2026-08-11 - Don't lose the One while celebrating the ninety-nine Author: Fr. Camillus Nwaigwe
Don't lose the One while celebrating the ninety-nine*
We live in a world that celebrates numbers: majority, success, popularity and influence. We are often happy when the ninety-nine are doing well, but we easily forget the one who is struggling, missing or left behind. Yet in the Gospel of today, Jesus reminds us that God does not sacrifice the one for the sake of the ninety-nine.
Jesus tells us about a person shepherd who has ninety-nine sheep safe but refuses to ignore the one that has gone astray. The lesson is simple: the majority must never make us forget the individual.
In the family, we can celebrate the successful child while ignoring the one who is struggling. We praise the one who got a good job but condemn the one who is unemployed. We celebrate the well-behaved child but stop listening to the difficult one. Yet sometimes, the one causing the most trouble is the one who needs the most attention. Don't lose a family member because you were busy celebrating the others.
In the Church, we can become comfortable with the ninety-nine who attend Mass, contribute and participate, while forgetting those who have stopped coming. Some left because they were hurt, ignored, judged or disappointed. The Church must not only maintain those who are present; she must also search for those who are missing.
In the nation, we can celebrate economic growth, new projects and successful citizens while millions remain unemployed, hungry or forgotten. Development that leaves people behind is incomplete. A nation is not truly strong when the things that matter are not doing well but are abandoned.
Even in our friendships and communities, don't allow the loud, popular and influential people to receive all your attention while the quiet and weak person disappears unnoticed.
The Gospel challenges us: Who is the "one" around you that you have stopped noticing? A child, a friend, a parishioner, a neighbour, a colleague, or perhaps someone who has offended you?
God teaches us that one person is never just one person. Every person has dignity, value and a place in God's heart.
So, while we celebrate the ninety-nine, let us have enough love to go looking for the one.
God bless us all
We live in a world that celebrates numbers: majority, success, popularity and influence. We are often happy when the ninety-nine are doing well, but we easily forget the one who is struggling, missing or left behind. Yet in the Gospel of today, Jesus reminds us that God does not sacrifice the one for the sake of the ninety-nine.
Jesus tells us about a person shepherd who has ninety-nine sheep safe but refuses to ignore the one that has gone astray. The lesson is simple: the majority must never make us forget the individual.
In the family, we can celebrate the successful child while ignoring the one who is struggling. We praise the one who got a good job but condemn the one who is unemployed. We celebrate the well-behaved child but stop listening to the difficult one. Yet sometimes, the one causing the most trouble is the one who needs the most attention. Don't lose a family member because you were busy celebrating the others.
In the Church, we can become comfortable with the ninety-nine who attend Mass, contribute and participate, while forgetting those who have stopped coming. Some left because they were hurt, ignored, judged or disappointed. The Church must not only maintain those who are present; she must also search for those who are missing.
In the nation, we can celebrate economic growth, new projects and successful citizens while millions remain unemployed, hungry or forgotten. Development that leaves people behind is incomplete. A nation is not truly strong when the things that matter are not doing well but are abandoned.
Even in our friendships and communities, don't allow the loud, popular and influential people to receive all your attention while the quiet and weak person disappears unnoticed.
The Gospel challenges us: Who is the "one" around you that you have stopped noticing? A child, a friend, a parishioner, a neighbour, a colleague, or perhaps someone who has offended you?
God teaches us that one person is never just one person. Every person has dignity, value and a place in God's heart.
So, while we celebrate the ninety-nine, let us have enough love to go looking for the one.
God bless us all
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