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Think of someone who has perhaps never been told, "You are important to God." Tell him, "Though you are not searching for God, he is searching for you."
This is the invitation Pope Francis made to the faithful this September 11, 2022, in light of the Gospel reading of the Prodigal Son, or as John Paul II preferred, the reading of the Merciful Father.
The readings of this Sunday have three parables of mercy, wherein a shepherd, a woman, and a father are all missing something.
"One who loves is concerned about the one who is missing, longs for who is absent, seeks who is lost, awaits who has gone astray," the Pope said.
He invited the faithful to "imitate the Lord in this," to be "anxious about what is missing."
Ask yourself this:
He suggested some questions to ask ourselves:
Do we have nostalgia for those who are missing, who have drifted from Christian life?
Do we carry this inner restlessness, or are we serene and undisturbed among ourselves?
Do we truly miss those who are missing from our communities, or do we pretend and not let it touch our hearts?
Do I truly miss those who are missing in my life?
Take stock of your relationships
The Pope exhorted:
"The Father," he said, "asks us to be attentive to the children he misses the most."
