Daily Gospel Reflection
Join the Notre Dame family of faith. Receive God’s Word and a unique reflection in your inbox each day.
December 7, 2021
Jesus said to his disciples:
“What is your opinion?
If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray,
will he not leave the ninety-nine in the hills
and go in search of the stray?
And if he finds it, amen, I say to you, he rejoices more over it
than over the ninety-nine that did not stray.
In just the same way, it is not the will of your heavenly Father
that one of these little ones be lost.”
Jesus begins this parable by asking us to engage with his words—to imagine the scenario and draw our own opinions.
When I think about the Father leaving the ninety-nine sheep to search for the one, I am comforted and encouraged if I imagine I am the one lost sheep. However, if I’m honest, I am more likely to be one of the ninety-nine. How do I feel now? I’m suddenly disconcerted, uncomfortable, and challenged by Jesus’ words.
Why? What does it mean to be one of the ninety-nine?
Perhaps, I have become too comfortable in my peer groups, building relationships with only those who think, act, or look like me. Perhaps I resist welcoming the solitary sheep that Jesus brings into my neatly categorized life. Perhaps I am frustrated that even though I am already living a life of Christian discipleship, Jesus is calling me to give even more of myself.
Admitting that I am more likely to be one of the ninety-nine challenges me to welcome the new sheep Jesus brings into my life and go out with him searching for other lost sheep.
In this season of Advent, we are called to prepare for the coming of Christ. How are we preparing for him? Do we wait for him within the comfort of familiar groups or do we witness his coming to those who might not know his love?
Our God is the God that seeks the one lost sheep. This Advent, let us seek the lost sheep too.
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
Although St. Ambrose is a great saint in his own right—he had a brilliant mind, was a political star of his time, and is one of the 38 doctors of the Church—he is perhaps best remembered for prompting the conversion of the great St. Augustine.
He was born to a Roman family of nobility and had several siblings who also became saints: Marcellina and Satyrus. He was educated in Rome and became known as an eloquent and convincing speaker.
He was trained in the law and was noticed by important politicians in Rome. He was appointed the governor of Milan, one of the most important offices in the empire, before he was 35 years old.
Milan’s bishop died and a controversy arose as to who should succeed him. The dispute threatened violence, so Ambrose went to plead with the crowds himself. While he was speaking, a voice shouted, “Ambrose, bishop!” and the whole crowd took up the cry. Both sides of the dispute unanimously proclaimed him bishop of Milan, even though Ambrose was not yet baptized.
Ambrose tried to escape the election by appealing to the emperor, who simply said that he was pleased to appoint governors worthy of being also bishops. Ambrose next tried hiding in the home of a friend who was a senator but was given up. Finally, on this date in 374, he yielded and was baptized. A week later, he was ordained a bishop.
He gave up all of his belongings to the poor, as an example to the people of Milan and so that he could focus on his duties as bishop. He was famous as a teacher of the faith and a scholar of the Bible. His preaching drew crowds, including a young and noncommittal St. Augustine, whom Ambrose taught and later baptized.
In a letter, Ambrose wrote the following about the art of preaching:
"Let your words be rivers, clean and limpid, so that in your exhortations you may charm the ears of your people. And by the grace of your words win them over to follow your leadership. [Let] no word escape your lips in vain or be uttered without depth of meaning."
Ambrose preached often against the Arian heresy. Ambrose's learning and preaching earned him the title "Doctor of the Church," an honorific given to 37 other saints who are known for elucidating the faith by their words or example. His relics rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica, and a stained glass window in the Basilica portrays Ambrose confronting Emperor Theodosius, who was responsible for ordering a massacre of 7,000. The emperor repented publicly for his action because of this encounter and was reconciled to the Church. Ambrose later presided over his funeral.
St. Ambrose, whose preaching drew Christians into a deeper life of faith—pray for us!
