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reading of the letter of St Paul to the
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Philippians Brothers we are the true
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circumcised who worship by the spirit of
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God place our glory in Christ Jesus and
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do not put confidence in the flesh in
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fact I too could put my trust in the
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flesh for if anyone else thinks they can
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trust the flesh I do even more so I was
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circum ized on the eighth day I am of
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the race of Israel of The Tribe of
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Benjamin a Hebrew son of Hebrews in
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relation to the law a Pharisee through
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Zeal a persecutor of the Church of God
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As for the righteousness that comes from
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the law it is always blameless but these
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things which were advantages to me I
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counted as loss for the sake of Christ
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8A indeed I count everything as lost
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compared to the Supreme advantage of
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knowing Christ Jesus my Lord word of the
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God proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus
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Christ according to St Luke Glory To You
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Lord at that time publicans and sinners
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approached Jesus to listen to him the
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Pharisees however and the teachers of
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the law criticized Jesus this man
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welcomes Sinners and dines with them
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then Jesus told them this Parable if one
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of you has 100 sheep and loses one will
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he not leave the 99 in the wilderness
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and go after the one that was lost until
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he finds it when he finds it he places
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it in the shoulders with joy and
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arriving home gathers his friends and
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neighbors and says Rejoice with me I
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have found my lost sheep I tell you so
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there will be more joy in heaven over
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one sinner who converts than over 99
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righteous people who do not need
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conversion and if a woman has 10 pieces
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of silver and loses one she does not
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light a lamp she sweeps it away the
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house and looks for it carefully until
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you find it when you find it you gather
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your friends and neighbors and say
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rejoice with me I found the coin I had
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lost therefore I tell you there will be
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Joy among the angels of God over one
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sinner who converts s word of Salvation
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Lord dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ
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have you ever lost something Priceless
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do you remember that distressing feeling
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of searching the entire house searching
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every corner retracing your every step
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and then the Indescribable Joy when you
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finally found what you were looking for
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this Universal Human Experience helps us
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understand the heart of today's readings
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in the letter to the Philippians Paul
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does something extraordinary he takes
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everything the world deems valuable your
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status your achievements your religious
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Heritage and declares it all to be loss
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compared to the knowledge of Christ
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Jesus imagine that Paulo a man who had
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everything his Society valued says he
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found something so precious that it
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makes everything else seem like trash in
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comparison circumcised on the e8th day
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of the race of Israel of The Tribe of
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Benjamin a Hebrew son of Hebrews as to
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the law a Pharisee as to Zeal a
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persecutor of the church as to the
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righteousness that is in the law
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blameless what an impressive resume if
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Paul were living today he would be like
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someone with degrees from the best
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universities a brilliant career an
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impeccable lineage and irreproachable
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reputation but then he found Christ or
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rather Christ found him and everything
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changed what things were gained to me I
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considered loss for the sake of Christ
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it is as if Paul has discovered a
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treasure so valuable that everything
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else pales in comparison and here is
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where our reading of the Gospel connects
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so beautifully with Paul's message Jesus
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tells us two Parables that reveal the
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heart of God the par parable of the lost
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sheep and the parable of the lost coin
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in both stories we see a tireless search
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for something precious that has been
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lost think of the shepherd leaving 99
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sheep to look for the one that got lost
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from a purely economic point of view
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this makes no sense at all why risk 99
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safe sheep for the sake of a single lost
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one but love does not follow Market
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logic love seeks the Lost no matter the
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cost and the woman with her coins she
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has 10 pieces of silver her dowy perhaps
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or her life savings and she loses one
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she lights a lamp wasting precious oil
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sweeps the house wasting time and energy
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searches diligently until she finds the
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Lost coin and when do you find it she
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calls her friends and neighbors to
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Rejoice with her to some this reaction
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may seem exaggerated so much fuss over a
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single currency but Jesus is showing us
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something deep about the heart of God
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every lost person is infinitely precious
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in God's eyes each soul that turns away
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is like that single sheep like that
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precious coin and here is the Deep
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connection between our two readings Paul
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personally experienced being that lost
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sheep that was found that coin that was
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recovered he who persecuted the church
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with religious Zeal was found by Christ
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on the road to Damascus and this
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experience of being found was so
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transformative that everything he once
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valued lost its meaning in comparison
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but there is more the Pharisees and the
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scribes murmured this man welcomes
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Sinners and eats with them they didn't
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understand that Jesus was revealing the
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heart of the Father the same Paul who
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lists his impressive credentials had to
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learn that all these gains could
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actually be obstacles if they prevented
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him from recognizing his need for Christ
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so what do these readings mean for us
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today first we are called to examine our
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values what do we consider gain in our
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lives career status possessions
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reputation are these things inherently
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evil no but if they prevent us from
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recognizing our need for Christ they can
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become spiritual losses second we are
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invited to experience the Joy of being
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found by God maybe some of us feel like
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that lost sheep disoriented alone far
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from A Flock or like that lost coin
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forgotten in some dark corner of life
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the good news is that we have a God who
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tirelessly seeks out the lost third we
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are called to participate in God's
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search for the lost as a community of
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faith we are called to have the same
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heart as the shepherd who searches for
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the lost sheep the woman who searches
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for the coin the father who runs to meet
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the prodigal son what difference would
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it make in our lives if like Paul we
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considered everything is lost compared
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to the Supreme knowledge of Christ Jesus
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if our greatest treasure were not our
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achievements or possessions but our
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relationship with God and what
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difference would it make in our
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community if we had the same heart as
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God for the Lost If instead of grumbling
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like the Pharisees we rejoiced when
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Sinners are found and restored my dear
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brothers and sisters today we are
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invited to a double experience
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recognizing the Supreme value of knowing
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Christ like Paul and participating in
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God's joy in seeking and finding the
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lost may we like Paul say with
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conviction that everything is a loss
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compared to Christ and may we like Jesus
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have a heart that rejoices when the Lost
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is Found May the Holy Spirit help us to
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see what truly matters
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to Value what is truly valuable and to
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participate in God's mission to seek and
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save what has been lost and May the
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peace of God which surpasses all
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understanding guard your hearts and
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Minds in Christ Jesus
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amen St Michael the Archangel defend Us
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in battle be our protection against the
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wickedness and snares of the devil may
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God rebuke him we humbly pray and do
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thou o Prince of the Heavenly Host by
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the power of God cast into hell Satan
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and all the evil spirits who prowl
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throughout the world seeking the ruin of
