11th Sunday in Ordinary Time
June 14, 2026
Our mission is not just not nurturing our own personal spirituality or even the spirituality of the Church; we have a mission to the world.
Matthew 9:36-10:8
At the sight of the crowds, Jesus’ heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.” Then he summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits to drive them out and to cure every disease and every illness. The names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon called Peter, and his brother Andrew; James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddeus; Simon from Cana, and Judas Iscariot who betrayed him. Jesus sent out these twelve after instructing them thus, “Do not go into pagan territory or enter a Samaritan town. Go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. As you go, make this proclamation: ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons. Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.”
REFLECTIONS ON THE GOSPEL
First Impressions by Jude Siciliano, OP
Jesus sees the “troubled and abandoned” crowds and he has a concern. He must have help to address their needs, So he calls together the Twelve – his first official disciples. He shares his vision with them; he invites them to see what he sees. They accept his invitation to follow him and to see with his eyes. But that doesn’t mean they would have gotten together socially – joined a bowling club together or had each other over for a 4th of July barbecue. We know that from the list and brief descriptions Matthew gives of the first disciples. Simon and Andrew were brothers. They probably got along, but what did their families think of their dropping their fishing nets to go off with the itinerant preacher? Not all families share our ideals. The woman I described said that her parents thought she could make more money working for a bank, or a brokerage house: after all, she has the skills necessary to lead a team and raise two million dollars. James and John were also brothers. Mark says Jesus gave them the nickname, “sons of thunder”—Boanerges. It doesn’t take much imagination to deduce how they got that name! Then there was Matthew himself, a tax-collector, a traitor to the cause of Israel because he collected taxes for the Romans. Simon was of the Zealot party. Zealots were super-nationalists, burning with zeal for the liberation of Israel. Some were terrorists against the Romans. I wonder what it would be like to invite the tax collector and the Zealot over for tea! There are moments in the gospel when the apostles’ diverging personalities flared and Jesus had to reign them in. How did he do that? By continually keeping their vision clear; reminding them of the purpose for which he invited them and by urging them not to follow their own interests and priorities. He said that if they wanted to follow him they would have to make personal sacrifices, put aside their differences and focus instead on the needs of others. “Pick up your cross daily.” Jesus brings this unlikely group together; he and his vision are the binding elements that keep them from fragmenting. Little by little he helps them look out at the world around them – with his eyes. He knows who they are; how different they are. And even though he is not finished with them yet; even though they may feel inadequate to the task, without degrees in Philosophy and Theology, not religious experts – he sends them out. They have been learning to see with his eyes and to notice and tend to those who are sick, those considered unclean, the lepers of society; the dead in body or spirit; those possessed of other spirits, who are “not themselves,” because they are crazed and distracted. Those Jesus sends are to invite the very ones Jesus would have invited, so that they too will learn and receive what the disciples learned and received from Jesus. Many of us here in church today probably aren’t part of the same social circles. We certainly aren’t all family members. Probably there are some here we’d wish would just go to another church! We are here, not because we are naturally drawn to each other, but because we were baptized. The same water was poured over us and the same words said, “I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” We have been called out, named the way the Twelve are named for us today. And like them, we too are sent. We are like that woman who works for the homeless. As she said, “Each of us has to look around us.” In some way, where we live, work, recreate and go to school, we are called to see with Jesus’ eyes, and act accordingly. No one can tell us exactly where and when we are to respond to Jesus’ call. We will just have to look out and see and hear the way Jesus did. And through our baptism, that is what we are being prompted and empowered to do. Today we pray for each of us: “Help us see what you want of us, help us not settle on being just occasional Christians, but “full time Christians.” Give us sensitive sight, your eyes, for the world. We pray too for those recently baptized, that our example will help them have vision and sensitivity to those who need them.”
