the faithful, members of his Body, as a bride “betrothed” to Christ the Lord so as to become but one spirit with him.”

THE GOSPEL READING is a continuation of Jesus’ response to a question posed by an apostle on the matter of the hierarchial structure of the kingdom of heaven. Jesus’ rhetorical response illustrate that each member of His flock is prescious to Him to the extent that He will go in search of anyone who strayed and left the ‘mountains,’ which is a metaphor to describe the salvation of the people that the Church is mandated to exercise.

We recall Jesus’ instruction to Peter whom He called and instructed to feed and take care of the flock (Jn 21:15-17), this does not in any way suggest that we the laity are off the hook! Christ could care less about our excuses or what we otherwise think to obviate our responsibility to serve the people of God. We who have been confirmed by the Bishop or his appointed priest are obligated to evangelize and go in search of the lost sheep. 

Catec 1285 Baptism, the Eucharist, and the sacrament of Confirmation together constitute the “sacraments of Christian initiation,” whose unity must be safeguarded. It must be explained to the faithful that the reception of the sacrament of Confirmation is necessary for the completion of baptismal grace. For “by the sacrament of Confirmation, [the baptized] are more perfectly bound to the Church and are enriched with a special strength of the Holy Spirit. Hence they are, as true witnesses of Christ, more strictly obliged to spread and defend the faith by word and deed.”

LET US PRAY: Psalms 96:1-3,10-13

1 O sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all the earth!2 Sing to the LORD, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day.3 Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples!
10 Say among the nations, “The LORD reigns! Yea, the world is established, it shall never be moved; he will judge the peoples with equity.”11 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
12 let the field exult, and everything in it! Then shall all the trees of the wood sing for joy13 before the LORD, for he comes, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with his truth.

Author. Henry R SYLVESTER 
Note: The daily scripture readings are taken from the Roman Missal which the Catholic Church use in the daily Celebration of the Holy Eucharist throughout the world.Some weekly readings may differ because of the celebration of local feast days.