Tuesday 2nd Week of Advent
Cathedral of Mary Our Queen
Dec. 10, 2024
Much has been written about man’s search for God. We have sought God in creation, in human ingenuity, in philosophical reasoning, as well as in art, literature, music – indeed in every human endeavor. And it is good that we do so – for, in St. Augustine’s often quoted words, “Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in Thee.”
Endowed with infinite dignity, we are made to be loved infinitely – and so we search restlessly for something or someone to fill the hole in the void in our hearts.
Today’s brief Gospel tells the other side of the story. It is not so much we ourselves who search for God but rather it is God who comes in search of us. Jesus is the Good Shepherd who left behind the ninety-nine sheep on the hillside and came in search of the one missing sheep wandering about in the dark valley. This defies human logic until our eyes are opened to what the Lord wants us to see. Jesus is God’s Eternal Son who dwelt in heaven with ninety-nine— that is to say – the choirs of angels of every rank and description. The one lost sheep is humanity, a humanity that went astray at the dawn of creation. The God who created us for his love, the God who endowed us with infinite dignity, could not tolerate humanity’s being under the domination of Satan and under the domination of its own unruly desires. Thus, the Son of God left behind the ninety-nine in the glory of heaven and came to earth in search of an erring humanity – not an abstract humanity, but you and me, and indeed every person without exception, for ‘God wants all to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth.’
In searching for us, God’s Son did not stride the earth like a giant but came rather as a pilgrim, clothed in our own human nature. His pilgrimage took him to the depths of the human experience, for he rescued us from oblivion by undergoing the oblivion of the Cross – the very mystery that we celebrate at every Mass.
This night, let us ask for grace to level every mountain and fill in every valley – that is – to remove every obstacle – so that in this season of Advent and at Christmas, the Good Shepherd may come anew into our hearts to rescue us from sin and death and to lead us that place where he is seated at the right hand of the Father. Let us do so by seeking his forgiveness in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, by quieting our soul in this busy season, by going the extra mile for those in need. These are ways in which we allow the Good Shepherd to find us, to rescue us from sin so as to fill us with his love. And may God bless us and keep us always in his love!