Daily Gospel Reflection
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December 10, 2019
Jesus said to his disciples, “What do you think? If a shepherd 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? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray.
“So it is not the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones should be lost.”
Perhaps it is because a shepherd’s work is so foreign to me, but I don’t find the answer to Jesus’ rhetorical question an obvious one. In fact, this parable often leaves me vexed.
The shepherd’s approach is illogical: if this is his livelihood, why risk endangering his entire flock just to save one singular sheep? His approach also seems unjust: the ninety-nine obedient sheep do not receive extra attention and care from their master, but instead are left alone in favor of the one who carelessly wandered away. I feel a bit like the dutiful older brother in the parable of the Prodigal Son, who cannot comprehend why his father would extravagantly celebrate the return of his dissipated younger son.
But the shepherd’s behavior reminds us that our God operates according to different values. Our cultural and financial sensibilities tell us to make decisions based on a logical cost/benefit analysis; Jesus’ example as the Good Shepherd teaches us instead to risk everything to save even one “little one.” Our secular world values people based on their success and productivity; but God loves each of us individually, unconditionally and limitlessly, regardless of our weaknesses and even when we reject that love.
Last week my toddler was eating Cheerios in his high chair, and he accidentally dropped one into his lap. A concerned look came over his face as he said “uh-oh” and began searching frantically under his tray for the missing piece of cereal. I told him not to worry about it, and pointed to the dozens of Cheerios that remained on his tray. He ignored me until he eventually squealed with delight and showed me his recovered treasure with a toothy grin. I suppose this is how God loves each of us “little ones,” even when we stray from the flock: illogically, undeservedly, joyfully.
May we learn to care for each other as the Good Shepherd cares for his flock.
Prayer
Like a shepherd, O Lord our God, you care for the blessed members of your flock. Indeed, you give comfort and tenderness to all who feel lost and forgotten. So the midst of these Advent days, we search afar for the coming of Christ, herald of glad tidings. May this day, this moment of time, be a foreshadowing of the kingdom that Jesus promised but which is still to come in your good time. This we ask through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Saint of the Day
The London Martyrs of 1591 are a collection of seven martyrs—both those who are canonized and those who have been beatified—who died in London on December 10, 1591, in a period of persecution that followed a reinforcement of anti-Catholic laws.
The central figure in their story is the priest, Edmund Gennings. Edmund Gennings was born in Lichfield, a city in Staffordshire in Northern England in 1567. His image is featured here in today's biography.
Gennings became a page to an English nobleman who left England to become a priest in France. Deeply impressed by this example, Edmund left England for France, where he studied at Reims and was ordained at Soissons in 1590. At the age of only twenty-three, he was sent back to England in April 1590. He was estranged from his family because of his faith. But, despite the estrangement, Edmund returned to Lichfield to visit his family only to find that his parents had died. Edmund proceeded to London, seeking his brother John.
John had remained an ardent Puritan and had become fiercely anti-Catholic. John warned Edmund that if Edmund had become a priest, as he suspected, it would only bring death to himself and bring deep shame to his family and friends. Edmund went into the country for a few months to escape. But, in the autumn of 1591, Edmund returned to London. In November, he was celebrating Mass for a collection of Catholics at the home of an elderly schoolmaster, Swithin Wells, and his wife, Margaret.
In the middle of the celebration of Mass, the notorious priest-catcher, Topcliffe, appeared at the house. Some of the men who had been celebrating the Mass with them kept Topcliffe and his men at bay until Mass was finished. Before they were able to escape, Edmund Gennings and Polidore Plasden were arrested along with the laypeople at Mass.
On December 10, Edmund Gennings was hanged, drawn and quartered, Swithin Wells was hanged, and Polidore Plasden and the two other laymen who had been at Mass were executed at the infamous execution site of Tyburn in equally gruesome fashion.
Of those who had been at Mass that day, only Margaret Wells was left to live. Margaret received a reprieve from her own execution and died in prison eleven years later.
Eustace White, a priest who had been imprisoned and tortured by Topcliffe with extreme cruelty was also executed alongside Wells and Plasden. Brian Lacey, a priest who had been betrayed by his own brother, was killed that day as well.
Edmund Gennings’ brother, at first rejoicing at the death of his Catholic kinsman, less than two weeks later became a Catholic. Eventually, he became a Franciscan and founded a convent of Franciscan Sisters in Brussels.
All seven of those martyred on December 10, 1591, were beatified in 1929 by Pope Pius XI. Edmund Gennings, Polidore Plasden, Swithin Wells and Eustace White were canonized as members of the Forty Saints of England and Wales on October 25, 1970, by Pope Saint Paul VI.
These brave martyrs who were brutally killed for practicing their faith are a reminder of the bitter wounds of division that exist still, to this day, in the Body of Christ. We ask for the intercession of the London Martyrs of 1591 that all Christians may increase in charity for one another.
Brave Martyrs of London, who sacrificed their lives rather than renounce their faith—pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of Edmund Gennings is in the public domain. Last accessed November 21, 2024 on Wikimedia Commons.
