The grace of God is boundless, infinite. We as Christians are called to work within that grace. It is our field, our place of work. It is where we grow, as both individuals and community members. It is where we have the incredible gift of building the kingdom of heaven.
This is no mean feat. It takes conversion and reconversion; it requires all the strength that we have as mere mortals called to sanctity.
It is worth asking ourselves, on a daily basis: what is our labour? How are we going to build that kingdom? Whilst we are called to sanctity by answering the invitation to discipleship, the road is a distressingly difficult one. There will be pitfalls beyond any measure that we have experienced before.
Jesus, as the Good Shepherd, is our sustenance for that difficult road. He will feed us, nourish our spiritual life, develop us within the infinity of his grace. We need only acquiesce to his will, reach out in gratitude and freedom, and answer that call.
It is a daily call, not just a one-off. We must realign, recentre. We are here at Mass to do just that: to recentre in Jesus, the Way, Truth and Life.
Let us follow Jesus in as good a way as we can, then, striving to make an impact on that harvest, and labouring in joy and gratitude.
GOSPEL
The Lord be with you
And with your spirit.
A reading from the Gospel according to Matthew 9:36-10:8
Glory to you, O Lord
When Jesus saw the crowds he felt sorry for them because they were harassed and dejected, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is rich but the labourers are few, so ask the Lord of the harvest to send labourers to his harvest’.
He summoned his twelve disciples, and gave them authority over unclean spirits with power to cast them out and to cure all kinds of diseases and sickness. These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon who is 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 Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, the one who was to betray him.
These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them as follows:
‘Do not turn your steps to pagan territory, and do not enter any Samaritan town; go rather to the lost sheep of the House of Israel. And as you go, proclaim that the kingdom of heaven is close at hand. Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out devils. You received without charge, give without charge.
The Gospel of the Lord
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.