“Rejoice, O hearts that seek the Lord!”

I struggled a little with the readings this morning. I was reading St. Paul and asking the Holy Spirit to help me understand what God was trying to tell me. To show me the words I needed to hear.

But then I changed my prayer just a little.

Instead of asking the Holy Spirit to show me something, I asked Him to help me seek God. To truly seek Him, to draw nearer to Him through His Word.

And wouldn’t you know it, things started coming together.

First, St. Paul tells us that he considers everything a loss compared to the supreme good of knowing Christ Jesus. Then the Psalm tells us, “Rejoice, O hearts that seek the Lord!”

I kept coming back to that word. Seek.

Then I got to the Gospel, the familiar parable of the lost sheep. I read it twice. Nothing.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s a beautiful parable. How wonderful is it that the Good Shepherd is constantly looking for us? That no matter how far we wander, He doesn’t give up on us.

But for some reason, that wasn’t where my thoughts were going this morning.

Then I went back and noticed something in the very first sentence of the Gospel.

“The tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to Jesus.”

There it was!

They were seeking Him!

Think about that for a minute. These were sinners, people who certainly didn’t have everything figured out. But they were drawing near to Jesus. They wanted to hear Him.

And here is Jesus, telling them about a shepherd who goes looking for his lost sheep.

God is constantly seeking us, and yet we have to be willing to seek Him too.

That made me wonder how often I go through the motions. I say my prayers, read Scripture, go to Mass, and try to do the right things. All good things, of course. But am I truly seeking God? Am I really trying to grow closer to Him, or am I sometimes just doing what I’ve gotten accustomed to doing?

There’s a difference.

I don’t think seeking God means we have to have some great spiritual experience every morning. Heck, I read the Gospel twice today and got nothing! But I kept looking. I asked the Holy Spirit to help me draw closer to God, not just find something interesting in the readings.

And maybe that’s part of what it means to seek Him. To want to know Him better. To keep turning toward Him, even when we don’t feel like we’re getting anywhere.

Yesterday, I spent some time praying about Psalm 131 and the stillness of my soul. I got to thinking about a lake.

When the wind blows across a lake, the surface gets stirred up. But the deeper the lake, the less those winds disturb what’s underneath. And eventually, the wind stops blowing.

I want my faith to be like that deep lake.

I’ve got responsibilities, problems to solve, decisions to make, and things that weigh on me. Sometimes I hold on to them too tightly. I want to fix things. I want things to work out the way I think they should.

I know I struggle with letting go.

Even the Gospel acclamation this morning reminded me of those familiar words from Jesus, “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.”

I’m beginning to see that rest a little differently. It doesn’t mean my problems magically disappear. It means I can trust God with them.

I still have to do my part. I still have to work hard, make decisions, and take care of my responsibilities. But once I’ve done my part, I need to learn to hand it back to the One who gave it to me in the first place.

And that’s where seeking God comes back into the picture.

If I want that deep, still lake kind of faith, I have to keep drawing closer to Him. I can’t expect my faith to deepen if I’m not seeking the One who gives me that faith.

I can’t expect to trust Him more if I’m not trying to know Him better.

And I can’t expect to find rest in Him if I insist on carrying everything myself.

Maybe that’s what St. Paul is getting at when he says everything else is a loss compared to knowing Christ. Not that our responsibilities and the things of this world don’t matter, but that none of them compares to knowing Him.

The deeper my relationship with God becomes, the less those winds ought to shake me. Not because life gets easier, but because my trust in Him grows stronger.

And I know that kind of faith doesn’t happen overnight. I suspect learning to let go will be a lifelong challenge for me.

But I can seek Him today. And tomorrow. And the day after that.

The Good Shepherd is already looking for me. The question is whether I’m making the effort to draw nearer to Him.

So my prayer today is simple. Lord, help me truly seek You. Not just go through the motions, but genuinely desire to know You and grow closer to You. Deepen my faith, strengthen my hope, and teach me to let go of the things I cannot control. Help me do my part faithfully and trust You with the rest.

The Good Shepherd is already seeking you. Are you truly seeking Him, and what might He be inviting you to let go of so you can draw closer to Him?

I pray you get the graces you need today.

Keep up the good fight.

I’m praying for you. Please pray for me.

Scripture: Philippians 3:3–8a | Psalm 105:2–3, 4–5, 6–7 | Luke 15:1–10