“Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (Lk 12:32).
The little flock… They are those who remain faithful to the Father even in the midst of tribulation. Even when persecutions arise because the world rejects the Gospel, though confusion pervades even the Church, though apocalyptic plagues descend upon humanity and antichristian powers seek to dominate the world, our Father will preserve His own.
To see the glory of God in eternity and to taste a foretaste of it here on earth is what our Father desires for all people. But only if we are sincerely converted and live according to God’s will can we belong to the “little flock” to whom the Kingdom has been promised in this world.
Jesus exhorts this little flock not to be afraid. Again and again, we are called not to allow ourselves to be overwhelmed by confusion, but to look up to our Father, to whom our life is so precious (cf. Ps 116:15) that He guards it as the “apple of His eye”.
We must have boundless trust in our Father, who knows His sheep and calls each one by name (cf. Jn 10:3). Even when they are in the desert, He will lead them to the oases they so desperately need. He has promised them the Kingdom, and no one will be able to snatch them out of His hand (Jn 10:29), because He loves them and does not want any of them to be lost.
Since the “little flock” is sure of God’s love and already experiences a foretaste of His Kingdom here on earth, it is called to go out in search of those who do not yet know the green pastures of God, or who have abandoned them, or who continue to seek their happiness in pastures that can never satisfy them.