Dear readers, today we welcome on board Nick Netto, who grew up a Sunday Catholic with the occasional Novena until he found a community in the Catholic Student’s Society at the National University of Singapore (NUS), where he walked in faith and service with others.
After graduation, Nick got caught up in worldly pursuits and often complained about the length of masses while managing two young children with his wife.
It was God’s providence that allowed Nick to attend the Conversion Experience Retreat (CER) in 2018 without having to ballot! Since then, he started rebuilding his relationship with God, stumbling many times along the way. It was only from 2025 that Nick started serving at St. Anne’s Church and the family ministry (Gen145) at the Catholic Spirituality Centre (CSC).
Aug 11 – Memorial for St. Clare, virgin, religious founder
St. Clare (1194-1253) loved music and well-composed sermons. She was humble, merciful, charming, optimistic, and chivalrous. She would get up late at night to tuck in her sisters who’d kicked off their covers. She daily meditated on the Passion. When she learned of the Franciscan martyrs in Morrocco in 1221, she tried to go there to give her own life for God, but was restrained. Once, when her convent was about to be attacked, she displayed the Sacrament in a monstrance at the convent gates and prayed before it. The attackers left.
Toward the end of her life, when she was too ill to attend Mass, an image of the service would be displayed on the wall of her cell; thus, her patronage of television.
- Patron Saint Index
Eze 2:8-3:4
Mt 18:1-5,10,12-14
“Similarly, it is never the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones should be lost.”
Today’s gospel passage brought me back to a moment over 20 years ago. In a community that I was a part of, a new leader had been elected, and the vision they had for the community was based off this same gospel passage, but with the ‘strategy’ of focusing on the 99 sheep lest they be lost. I recall being perturbed by this, but said nothing at the time.
By all means and account, if I were to use ‘human’ or even corporate thinking, the strategy of focusing on the 99 sheep made sense – we were exercising prudence and managing risk by tending to and protecting our flock, making sure they did not stray from the community. Surely, retaining 99 sheep was a much better outcome than jeopardizing them for just one lost sheep. So, the ‘strategy’ in my anecdote was not surprising as our community had lost members over the preceding year and doing so was probably a defense mechanism against such future losses.
Yet, the gospel passage tells us that finding that one lost sheep gives more joy than if the flock of 99 stayed intact.
Reflecting on this further, there may be varied reasons why we do not reach out to ‘lost sheep’. As evident from the earlier scenario, one possibility could be due to anxiety about what would happen to the flock if we were to divert our attention elsewhere – would wolves come and devour the sheep in our fold? Yet such thinking, though logical, appears to stem from pride in our ability to ward off spiritual attacks on the flock, and ultimately that we, and not God, are in charge.
The reality is that even if we stayed with the 99 sheep, there is no guarantee that they would not stray. And more importantly, we are called to entrust our flock to God as we seek out the lost sheep. It is not a dichotomy, but both should be pursued concurrently.
Let us look at the early apostles as an example.
As the early church grew, there was a need to balance the needs of sustaining new church communities while continuing to spread the gospel. From my perspective, Barnabas, Paul and others appeared to balance this trade-off well: they nurtured these Christian communities, discerned and appointed leaders to shepherd these peoples, prayed over and checked in on them while continuing to spread the gospel elsewhere; all the while, entrusting these communities to God. It was never a question about stopping their evangelization, but more about how they would continue doing so, while ensuring their communities were supported.
This also highlights what needs to be done to build up communities and help them grow in faith. It is a natural tendency for groups (families, parishes, ministries) to form some sort of equilibrium where all entities get accustomed to playing specific roles. At the same time, this could also limit growth. Like the early apostles, there is a need to continually discern God’s will, exercise humility to let go of roles we may be playing, identify and nurture leaders to step up, while reaching out to others outside these communities. A truly missionary community cannot be a closed system that doesn’t grow.
How then can we reach out to the lost sheep?
Personally, I find this the most challenging part. Perhaps many of us do not reach out to lapsed Catholics, or even those outside our faith, because we may not know what to say, are afraid of how we may be perceived, or even that those we reach out to may get offended. Even among family and close friends, it can be challenging to bring them back to the faith.
It dawned on me only last year that if we are unable to share our faith with someone, it just means that we don’t love them enough. Well, this would make sense if the person were an acquaintance or stranger, but how about those closer to us? I repeat – you don’t love them enough. Let me explain.
If you are not willing to talk to your dad, mum, son, daughter, spouse, sibling, BFF, bae, fiancé, friend, colleague, whoever it may be… about returning to the faith, or stopping their sinful ways, then you don’t really love them. You are not concerned about what happens to their soul for all eternity. You are just worried about what you stand to lose if they do not take your message well.
This is self-love.
The gospels of Luke (12:53) and Matthew (10:35) both speak about conflicts that may arise from following Christ. In the context of cultures where harmony is revered and dirty laundry is best not aired in public, it is understandable that most would choose to ‘let live’ and hold their tongue. Yet the consequences of this could be eternal.
Do you love that person enough to try bringing them back to the flock, even if it means you might lose that relationship here on earth?
This is not easy, and I don’t pretend that it is. I, myself, am uncertain about how one could strike the balance between being prudent and charitable on one hand, while still being unequivocal about the need to repent and come back to God. Yet we know that it is not our work but the Holy Spirit who converts — we just need to be willing instruments that send the invitation to that lost sheep.
Brothers and sisters,, I will leave you with a prayer that I recently got to know and started praying: the Litany of Humility. The reasons why we may not reach out to the lost sheep around us are varied. At the same time, a number of the reasons could be related to pride — as some of the petitions in the Litany of Humility illuminate. Hence, in order for us to reach out to the lost sheep, we might have to ask Jesus to deliver us from our desire to be loved, from our fear of being humiliated or despised.
As the verse in this reflection compels us – it is our duty, as the people of God, to discern how we could be instruments to bring back those ‘little ones’ that are lost. Whom is God calling me to reach out to this week?
(Today’s OXYGEN by Nick Netto)
Prayer: Heavenly Father, Jesus our Good Shepherd, Holy Spirit, all glory and praise is yours. I am sorry for the times that I was so caught up with the daily grind that I failed to notice, or when I let fear or pride prevent me from reaching out to, the lost sheep around me. I pray that you deliver me from all that is preventing me from reaching out to my fellow brethren.
Thanksgiving: I thank you for granting me all the graces I need to do your Holy Will. Amen.
OXYGEN 
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