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Joyce Stellus: welcome everyone to today's reflection. So, I'll be just taking one point from the first reading, which really caught my attention, and then move on to the gospel. if you look at this letter to the Philippians 3:17. The first sentence, Saint Paul, invites us. He says, join in imitating me. And Keep an eye on those who walk according to the example. You have in us. In other words, he's setting a standard for us and which is himself. Just like he is an imitator of Christ, we are to be imitators of Saint Paul. But of course Saint Paul is not around physically. So what he recommends is to continually have people around us. Who we can imitate. Because most of the time what happens is that we are keeping our eyes on the wrong people we yearn for the things that they possess, we yearn for the popularity that they have. But if we were to compare them to St. Paul, definitely there would be a Such a big wide gap. So, to look for people who are fall-like in our lives, and then to hold on to them because these are the people that will motivate us, that will prod us forward, that will encourage us in our journey to the kingdom. Yeah, say for me, right? So when I when I go to church, right, I see this person who I didn't mention before who is so fervently praying every time at the adoration room. So she's my inspiration when it comes to persistence in prayer. When it comes to perhaps persistence in pursuing God. There's another person I know who who just goes to all lengths seeking some way in which to become closer to God. So that person is my inspiration for that. there's another person who when I speak, just so much of wisdom comes from this person. So seek out these individuals. Ask the Lord to bring these individuals before you so that you can learn from them and constantly be aligned with the ways of God. And secondly, to know from the gospel, two really ridiculous stories of how a shepherd would leave 99 of his sheep in the wilderness. just to go and track that one lost sheep and not just simply track look for it until maybe sundown but look for it the word of god says until he finds it he does not give up such is our God the God that we love the God that we serve he will track us down Pope Francis he had this to say that no one is lost in this kingdom. Only people waiting to be found. Only people waiting to be found. we know the history of sheep, right? So how they would wander away is they'd look for one patch of grass and then yeah and then there's another batch of grass and then slowly, slowly, slowly they just go away from the flock. And lost sheep have this amazing capacity and tendency not to be able to find their way back. So that's why they're so dependent on the shepherd and that's why the shepherd keeps on. looking until he finds, because he knows that without him the sheep will not come back to to the herd. And that's how persistent Jesus is. sometimes people come our way and and there's someone who says something, it hits. I gotta get back. I gotta do this. I gotta resume my prayer walks. that's the shepherd's voice through his messengers. So it's for us to okay, straighten up. Okay, let me get back on the path. That's the Lord calling me again through this person. That's Jesus. So today let's just think about two things. One is who are these people in our lives that can lead us back? And number two, to know that Jesus is the good shepherd who's constantly, constantly watching over us. And therein lies our hope. So thank you, Lord. Thank you, Jesus, that you never give up on us. Thank you, Lord. Help us, Lord, not to take advantage of this weakness of yours. to always come back home. At the end of the day to say, Lord, I'm home. Lord with you is home. Amen.