Quotable
Galilee was neither a religious nor an intellectual center; it did not wield political power. According to biblical literature it appears to have been outside the mainstream of Israeli life...the Galilean Jews were regarded with patronizing contempt by the “pure-minded” Jews of Jerusalem. [As a mixed race, a person from ] Galilee was a sign of impurity and a cause for rejection. The Pharisees looked down upon “the people of the land” because they were ignorant of the law. The Sadducees looked down upon them because they were somewhat lax in matters of religious attendance and familiarity with the rules of temple worship...Yet throughout all this the Galileans maintained a refreshing originality in Judaism. It was a combination of the commonsense, grass-roots wisdom of practical experience, their more open and personal relations with foreigners and their relative distance from Jerusalem. Their hospitable and fertile land gave them a warmer, more optimistic outlook on life than the Judean Jew had...The Galilean faith in the god of the [ancestors] was thus more personal purer, simpler and more spontaneous. It was not encumbered or suffocated by the religious scrupulosities of the Jewish intelligentsia.
—Vigilio Elizondo in, GALILEAN JOURNEY: THE MEXICAN-AMERICAN PROMISE. (New York, Orbis Books, 1983) pages 54-5)
Justice Bulletin Board by Barbara Molinari Quinby, MPS, Director Office of Human Life, Dignity, and Justice Ministries Holy Name of Jesus Cathedral, Raleigh, NC
“I bore you up on eagle’s wings” —Exodus 19:4
The Israelites have escaped from the slavery of Egypt thanks to the Lord. Why did God do this? After all, the Israelites were mere slaves, the least of these. God acted out of love creating a sacred relationship. We will see that the Israelites do not always honor this relationship by failing to act in ways that testify to God’s compassion to others beyond their own. Whenever the Church becomes more attentive to her own well-being than to her mission to be Christ in the world, she fails to honor God. What is this mission to be Christ to the world? In his book, A New Way to Be Church: Parish Renewal from the Outside In, Jack Jezreel, founder of JustFaith, writes, “How can we possibly follow Jesus and not find ourselves in the company of our sisters and brothers who are hungry, homeless, and hopeless?…If our churches are not forming or trying to form real-life saints committed to the abandoned and downtrodden, then what are they doing?” (21-22). Jezreel believes “that every facet of Catholic life in most parishes is being shortchanged” because, as he writes, “the vision of God’s love and justice and Jesus’s proclamation of the reign of God and the life journey of compassion and integrity outlined in Catholic social teaching and the Gospels are central, critical ingredients of our mission, our self-identity, and our vision” (21). In most parishes, we have more ministries inside the walls of the church than those that go out beyond those walls. We must look at our parishes, and ourselves, and ask, “How much of the life of my parish is done outside its ‘walls’? What am I doing to be Christ in the world? The Vatican II document on the laity makes it clear that Christian social action is the laity’s pre-eminent work and goes so far to say that “the demands of justice must first of all be satisfied; what is already due in justice is not to be offered as a gift in charity” (8). Clearly, for the laity, this call to mission to be Christ to the world must be instilled as the way of Jesus and as the way to life with God. God bore us up on eagle’s wings so we can spread God’s love to others.
Faith Book
Mini-reflections on the Sunday scripture readings designed for persons on the run. “Faith Book”is also brief enough to be posted in the Sunday parish bulletins people take home.
From today’s Gospel reading:At the sight of the crowds, Jesus’ heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned like sheep without a shepherd.....Jesus sent out the twelve after instructing them thus... “As you go, make this proclamation: ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons. Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.”
Reflection:Many of us here in church today probably aren’t part of the same social circles. We are here, not because we are naturally drawn to each other, but because we were baptized. We have been called and named--- the way the Twelve were called and named for us in today’s gospel. And like them, we too are sent.
Through our baptism we are being prompted and empowered to see with Jesus’ eyes and respond to the needs of those around us--- where we live, work, recreate, go to school and in the world.
So, we ask ourselves: Can I name a specific way in which I have been called to follow and serve in Jesus’ name? What do I need to do to respond better to my call to be a Christian in the world?
