We’ve
all been lost before, haven’t we, when we couldn’t find our way? When
we’re lost, it is not a very good feeling. I
remember a couple of times when I was walking to one of the villages I had to
visit in the jungle as a missionary, thinking I had made a wrong turn or didn’t
know where I was going. I was
terrified. I
didn’t know how I would find my way back, I didn’t know who would help me. Luckily,
I always seemed to find my way back somehow, or I always found someone to give
me directions.
Today,
we hear Jesus telling the parable of the lost sheep. If only one of a flock of 100 sheep is lost,
the good shepherd finds him and brings him back. Jesus
is that good shepherd for us. No
matter how lost we feel, Jesus is there ready to carry us on his shoulders,
helping us in our time of need.
There
a lot of different shepherds that the Lord has entrusted to care for his flock
throughout history. Spain
is a country that has been on the forefront of Catholicism and it has produced
some of the Church’s most beloved saints, such as Ignatius of Loyola, John of
the Cross, and Teresa of Avila. But
Spain has had some very dark times throughout its history as well. During the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s, more that 6,800 priests and members
of religious congregations, including 16 bishops, were martyred for the faith.
More than 4,000 lay people were killed for helping or hiding them. The
Church has beatified or canonized more than 1,000 them as Martyrs of the
Spanish Civil War, mostly under Popes Benedict XVI and John Paul II. November
is the month of remembrance when we remember the faithful departed and those
who passed down the faith to us. May
we remember the Martyrs of the Spanish Civil War and all those others who have
continued the work of Jesus the Good Shepherd in the world.
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