May 11, 2025: Jesus Doesn't Stop Looking

Jesus doesn't stop Looking

Remember last weekend when I told you all about my “dislike” of cats? Well, I made that same announcement years ago at a Mass for Cathedral High School. I was a religion teacher back then. And of course—just like last weekend—I had a cat as a visual aid.

The cat belonged to a young adult I knew. I borrowed it before the school day and planned to return it afterward. Since the Mass was in the morning, I had to keep the darn cat in my classroom all day. Which was fine—the students were all excited to have a cat in class.

When lunchtime came around, I left the room to eat. But when I returned... no cat! What? It wasn’t anywhere in the room. Someone must have opened the door and let it out. So, for all of my afternoon classes, I explained the situation to the students and sent them out to look for the thing. I sent a group to the library, another to the gym, some outside (you get the idea). We looked everywhere—under this, behind that.

At the end of the school day… nothing. I even had it announced in the afternoon announcements: “Uh, Fr. Kevin has lost his cat. If found, please bring it to the office.” Still nothing. So, I had to call the young woman to explain the situation… which didn’t go so well. She and her boyfriend had recently broken up. Her response, through sobs: “Everything that I love leaves me.” Yikes.

In the Gospel, we hear Jesus speak the loving words of a Good Shepherd who doesn’t stop looking for us. Imagine that—even if you haven’t been coming to church often, or saying prayers regularly, or even if you’ve been doubting that there is a God—Jesus doesn’t give up on you. These are not just comforting words; they are a profound promise. A promise of presence, protection, and purpose. Jesus won’t give up on you, even if you give up on yourself.

Jesus is telling you that you are known. Not casually, but deeply. I like to imagine it’s like a good parent who never stops looking for a lost child. Specifically, moms (since it’s Mother’s Day), but dads too. Like the way a mother can recognize her child’s cry in a crowded room, Jesus hears us, recognizes us, and calls us by name. And that voice—His voice—is one of care, reassurance, and steady direction in the chaos.

Back to my missing cat story… that evening, when everything was quiet in the building, I heard a meow from the closet in my classroom. Now, we had looked in there a hundred times, but there was a hidden nook around the back where the kitty must have stayed all day. I was overjoyed. And I wanted to kill it. Wow. All was well.

As we celebrate the new pope whom I assume will do a great job just like the others before The supreme shepherd over all of us. I’d like to share with you something that Pope Francis from the hospital before he died. 

“The walls of hospitals have heard more honest prayers than churches...

They have witnessed far more sincere kisses than those in airports...

It is in hospitals that you see a homophobe being saved by a gay doctor.

A privileged doctor saving the life of a beggar...

In intensive care, you see a Jew taking care of a racist...

A police officer and a prisoner in the same room receiving the same care...

A wealthy patient waiting for a liver transplant, ready to receive the organ from a poor donor...

It is in these moments when the hospital touches the wounds of people, that different worlds intersect according to a divine design. And in this communion of destinies, we realize that alone, we are nothing.

The absolute truth of people, most of the time, only reveals itself in moments of pain or in the real threat of an irreversible loss.

A hospital is a place where human beings remove their masks and show themselves as they truly are, in their purest essence.

This life will pass quickly, so do not waste it fighting with people.

Do not criticize your body too much.

Do not complain excessively.

Do not lose sleep over bills.

Make sure to hug your loved ones.

Do not worry too much about keeping the house spotless.

Material goods must be earned by each person—do not dedicate yourself to accumulating an inheritance.

You are waiting for too much: Christmas, Friday, next year, when you have money, when love arrives, when everything is perfect...

Listen, perfection does not exist.

A human being cannot attain it because we are simply not made to be fulfilled here.

Here, we are given an opportunity to learn.

So, make the most of this trial of life—and do it now.

Respect yourself, respect others. Walk your own path, and let go of the path others have chosen for you.

Respect: do not comment, do not judge, do not interfere.

Love more, forgive more, embrace more, live more intensely!

And leave the rest in the hands of the Creator.”