Some Thoughts on Today’s Scripture
Jesus is addressing His disciples before he sends them out to heal, witness and cast out demons. He tells his disciples that all they have received from Him was free, without payment and now they must in turn do the same.
Every one of us is being called to be a harvester. Each one of us can reach a corner of the harvest field that is accessible to no one else. These include my family, my neighbours, my work colleagues and others who come into my life. I may be the only person who brings Jesus with his healing and compassion into their lives.
There are so many people who need to hear the message of love and compassion in their lives today. Where can I harvest?
Jesus was compassionate, living out a mission of mercy in proclaiming Good News and bringing healing. He gave authority to his disciples to do the same, asking them to do so generously. It was a gift that they had received and they were to share it in the same spirit. His kingdom was near, a kingdom of mercy that offered hope and love to all who would accept it.
I am part of a broken world that needs compassion. Jesus went out to all the cities and villages reaching out to those in need. In what way am I a lost sheep? How does that feel? In my prayer I ask the Lord to help me recognise and minister to the lost sheep of this time?
‘Curing every disease and every sickness’ is an essential part of the spread of the Gospel. It is not only the miracles of the saints or the work of the medical professionals, but we all have a duty to visit the sick.
Jesus asks us to pray that he sends labourers into his harvest. Again, it is not just the religious professionals, priests and religious, that he is going to send. We need to be open ourselves to being sent as ‘missionary disciples,’ like Pope Francis says.
Jesus had compassion on the people who were harassed and helpless. What about me? Do I feel the need of his help in some part of my life?
He tells us to pray to send labourers into his harvest. So, let’s do it! Am I free to help the mission in some way?
The Twelve are to perform cures, to cast out devils (and even to raise the dead - all in the day’s work, as it were). Indeed, something totally new has to be stirring!
A shepherd-king has suddenly arrived - Jesus, full of compassion, is bringing heaven close to earth.
Humanity is being launched on a new trajectory, is being taught the ways of a new kingdom - the people are being led forward from the ordeals of the past to a future that is all brightness.
Jesus, in this gospel account I see you engaging with vigilant eyes and ears to the cry of the suffering world of your day. To them you were the compassionate one, bringing balm to the wounded places of their lives.
Lord, the cries of the poor and broken hearted are evident in the mass migration daily beamed into my living room. Let me not forget that you summon me today, to be your eyes, your ears and your hands of compassion. May I respond with loving compassion to all who come to me.
Do I know any people who are harassed and helpless like sheep without a shepherd? Let me hold them before my mind's eye for a moment. Can I now imagine Jesus looking at them? How does he see them?
If I feel harassed and helpless, how does he see me? I ask for the grace to look on the world around me with the compassionate eyes of Jesus?
The compassion of God is meant to spread throughout the world. So Jesus calls others to action. The community of Sacred Space is also called. How strong is my compassion?
We ask for the blessing of energy and devotion to others in their time of need. We may do many things for them, and that is good. But sharing the Good News that God has ‘come near’ and is close to us may be the most valuable thing we can do for people in distress.
I travel in imagination with Jesus as he makes his journeys. I ask him what gives him so much energy to serve the sick, many of whom must have been frightening to look at and to touch. He chats with me about compassion, and I ask that my small heart may grow to be as compassionate as his. I sense his compassion toward myself, and it comforts me.
Jesus has a mission for me. Who are the ‘lost sheep’ today whom he may want me to help? Am I generous enough to do what he asks of me?
How do I see the crowds? Do I focus on their violence or mindless greed? But so many are like sheep without a shepherd, without direction. I am often like that myself. They call for compassion, as I give without payment. This is more complex than it seems. Lord, you do not tell me to avoid money as such, but to avoid payment for preaching the Gospel. I should give freely what I have freely received. In my prayer today I ask: What place does money have in my heart?
In Jesus' time, people believed that those who had serious psychiatric illnesses were 'possessed' by demons. Even today we talk of alcoholics as being possessed by the 'demon' drink. Maybe I need to examine my 'demons.'
