In today's Gospel, we see how the Pharisees and the scribes begin to complain that our
Lord sits and eats with sinners, and our Lord, being the Good Shepherd, then tells them this
parable about the lost sheep, and how he compares the souls of sinners, lost souls, to lost
sheep.
And we can see that there are many similarities in making this comparison.
The lost sheep isn't where it ought to be.
It ought to be with the other living sheep of the fold.
And so in a similar way, the sinner, that is, the person in a state of sin, is not where
he ought to be.
He ought to be in the state of grace with other living members of the church, that is,
members who are spiritually alive and animated.
They are animated by God's grace.
The lost sheep may not even realize that it is not where it ought to be.
Night falls, and it gets devoured by the lion.
And so the same thing with the sinner, the person in the state of mortal sin.
And this is, in fact, the worst state for a soul, the reprobate state, not to even realize
that they are lost.
Not to even realize that they are lost.
Not to even realize that they are lost.
Not to even realize that they are lost.
Not to even realize that they are lost.
Not to even realize that they are in a state of mortal sin.
They have reached the point of spiritual blindness.
Night has fallen on this soul, and as the scripture says,
if then the light that is in thee be darkness, the darkness itself, how great shall it be.
And then, living in darkness and not being aware that it is in darkness,
the lion, the lion, the lion, the lion, the lion, the lion, the lion, the lion, the lion,
that is Satan is there to devour it.
As St. Peter warns us, be sober and watch, because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion,
goeth about seeking whom he may devour.
Or, the lost sheep may realize that it is not where it ought to be, but does not know the way back to the fold.
similarly the sinner may realize that he isn't where he should be
his conscience alerts him that he's not living a good life
that he's far from God
but he doesn't know exactly the way back to spiritual life
back to the fold
and so following Christ, the good shepherd's example
it's up to today's shepherds, bishops and priests
to admonish sinners, to enlighten them
to make them realize that they're lost
to seek them out and find them
and to show them the way back
that is through contrition, penance
especially the sacrament of confession
and as the gospel says
there will be rejoicing among the angels of God
i love you
Thanks for watching!