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This November, with a nod to the American Thanksgiving holiday, Contemplative at Home will pray with stories on the theme of Gratitude.

In this episode we are with Luke 15:3-10, the shepherd who rejoices over a found sheep and a woman who rejoices for her found coin, stories which point us to the angelic rejoicing when a sinner repents.  “Sinner” and “repent” are both slightly loaded words, so I invite you to unpack them a bit… an imperfect creature turning towards healing, growth, wholeness, life… this may take myriad different forms at different times. 

While you may be moved by any number of things in this text, I bring it to you as a study in gratitude. Perhaps you reflect on what means the most to you, what you would scour every corner to find once again, to how you have felt in the past when something precious returns to you. Perhaps you reflect on your own gratitude, or on the gratitude God feels in response to your journey of healing and growth, your journey into His heart.

We open with a short prayer by Fr Finbarr Lynch : “Take Lord, the little that I offer, the tiny one I am, and give me the all that I hope for, the much that is you”

Before moving on to the text:

Then Jesus told them this parable: “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.

“Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

Thank you for being here and every blessing as you pray.

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Contemplative at Home offers guided meditative prayer – space to slow down and listen to the truth that is being born out of God’s love for you today – drawing on Ignatian spirituality and at times, Lectio Divina.

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All music by Pete Hatch.