Jesus' good news was the love and forgiveness of God poured out on people like you and me. When we love and forgive others, especially the poor and those on the margins, we spread the good news of God's kingdom, God's reign of love.
The harvest is plentiful and ripe. I think of the people around me and ask God to enlighten me to notice where there is opportunity to reap, gather or to acknowledge goodness. I bring what is good before God, giving praise and thanks.
There is so much good that is not noticed, so many blessings that are unacknowledged. I pray for a deeper appreciation of the rich harvest that is around me.
In the Gospels, sickness is clearly not treated as a mere medical problem. Once again, sickness (like sin and even like death) is ultimately ascribed to the activity of the Evil One. The demonic power was feared. So Jesus saw his mission as : hand-to-hand combat with the Enemy.
Even some of those meant to be spiritual leaders of the people, allowed their motivation to come under the diabolic influence – like the Pharisees here who perversely ascribe Jesus’ miracle to the devil-in-chief.
No wonder, then, that the people as a whole could at times feel confused, pulled this-way-and-that, harassed and dejected : Jesus was quite clear that they had both bad and good guides / shepherds.
Jesus had important work to do – the harvest – and was going to need co-workers to share his mission.
I bring to mind those who feel harassed and helpless. I pray for the compassion that Jesus had: that I may recognise those in need around me and be a shepherd to them.
Jesus recognised many missed opportunities as he looked at the people around him. I ask God to help me to recognise the rich harvest around me, that I may use the opportunities I might otherwise miss.
In face of the helplessness and harassment that many suffer, Jesus reminds us to turn to God. We work as though everything depended on us, but pray as though everything depended on God. He is the Lord of the harvest. It is his world, not ours. We do what we can, glad to be of service. But God did not create us to help him out of a jam. The work of the world's redemption is never complete. When we have done our best, we turn to our father in heaven and say: /Thank you for giving me a share in this work. Now over to you, Lord./
The heart of Jesus is characterised by compassion. He could enter into the lives of others, particularly the lost and the needy, and they knew he cared. He seemed to care for them with a greater care than sometimes they had for themselves. Sheep without a shepherd roam in circles and they may even be led off by a false shepherd. Thus it is with us. Prayer is the field where compassion may be sown, for those near and those far away.
I bring to mind those who feel harassed and helpless. I pray for the compassion that Jesus had: that I may recognise those in need around me and be a shepherd to them.
Jesus recognised many missed opportunities as he looked at the people around him. I ask God to help me to recognise the rich harvest around me, that I may use the opportunities I might otherwise miss.
The harvest is plentiful and ripe. I think of the people around me and ask God to enlighten me to notice where there is opportunity to reap, gather or to acknowledge goodness. I bring what is good before God, giving praise and thanks.
There is so much good that is not noticed, so many blessings that are unacknowledged. I pray for a deeper appreciation of the rich harvest that is around me.
Commentary on Matthew 9:35-10:1,6-8
The promises of the First Reading are shown being fulfilled in the person of Jesus in the Gospel, and they are arranged in two sections. First, Jesus is shown constantly on the move, teaching in synagogues all over the region, proclaiming the Good News of God’s reign coming among them and bringing healing to all who are sick and diseased. Matthew does not use the title of Good Shepherd for Jesus, but he does indicate the deep compassion of Jesus for all those are harassed and depressed, people with no direction in their lives, who are like sheep without a shepherd. Jesus is clearly the Shepherd who can lead them back to where they belong. Second, He then says to his disciples that there is a huge harvest waiting to be reaped. Up to this he has been working alone but he needs help, especially so after he is gone. There are very few people available to work in the harvest field. He then calls the Twelve and hands on to them his own powers to liberate people from evil powers and to heal all kinds of sickness. The harvest is still great and the need for labourers is as great as ever. In asking the Lord to send labourers into the harvest, we have to ask ourselves what is the role of each one of us. It is not just a question of priests and religious. Jesus was not talking to priests and religious (there was no such thing at the time the gospels were written) but to every one of his followers – to every one of us who has been baptised. Every one of us is being called to be a harvester. Each one of us can reach a corner of the harvest field that is accessible to no one else. These include my family, my neighbours, my work colleagues and others who come into my life. I may be the only person who brings Jesus with his healing and compassion into their lives. And what are we to do? Let people know that the Reign of God is very close, because God himself and Jesus are so close. Once we say Yes to God and his Son, they become part of our lives. And we are to do the same work he told his disciples to do:
Heal the sick: by our sympathy and support, which can often do more than any medical treatment.
