Gospel: Matthew 9: 35 - 10: 1, 6-8
Whenever vocations are discussed in the Church, this passage is inevitably referenced on every prayer card for vocations - the harvest is great, the laborers few, send workers...What is often overlooked, however, is the job description and context in which Jesus utters these words. He stands in the midst of the diseased, possessed, and hungry - healing, liberating, feeding them all. He instructs his disciples to go out and do likewise, living simple, humble lives. That is the job.
There are plenty of people who want to don the habit and to dress in liturgical finery day after day. The number is legion who have the best in phylacteries and tassels, ready for any public spectacle. But few there are who will sit with the sick and dying, visit the imprisoned, care for the refugee and foreigner. Few there are who will care for the hungry, thirsty, homeless, and naked. Few there are who will take up the basin and towel.
The job description is clear enough. Those in these various needs are many, their number will only increase in the coming months and years. Who will come forward to answer the call? When we pray for vocations, it is to this call for which we pray. When we discern a vocation, it is to this mission and work that we consider. If the Lord Jesus has done so for us, so we must do for others in our world.
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