Dear brothers and sisters, happy Sunday!

Today’s Gospel (Lk 10:1-12, 17-20) reminds us of the importance of the mission to which we are all called, each according to our own vocation and in the particular situations in which the Lord has placed us.

Jesus sends out seventy-two disciples (v. 1). This symbolic number indicates that the hope of the Gospel is meant for all peoples, for such is the breadth of God’s heart and the abundance of his harvest. Indeed, God continues to work in the world so that all his children may experience his love and be saved.

At the same time, Jesus says, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest” (v. 2).

On the one hand, God, like a sower, has generously gone out into the world, throughout history, and sowed in people’s hearts a desire for the infinite, for a fulfilled life and for salvation that sets us free. The harvest, then, is plentiful. The Kingdom of God grows like a seed in the ground, and the women and men of today, even when seemingly overwhelmed by so many other things, still yearn for a greater truth; they search for a fuller meaning for their lives, desire justice, and carry within themselves a longing for eternal life.

On the other hand, however, there are few laborers to go out into the field sown by the Lord; few who are able to distinguish, with the eyes of Jesus, the good grain that is ripe for harvesting (cf. Jn 4:35-38). The Lord wishes to do something great in our lives and in the history of humanity, yet there are few who perceive this, pause to receive the gift and then proclaim and share it with others.

Dear brothers and sisters, the Church and the world do not need people who fulfill their religious duties as if the faith were merely an external label. We need laborers who are eager to work in the mission field, loving disciples who bear witness to the Kingdom of God in all places. Perhaps there is no shortage of “intermittent Christians” who occasionally act upon some religious feeling or participate in sporadic events. But there are few who are ready, on a daily basis, to labor in God’s harvest, cultivating the seed of the Gospel in their own hearts in order then to share it in their families, places of work or study, their social contexts and with those in need.

To do this, we do not need too many theoretical ideas about pastoral plans. Instead, we need to pray to the Lord of the harvest. Priority must be given, then, to our relationship with the Lord and to cultivating our dialogue with him. In this way, he will make us his laborers and send us into the field of the world to bear witness to his Kingdom.

Let us ask the Blessed Virgin Mary, who generously gave her “yes” to participating in the work of salvation, to intercede for us and accompany us on the path of following the Lord, so that we too may become joyful laborers in God’s Kingdom.

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After the Angelus

Dear brothers and sisters,

With affection I greet all of you, faithful of Rome and pilgrims from Italy and from various countries. In the great heat of this time of year, your journey to pass through the Holy Doors is even more courageous and admirable!

In particular, I greet the Franciscan Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart; the pupils and parents of Strzyzow School and the faithful from Legnica in Poland; and the Greek Catholic group from Ukraine.

I also greet the pilgrims from Romano di Lombardia, Melia (Reggio Calabria), Sassari, and the Latin American community from the Archdiocese of Florence.

Greetings to the English speaking pilgrims. I would like to express sincere condolences to all the families who have lost loved ones, in particular their daughters, who were at the summer camp, in the disaster caused by flooding of the Guadalupe river in Texas in the United States. We pray for them.

Dearest friends, peace is a desire of all peoples, and it is the sorrowful cry of those torn apart by war. Let us ask the Lord to touch the hearts and inspire the minds of those who govern, that the violence of weapons be replaced by the pursuit of dialogue.

This afternoon, I will travel to Castel Gandolfo, where I intend to have a short period of rest. I hope that everyone will be able to enjoy some vacation time in order to restore both body and spirit.

I wish all of you a happy Sunday