Raise the dead: clearly not literally. But there are many who are intellectually, emotionally and socially dead. They are physically alive but they have stopped living meaningful lives. We can help them to find life again.
Cleanse the lepers: all those people who are on the fringes of society, whom we neglect, ignore, despise, reject, avoid. There are the dropouts, those suffering from addictions (drug, alcohol, pornography, etc.) the homeless, single mothers, ‘sex workers’… let them know they are accepted and loved by God.
Cast out devils: help people liberate themselves from the demons of fear, anger, hatred, violence, from drugs, alcohol, nicotine, sexual abuse (themselves and others), greed for money…
There are so many people who need to hear and to experience the message of Christmas. And, there are many, alas, for whom Christmas is bad news, a time of misery, depression and loneliness. Let’s change that.
PREPARATION FOR THE SESSION
Adapted from Sacred Space: The Prayer Book 2025
Presence of God: Jesus, As I come to you today, fill my heart, my whole being, with the wonder of your sacred presence. Help me to become more aware of your presence in my life, and more receptive to that presence. I desire to love you as you love me. May nothing ever separate me from you. (1-2 minutes of silence)
Freedom: Jesus, Grant me the grace to have freedom of spirit. Keep me from being bound by desires and actions that are not good for me or others. Cleanse my heart and soul that I may live joyously in your love. (1-2 minutes of silence)
Consciousness: Where am I with God? With others in my life? What am I grateful for? Is there something I am sorry for, words or actions that have hurt others, and which I now regret? I take a moment to ask forgiveness of God and of those whom I have hurt. God, I give you thanks for your constant love and care for me. Keep me always aware of your presence in my life. (2-3 minutes of silence)
OPENING PRAYER
Jesus, your good news of the love and forgiveness of God being poured out on people like me is both a comfort and a challenge. Help me to reflect your care and compassion to all those I meet. Help me to be disciple.
COMPANIONS FOR THE JOURNEY
From “First Impressions” 2023, a service of the Southern Dominican Province
Recently a woman described her work to me and brought this gospel to mind. She works for a charitable foundation that addresses the needs of homeless families, with special attention to poor children. As a baptized person she takes her vocation as a Christian very seriously. She said, “I never think of religion as something I do once a week at church—with a few prayers thrown in during the week for good measure. I realized years ago that my faith has to be the center of my life and influence everything I do, every decision I make—that I had to look out at the world with the eyes of Jesus. That’s what my baptism means to me.” My friend said she wanted to look out at the world with the “eyes of Jesus.” I think of her because of what Jesus saw in today’s gospel. It begins: “At the sight of the crowds Jesus was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned like sheep without a shepherd.” The woman I described said she became very aware of the needs of the poor. She felt that things were stacked against them. When budget cuts were made they were the first to suffer; they were the bottom of the totem pole—especially the homeless and those who had no political clout. So, she took a position with a small agency, an advocacy group for homeless families. “Frankly,” she said, “I earn less money than I would have elsewhere; but I believe I have a call.” She works and advocates for homeless families, working to get yearly grants to serve them. She has to raise two million dollars a year. She has a board of 30 volunteers who must work on that project of fund raising with her. “And that’s the rub,” she said, “those 30 people! They are very nice, but some drive me crazy! They are not always efficient and available. This last time, as we got down to the wire finishing off the paper work, I had the hardest time gathering their necessary signatures. A few left for vacation trips and hadn’t signed the proposal. I went chasing after them so we could meet the deadline and raise the crucial two million dollars we needed to serve our clients. We would collapse without the money and people would suffer. Some people could drive you crazy! The only thing that holds us together is our vision of the needs of others—those needy families. We have a project and we think alike on