Today is Nov. 7, Thursday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus says, “What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert and go after the lost one until he finds it?” (Lk 15:4).
In a world shaped by a throwaway culture — a mindset that prizes convenience and instant gratification — many things, and sometimes people, can be cast aside when they no longer seem useful. This culture encourages a focus on what is easy and disposable. In contrast, Jesus’ parable of the lost sheep calls us to a different way of seeing.
Commenting on this parable a few years ago, Pope Francis said: “God does not share our current throw-away culture; it doesn’t count to God. God throws no one away; God loves everyone, looks for everyone: one by one! He doesn’t know what ‘throwing people away’ means, because he is entirely love, entirely mercy.”
Jesus’ love is radical and relentless. For him, no person is a mere “extra,” easily replaced or forgotten. Each soul, every life, holds irreplaceable worth in the eyes of the Good Shepherd.
How often do we, knowingly or unknowingly, adopt the mindset of a throwaway culture when it comes to people? It’s easy to drift into patterns of dismissing or neglecting those who don’t fit into our plans or who demand extra patience and compassion.
Perhaps the invitation for us today is to become shepherds in our own way — to seek out those who have been left behind, to value those who seem “lost” or “inconvenient,” and to remind them of their worth. In a world quick to discard, let us be those who hold onto others with the unyielding love that Jesus demonstrates in the parable, seeing each person as God sees them: infinitely precious and always worthy of being found.
Today, let’s pray for the grace to see each soul as the Good Shepherd sees him or her:
Grant us, we pray, O Lord our God, the constant gladness of being devoted to you, for it is full and lasting happiness to serve with constancy the author of all that is good. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.
My Daily Visitor spiritual reflections are a dose of daily Catholic inspiration from Our Sunday Visitor magazine.
Get these reflections in your inbox: Sign up here!
