June 14, 2026
In this Sunday’s Gospel, we hear that Jesus looked upon the crowds and His heart was “moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd.”
I have always loved that image. Jesus sees people. He notices their burdens. He notices their struggles. He notices their pain. And His heart is moved.
Sometimes people think God is distant from human suffering. But the Gospel reminds us otherwise. Jesus looks upon His people with compassion. I think many people today feel exactly as the Gospel describes. Troubled. Overwhelmed. Lost. Lonely. People are searching for hope. Searching for peace. Searching for meaning. And so Jesus says, “The harvest is abundant, but the laborers are few.”
The Church still needs laborers. We need priests. We need religious sisters and brothers. We need faithful Catholics willing to share the Gospel by the way they live. Not everyone is called to ordained ministry. But every Christian is called to bring Christ to others. A kind word. A visit to someone who is lonely. A prayer for someone who is hurting. An act of forgiveness. A simple invitation to come back to church. These things matter more than we realize.
Jesus tells the apostles: “Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.” Everything we have is a gift from God. And we are called to share those gifts generously with others. May we never grow tired of being workers in the Lord’s harvest.
I remember you at Mass.
