Tuesday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time
- Mary Jo Barr
- Jul 8
- 2 min read
Gospel Matthew 9:32-38
A demoniac who could not speak was brought to Jesus, and when the demon was driven out the mute man spoke. The crowds were amazed and said, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.”But the Pharisees said, “He drives out demons by the prince of demons.”
Jesus went around to all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom, and curing every disease and illness. At the sight of the crowds, his 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.”
REFLECTION
At the sight of the crowds, his 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.”
Jesus saw the crowds and they were without a leader. He thought that they looked lost and worried.
This past First Friday, our Church was unusually packed with people. I was curious and asked a couple of them after Mass if they were new to the neighborhood. They answered that they were looking for a Church where a priest was celebrating the Holy Mass and hearing Confessions. They shared that their Church had no Mass nor Confessions that day because the priest was on vacation and there was no other priest available to come help.
I began to wonder how many Catholic Churches in our area are in the same situation. In Galveston/Houston there are 1.7 million Catholics, there are 146 parishes, and there are 435 priests. There is a shortage of priests because they also serve hospitals, nursing homes and some are retired. According to the Diocese of Galveston-Houston there is 1 priest for every 2,000 Catholics.
How many young men are in St. Mary's Seminary? There are 77 candidates discerning the priesthood in the Diocese. This number of seminarians is below St. Mary's Seminary's capacity of 120.
“The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.” Jesus told his disciples to "ask the master" to send more laborers. What is the harvest? Who is the"master" and who are the "laborers." Jesus is telling His disciples that the harvest, the people, are abundant and we need to ask God the Father, the master, to find more laborers, more priests for His harvest.
PAPA prays for priests to be holy and for more vocations to the priesthood. Join us in praying the Prayer for Priests and our Prayer for Vocations.
References
Very informative. Praying daily for priests and vocations