it. Thank God, otherwise there are days when I could strangle some of them!” Jesus sees the “troubled and abandoned” crowds and he has a concern. He must have help to address their needs, so he calls together the Twelve—his first official disciples. He shares his vision with them; he invites them to see what he sees. They accept his invitation to follow him and to see with his eyes. But that doesn’t mean they would have gotten together socially—joined a bowling club together, or had each other over for a 4th of July barbecue. We know that from the list and brief descriptions Matthew gives of the first disciples. Simon and Andrew were brothers. They probably got along, but what did their families think of their dropping their fishing nets to go off with the itinerant preacher? Not all families share our ideals. The woman I described said that her parents thought she could make more money working for a bank, or a brokerage house: after all, she has the skills necessary to lead a team and raise two million dollars. James and John were also brothers. Mark says Jesus gave them the nickname, “sons of thunder”—Boanerges. It doesn’t take much imagination to deduce how they got that name! Then there was Matthew himself, a tax-collector, a traitor to the cause of Israel because he collected taxes for the Romans. Simon was of the Zealot party. Zealots were super-nationalists, burning with zeal for the liberation of Israel. Some were terrorists against the Romans. I wonder what it would be like to invite the tax collector and the Zealot over for tea! There are moments in the gospel when the apostles’ diverging personalities flared and Jesus had to reign them in. How did he do
that? By continually keeping their vision clear; reminding them of the purpose for which he invited them and by urging them not to follow their own interests and priorities. He said that if they wanted to follow him they would have to make personal sacrifices, put aside their differences and focus instead on the needs of others. “Pick up your cross daily.” Jesus brings this unlikely group together, he and his vision are the binding elements that keep them from fragmenting. Little by little he helps them look out at the world around them—with his eyes. He knows who they are; how different they are. And even though he is not finished with them yet; even though they may feel inadequate to the task, without degrees in Philosophy and Theology, not religious experts—he sends them out. They have been learning to see with his eyes and to notice and tend to those who are sick, those considered unclean, the lepers of society; the dead in body or spirit; those possessed of other spirits, who are “not themselves,” because they are crazed and distracted. Those Jesus sends are to invite the very ones Jesus would have invited, so that they too will learn and receive what the disciples learned and received from Jesus. Many of us here in church today probably aren’t part of the same social circles. We certainly aren’t all family members. Probably there are some here we’d wish would just go to another church! We are here, not because we are naturally drawn to each other, but because we were baptized. The same water was poured over us and the same words said, “I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” We have been called out, named the way the Twelve are named for us today. And like them, we too are sent. We are like that woman who works for the homeless. As she said, “Each of us has to look around us.” In some way, where we live, work, recreate and go to school, we are called to see with Jesus’ eyes, and act accordingly. No one can tell us exactly where and when we are to respond to Jesus’ call. We will just have to look out and see and hear the way Jesus did. And through our baptism, that is what we are being prompted and empowered to do. Today we pray for each of us: “Help us see what you want of us, help us not settle on being just occasional Christians, but “full time Christians.” Give us sensitive sight, your eyes, for the
world. We pray too for those recently baptized, that our example will help them have vision and sensitivity to those who need them.”
LIVING THE GOOD NEWS
What action can you take in the next week as a response to today's reading and discussion? Keep a private journal of your prayer/actions responses this week. Feel free to use the personal reflection questions which follow.
Because of the failings of contemporary religious and political leaders locally and globally, who in our times are like “sheep without a shepherd?
