Weekly Reflection

Laborers Needed

Today’s scriptures employ mixed metaphors— images of sheep and shepherds, priests and people, harvest and laborers—all of which intermingle to create a web of meaning on which we have based our understanding of Christian vocations.

Above all, these images help us see Christian vocations as an extension and expression of Jesus’ own ministry in the world. They lend themselves especially well to a reflection on the vocation to ordained priesthood.

The scriptures for today help us understand the role of the ordained in the life of the Church. They also encourage us to pray for an increase in the number of candidates for priestly ordination, for “the harvest is abundant but the laborers are few” (Matthew 9:37).

Our Mission

Those who sincerely accept the Good News, through the power of this acceptance and of shared faith therefore gather together in Jesus’ name in order to seek together the kingdom, build it up and live it. They make up a community which is in its turn evangelizing. The command to the Twelve to go out and proclaim the Good News is also valid for all Christians.