Asks for Quality not Quantity (Mt 9:35 – 10:1)

The Gospel today emphasizes on the following certain truths:

1. Jesus saw the needs of the people and pitied them. Among us are people who have eyes but cannot see; who can see but are afraid of the troubles and responsibilities.  It takes a compassionate heart like Jesus to see the needs of others.
2. Jesus appeal to pray to God to send laborers is both an invitation and a reminder: It is an invitation to acknowledge that it is God who sends laborers, that He is the source of help and grace. It is a reminder that being sent means to serve and not be served, and that service entails doing the will of He who sends.
3. Jesus’ appeal proves that He wants us to participate in His mission. Thus, we must pray not for the increase in numbers of laborers but for those who agreed to labor for the sake of the Gospel; the one ready to serve and do the will of the Father.
4. Jesus being a Servant himself labored for our salvation. In the same manner he/she who knows his/her role and purpose in life is he/she who is ready to do the ‘job’. Because one sees not with one’s eyes but with one’s heart. The Cure of Ars, whose memorial we celebrate today exemplifies a ‘laborer’ who by seeing the needs of his parishioners sees for himself his role and the purpose why he was called and sent.