Petition: Lord, fill me with apostolic zeal for the salvation of souls.

 

Gospel Passage: Matthew 9:36-10:8

 

When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest." Then Jesus summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, with power to drive them out and to cure every disease and every sickness. These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon, also known as Peter, and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed him. These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: "Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. As you go, proclaim the good news, ´The kingdom of heaven has come near.´ Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. You received without payment; give without payment."

 

Introductory Prayer:

 

Jesus, teach me to be zealous for souls as you taught your first Twelve Apostles. Shed your divine grace upon me and make me sincere in my self-giving and in my desire to bring all souls closer to you. May your name be praised now and forever through Christ our Lord.

 

1. "The harvest is rich but the laborers are few."

 

Souls need you! It pains Jesus to see so many souls in the Church lost in their spiritual journey. So many no longer nourished through a life of prayer and the sacraments. These souls thirst for Christ and yearn to be set free by the power of his grace, yet they have no one to guide them. Christ needs us, his laborers, to bring them the saving message of the Gospel.

 

"Today there are many baptized Catholics who live as though they weren't. Their mentality is pagan, their conduct and decisions leave God out. It is in this secularized world that Christ's envoys urgently need to be heard, ...We must no longer be satisfied with waiting for them to come to the churches. We must go out and seek them" (Letters of Father Marcial Maciel, LC, Apostles of the New Evangelization).

 

2. " So ask the Lord of the harvest to send laborers to his harvest."

 

The grace of conversion flows from the loving heart of our Heavenly Father. Therefore as disciples, as men and women of the Kingdom, our first task in collaborating with Christ in the salvation of souls is to pray. "Ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock and the door shall be opened." Our action and our work to reap the harvest must first begin on our knees.

 

3. "You received without payment; give without payment."

 

"The disciple of Christ must not only keep the faith and live on it, but also profess it, confidently bear witness to it and spread it" (Catechism of the Catholic Church, #1816). Faith is a free gift from God, and it is meant to be shared and multiplied. So many souls are searching but still have not found Christ. Why? Because they need to see the faith lived. We are called to be living witnesses of faith.

 

"Faith is a source of action and lasting optimism. It becomes an instrument of apostolate when we radiate it through our words and actions and those who don't posses it desire it." (Letters of Father Marcial Maciel, LC, Envoy III, p.23).

 

Conversation: Lord Jesus, thank you for the gift of faith. I know you hear my every need and desire. I desire today to freely share my faith with others so that through my example of prayer and work for the salvation of souls others may come to know and love the message of the Gospel.

 

Questionnaire:

 

1. How do I think God will answer my prayer for more laborers in the harvest?

 

2. Do I ask Christ to increase my faith so that I can be the disciple he wants me to be? Am I putting my faith into action, bringing Christ and his Gospel to others?

 

3. What are the greatest needs I see around me? What are the greatest needs of the world?