The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few

10 JULY (Mt 9,32-38)

That of the “sheep without a shepherd” is the dominant theme throughout the Old Testament, especially in the prophetic revelation. All the prophets see the spiritual disaster of the Lord’s people, and attribute it to bad shepherds who do not take care of the sheep entrusted to them. God sees this situation of universal disbandment; and through the prophet Jeremiah promises that he himself would have sent shepherds after his own heart: “Return, rebellious children, says the Lord, for I am your Master; I will take you, one from a city, two from a clan, and bring you to Zion. I will appoint over you shepherds after my own heart, who will shepherd you wisely and prudently. When you multiply and become fruitful in the land, says the Lord, They will in those days no longer say, “The ark of the covenant of the Lord!” They will no longer think of it, or remember it, or miss it, or make another. At that time they will call Jerusalem the Lord’s throne; there all nations will be gathered together to honor the name of the Lord at Jerusalem, and they will walk no longer in their hardhearted wickedness. In those days the house of Judah will join the house of Israel; together they will come from the land of the north to the land which I gave to your fathers as a heritage. I had thought: How I should like to treat you as sons, And give you a pleasant land, a heritage most beautiful among the nations! You would call me, “My Father,” I thought, and never cease following me. But like a woman faithless to her lover, even so have you been faithless to me, O house of Israel, says the Lord. A cry is heard on the heights! the plaintive weeping of Israel’s children, Because they have perverted their ways and forgotten the Lord, their God. Return, rebellious children, and I will cure you of your rebelling. “Here we are, we now come to you because you are the Lord, our God. Deceptive indeed are the hills, the thronging mountains; In the Lord, our God, alone is the salvation of Israel. The shame-god has devoured our fathers’ toil from our youth, Their sheep and their cattle, their sons and their daughters. Let us lie down in our shame, let our disgrace cover us, for we have sinned against the Lord, our God, From our youth to this day, we and our fathers also; we listened not to the voice of the Lord, our God.”” (Jer 3,14-25).

Even Jesus, the good shepherd sent by God to gather his scattered flock, sees that the sheep are in a miserable state. Apart from true God, He is also a true man and no man, due to his structural limitations, which are of his nature, even if most holy; might gather all the sheep of God that are in the world. Jesus knows that there is need of many shepherds, many workers, many people who dedicate themselves to this ministry. However, who must send shepherds is his Father. It is up to him to send shepherds after his own heart. Nevertheless, man must remind him it with a heartfelt, uninterrupted prayer, without any rest. However, the prayer must be the result not of a need that he sees, but of his immense love for the sheep he wants all in the fold of God: all safe, all redeemed, and all starting down the path of holiness.

As they were going out, a demoniac who could not speak was brought to him, and when the demon was driven out the mute person spoke. The crowds were amazed and said, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.” But the Pharisees said, “He drives out demons by the prince of demons.” Jesus went around to all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and curing every disease and illness. At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.”

It is compassion for the sheep that must transform our hearts into a house of perennial prayer from which one voice arises: “Lord Send workers into your harvest. I lay down my life for the salvation of your sheep. But I cannot reach them all. I am a finite, limited, and small person, I have little might. For your name’s sake, for the love of Jesus Christ, the good shepherd of all your sheep, give still and always shepherds after your heart.” When the heart pray for love, compassion, mercy, from Heaven the Lord listens and the workers flock and the sheep find refreshment.

Virgin Mary, Mother of the Redemption, become our voice before God and ask for workers for his harvest. Angels, and Saints intercede without interruption.