Fr. Rick’s One Minute Homily – 12-07-2021

LOST AND STUCK  

In my first assignment in Galesburg, IL, I was chaplain of the city and county police departments. I road most nights with them. I noticed so many children walking the streets at night, wandering around like they were lost. And they were. For a variety of reasons, these children were runaways. These kids road the trains, and Galesburg was a place they stopped. 

 One child showed up at my door in the middle of the night. She was about 14. She ate till the cows came home. After she ate, she cried for me to take her home. It was a three-hour trip. We got to her house, rang the bell, and her father opened the door. I told him that his daughter was in the car. She wants to come home. He said, “I have no daughter,” and slammed the door. I cried to the car, and we both cried in the car. I dropped her off at a convent. The sisters knew where she could stay and get the proper help. That was over 40 years ago. It seems like it happened just yesterday. 

 “A man has a hundred sheep, and one goes astray.” (Matthew 18:12) 

 My friends, there is a Father who will never deny you and slam the door in your face. His Son is searching for you now. How are you going to come home to Him? A hint: Jesus will say, “Through my Death and Resurrection, I absolve you from your sins.” He makes it too easy for us. He loves us that much. 

Check out this page on “Return to Grace” https://www.dosp.org/welcoming-you-with-open-arms/  

Ignite the Fire  

Fr. Rick Pilger, IC 
 www.bscchurch.com