Dear Parish Family,
Look at the three readings this Sunday side by side and one message emerges loud and clear: God chooses people — to send them on mission.
That is exactly what Bishop Gruss is asking of us this year in the Year of the Holy Spirit for the Diocese of Saginaw. The timing is not a coincidence.
You Are a Kingdom of Priests. (Exodus 19:2–6a)
At Mount Sinai, God tells Moses something remarkable — if the people keep His covenant, they will be His “treasured possession” and a “kingdom of priests.” In the ancient world, priests were the ones who carried the presence of God to others. God was not simply saying “you are Mine.” He was saying “you are Mine for a purpose.” That purpose has not changed. Every baptized Catholic is part of that priestly people. We are not spectators in the pew. We are carriers of God’s presence in the world.
You Were Rescued for a Reason. (Romans 5:6–11)
St. Paul reminds us that Christ died for us “while we were still sinners” before we earned it, before we deserved it. Salvation is entirely God’s gift.
This matters enormously for how we go on the mission. We are not sent because we are impressive or talented or clever or experienced. We are sent because we are loved and rescued. We go not with pride, but with gratitude. That changes everything about how we approach someone who is far from God.
The Harvest Is Right in Front of Us. (Matthew 9:36–10:8)
Here is the heart of today’s Gospel. Jesus travels through every town and village. He looks at the crowds — tired, troubled, lost and His heart is “moved with pity” for them because they are “like sheep without a shepherd.”
That image is not ancient history. It describes our neighborhoods, our workplaces, our own families. People who are lonely. People who walked away from the Church. People who have never heard the Gospel in a way that reached them.
Jesus does not look at the crowd and turn away. He turns to His disciples and says:
“The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.” Matthew 9:37–38
And then, without waiting, He sends the Twelve. He gives them His own authority. He tells them to cure the sick, raise the dead, and drive out demons. And then He says something we must not rush past:
“Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.” Matthew 10:8
The sending did not stop with the Twelve. It continues in us through Baptism, Confirmation, and the Holy Spirit dwelling in us right now.
The Year of the Holy Spirit Is a Year of Mission.
Bishop Gruss proclaimed this Year of the Holy Spirit calling us to become “more missional focused” and reminding us that this mission begins “with the power of the Holy Spirit.”
Today’s Gospel is the blueprint. Jesus saw the crowd. He prayed for laborers. He sent them out and He is sending us too.
The question is not whether we are called. We are. The question is whether we will respond to the call of Jesus and go.
Three Practical Steps This Week:
Pray for laborers — starting with yourself. Jesus said “ask the master of the harvest.” Spend five minutes this week asking God where He wants to send you — in your neighborhood, your workplace, your family. The Year of the Holy Spirit begins one prayer at a time.
Look at the crowd around you. Pay attention this week to people who seem troubled, lonely, or lost. We do not need a program to reach them. We need the compassion of Christ which is already ours through the Holy Spirit. Start with one person. Ask how they are really doing.
Come to the Sacraments as fuel for the mission. We cannot give what we do not have. Go to Confession. Come to Mass with fresh eyes. Let the Eucharist and the Spirit send us, as Jesus sent the Twelve, back into the world ready to serve.
FOR REFLECTION THIS WEEK
1. Do we live as though we carry the presence of God into every room we enter — at work, at home, in the neighborhood? What would change this week if we did?
2. When we think about someone who seems far from God, do we lead with the mercy that found us or with judgment? Which one looks more like Jesus?
3. Who is that crowd in our life right now? And is the Holy Spirit asking us to be the laborer sent to them this week?