Do I ever feel in need of the Lord’s compassion?
Do I truly experience the compassion of Jesus in the difficult events of my life?
Who are the troubled and abandoned in my little corner of the world?
Do I know anyone who is lost, rudderless, like a sheep without a shepherd?
Has there ever been a time when I felt overwhelmed by issues I had to deal with or tasks I had to accomplish?
Did I seek help?
How did I handle it?
Do I trust God?
Do I believe that God really loves and cares for me?
How has God demonstrated “kindness” to me?
What gifts have I received “without cost”?
What gifts have I given to others thus far in my life?
What is left for me to give?
How has God called me, specifically, to be a divine representative?
With whom have I shared God’s love?
Do I ever unconsciously blame people for the demons they are wrestling with such as addictions, mental health, loneliness, poverty?
Has there ever been a time in my life when it was clear that I was called upon to help another, or others?
What excuses do we commonly give for our inaction on behalf of those who need our care?
In this gospel, Jesus tells his apostles to go out only to the lost people of Israel, not to Samaritans or Gentiles. Does this bother you?
Do I understand the meaning of "the people of God"?
Who belongs?
Why?
Jesus suggests that the way to proclaim the fact that the Kingdom is at hand is to cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, drive out demons. What does this mean for me as a disciple in everyday terms ?
Jesus calls his disciples to “give without cost”. How does this mandate affect my attitudes about money?
What does this tell me about charitable giving and generosity to others?
Do I think of my money/possessions as mine or as God’s?
CLOSING PRAYER
Don’t forget to provide some prayer time at the beginning and at the end of the session (or both), allowing time to offer prayers for anyone you wish to pray for.
(Adapted from Sacred Space 2023, a service of the Irish Jesuits)
Jesus, in this gospel account I see you engaging with vigilant eyes and ears to the cry of the suffering in your world. To them you were the compassionate one, bringing balm to the wounded places in their lives. Lord, the cries of the poor and broken-hearted are evident in the news beamed into my living room daily. Let me not forget that you summon me today, to be your eyes, your ears, and your hands of compassion to all whom I meet.
FOR THE WEEK AHEAD
Weekly Memorization
(Taken from the gospel for today's session)
Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.
Meditations
A meditation in the Franciscan style/action: What are we to do with the mandate given to the Apostles, and by inheritance, given to us? A good place to start is with the corporal works of Mercy:
to feed the hungry
to give drink to the thirsty
to clothe the naked,
to give shelter to travelers,
to visit the sick,
to visit the imprisoned,
to bury the dead. (This can include being present to those who are grieving)
Spend some time at the end of each day reflecting on when you did more than avoid sin; but reflecting on the positive good you created by reaching out to others.
A meditation in the Ignatian style/imagination: (from Sacred Space) I travel in imagination with Jesus as he make his journeys. I ask him what gives him so much energy to serve the sick, many of whom must have been frightening to look at and to touch. He chats with me about compassion, and I ask that my small heart may to be as compassionate as him. I sense his compassion towards me, and it comforts me.
Literary Reflection
Father Ed Ingebretzen, S.J., captures the spirt of the gospel:
Lonely Christ
Lonely Christ
I pray to you.
You are a puzzle to me
as those I love
always are.
My soul is at odds
with the words.
What mad reach of mine
touches any thread of you?
Or what of mine, arms or eyes,
ever shares with people
where they may lie—
as they always do—
in a hard place!
What of mine shall make good
their taking of a breath,
their rising, caring, feeding
their sleeping in fear—
what shall make good
their slight faith,
their enormous promises
made in iron
for a child, man, a woman—
what of mine shall be with the people
as they caress a special grief
fondled again and again
In bludgeoned love?
What do I bring
with which to clutch
the merest hint of your shadow?
——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
Three very powerful movies tell the stories of those Jesuits and Trappists who, in times of oppression and danger, risked their lives—gave their lives, even, to help those who needed help and care.
The Mission
Silence
Of Gods and Men
