Gospel (Mt 18,12-14) - At that time, Jesus said to his disciples: «What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go and look for the one that is lost? Truly I say to you: if he succeeds in finding it, he will rejoice over it more than over the ninety-nine that were not lost. Thus it is the will of your Father who is in heaven, that not one of these little ones should be lost."

The commentary on the Gospel by Monsignor Vincenzo Paglia

Jesus presents himself as the good shepherd: his first task is to be merciful above all to the poor and sinners. And to make people understand the quality of his mission, he tells the parable of the lost sheep. What happens if a sheep gets lost? The spontaneous reaction of the good shepherd - of the Father who is in heaven and of him, says Jesus - is to leave all the others in the fold and start looking for the one that is lost until he finds it again. Jesus does not take the sheep's guilt into consideration at all, he only recalls the shepherd's responsibility not to lose it. The loss of a sheep, even just one, does not diminish the shepherd's care for it, but rather increases it. The evangelist adds that if he finds it "he will rejoice over it more than over the ninety-nine that were not lost". Jesus makes it clear once again that the Father's will is that no one should be lost. Indeed, the Father sent him to earth for this very reason, to seek and find what was lost and bring it home. The Lord, unlike our indifference, takes care of everyone. We could say that he becomes a beggar of affection and love for each of us. This is the quality of the love that must reign in the life of Christian communities. Every disciple must have the same care as God for each brother and sister. It is from a love like this that the joy and celebration of fraternity is born.