Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time 
By Sr. Marie Prefontaine, SNDdeN
Matthew 9: 36- 10:8
In todayÕs Gospel, we hear something very tender about the heart of Jesus:
ÒHe saw the crowds and had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.Ó ÊBefore Jesus teaches, before he sends, before he performs any miracleÑheÊlooksÊand heÊfeels. He sees peoplesÕ weariness, their longing, their searching. ÊAnd he is moved to compassion. It is a deep, divine tenderness that refuses to remain distant. JesusÕ compassion always becomes mission. His mission begins with a heart that is moved with compassion.
Jesus turns then to the disciples and says something surprising ÒThe harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers.Ó It is striking that Jesus begins not with action, but with prayer. ÊBefore we go out in mission, we must go inward into the heart of God. The mission of the Church is rooted not in our own strategies or strengths or even our work, but in knowing GodÕs desire to gather his people and heal their wounds.
Next, Jesus does something even more surprising: the very ones he told to pray for laborers become the laborers themselves. ÊJesus entrusts them with his own authority:
* Cure the sick Ñ heal those whose hearts are aching.
* Cleanse the lepers Ñ restore those whom society pushes to the margins.
* Cast out demons Ñ free people from fear, loneliness, shame, rejection.
* Raise the dead Ñ bring hope to someone who has lost it.
Every act of compassion is a small resurrection. Every moment of mercy and goodness brings light.Ê In other words: restore life where life has been diminished, restore dignity where it has been denied, restore hope where it has grown faint, be goodness in action. The disciples went in mission because JesusÕ heart had already transformed their hearts. They simply gave away what they had received from Him: love, mercy, patience, forgiveness.
Today Jesus still looks upon our world with compassion and desires goodness. He sees the crowds, he sees us Ñ exhausted by division, burdened by fear, scattered by injustice, searching for meaning and belonging. ÊAnd once again he sendsÊall of usÊas disciples.Ê Like Jesus, we live surrounded by people who feel harassed, vulnerable, and marginalized. The question is: Do we allow our hearts to be moved as JesusÕ was moved and then sent to bring compassion and goodness?Ê Jesus sends us not with fear, not with a sense of obligation, but with the same compassion that moved his own heart, to bring goodness.Ê The Gospel invites us today to let compassion interrupt our schedules, soften our judgments, and shape our mission. To pray for laborers Ñ and to be ready for the possibility thatÊweÊare the ones God will send.Ê Because the harvest is still plentiful. And we, the laborers, are still called Ñ called to pray and to love.
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Matthew 9: 36- 10:8
When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. ÊHe said to his disciples, ÒThe harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.Ó
Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.
These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John;ÊPhilip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.
These 12 Jesus sent out with the following instructions: ÒDo not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans.Ê6ÊGo rather to the lost sheep of Israel. As you go, proclaim this message: ÔThe kingdom of heaven has come near.Õ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.
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Meet Sister Marie Prefontaine, SNDdeN

Sister Marie Prefontaine serves part-time as the Executive Assistant to U.S. SNDdeN Leadership and part-time as Coordinator of Irish Apostolate USA providing pastoral support to Irish Center chaplains and serving incarcerated Irish citizens in the United States. Previously, she ministered in the Archdiocese of Boston, the Diocese of Worcester, Mass., and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in the Office for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Refugees in Washington, D.C., to provide coordination for pastoral, educational and legal outreach among immigrants, refugees and migratory populations served through parishes and other Catholic institutions. She continues to assist the Congregation with immigration petitions for SNDdeNs working in the United States and serves on the Notre Dame Mission Volunteer Board of Directors. She has a passion for interculturality experienced among migrant communities both in the United States and worldwide.