"So the shepherd leaves the ninety-nine in the mountains to go and look for that one sheep. He leaves them where they are. He does not worry about protecting them from the cold or wild animals. He does not surround them with a fence so that no others get lost. All his thoughts are focused on the lost sheep. For him, that one sheep now matters more than the ninety-nine. If the Lord is this shepherd, then the believer may wonder if he would really leave all the sheep to search for one, if he would really lose all his joy for the Church if even one soul were missing. And as he asks himself this question – and this is why this parable is told – it will suddenly occur to him how great the Lord's love and attachment is, not only to everyone, but to each individual, and how fragile and delicate is the joy he feels for the flock, since it depends on the response of the individuals who make it up. If a voice is missing from the choir, it is missed in the singing. If he counts his own and one is missing, then for the Lord the number has become discrepant. And it is not up to those who remain to console the Lord for his loss. What needs to be settled is a matter between the Lord and the sheep that has been lost. For this alone, the Lord takes on the whole sacrifice. The others remain on the mountain, in danger, they see the Lord walking away and feel abandoned, without guidance, but the guidance is entrusted to them; they just have to stay where they are. So that when the Lord returns from his search, he does not have to start all over again, with the second sheep, with the sixtieth, with the last one."