Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

Dear friends in Christ

In the Gospel of Mass this Sunday we hear about the vastness of the harvest but with few labourers available to reap it. The same is the case in the world and Church today: there are too few labourers for the work to be done. The harvest will be lost if there is no one to go out and gather it. So there is a pressing need for us to be Christians filled with joy that is effective in bringing souls to Christ. We are all involved and implicated, since God can use any of us right where we are: students at university, workers on the shop-floor, teachers, politicians and social workers…all of us trying to build-up God’s Kingdom and together make a difference. We can make many excuses for not bringing others to Christ—lack of means, inadequate formation in the Faith, busy lives. However, God continues reminding all of us in these times that the harvest remains great and the labourers few. As Saint John Chrysostom once preached: There is no one colder than a Christian who is uninterested in the salvation of others. You must not use your poverty as an excuse. The widow who gave her mite will accuse you…Nor should you use your lack of knowledge as an excuse. The Apostles were unlettered men..and do not use your poor health as an excuse. Timothy was frequently ill. Each of us can be useful to our neighbour if we do all that we can. We might also ask: what am I doing to win vocations to Christ and His Church, to the Priesthood and Religious Life? Let us ask God for the grace to promote and encourage the call of God, directed perhaps to people we are in contact with daily. Let us live our vocation with great trust and constancy.

God bless you!

Msgr Kevin Hale