06/15/2026
Sunday June 14, 2026. 11th Sunday in the Ordinary Time of the year A
Green: ⛪🌳🌴☘🌲📖
📖1st Reading: Ex. 19:2-6
Responsorial Psalm: Ps. 99 🎺🎻🎷🎶 🎼 (R.v. 1) We are His people, the sheep of His flock.
📖2nd Reading: Rm. 5:6-11
Alleluia! Alleluai!!
The sheep that belong to me listen to my voice, says the Lord, I know them & they know me. Alleluia!
📖Gospel Reading: Mt. 9:36-10:8
Theme: *Called to be Apostles!*
🎤Reflection:
➕Getting to the wilderness of Sinai from Rephidim, the Israelites pitched their camp facing the mountain. Moses then went up to God on the mountain, where God instructed him to remind the Israelites of His deeds in Egypt & how He carried them on eagle’s wings & brought them to Himself. Hence, obedience to His voice & steadfastness to His covenant would guarantee them as His people; a kingdom of priests, a consecrated nation. It would be a fulfillment of Ezekiel's prophecy where Israel like a shoot from the top of the Cedar planted on a high & lofty mountain, would flourish with leaves & fruits nesting birds of all kinds. He would bring the lofty trees down & raise tall the lowly.
➕Moved to pity by the sight of the harassed & dejected crowds looking like sheep without a shepherd, Jesus lamented the richness of the harvest & the paucity of workers; praying the Lord to send laborers to His vineyard. Summoning His disciples, He gave them authority & power to cast out unclean spirit & to cure all kinds of illnesses. These were the 12 apostles: Simon Peter, Andrew; James & John; Philip & Bartholomew; Thomas & Matthew; James & Thaddaeus; Simon & Judas Iscariot, the one who was to betray Him. He sent out, instructing them not to step into pagan territories or any Samaritan town; but to go to the lost sheep of the House of Israel. They were to proclaim that the kingdom of heaven was close at hand; curing the sick, raising the dead, cleansing lepers, & casting out devils. They received without charge, they were to give without charge.
➕As a loving Father, God more than ever cares for His children. Having chosen them specially, He always feels their pulse in order to support them in their needs be it spiritual or material at any point in time. His protective shield over them is absolutely top-notch. Hence, while Moses in unequivocal terms reminded the Israelites the marvelous deeds God did for them as His consecrated people in the 1st Reading, filled with empathy for the crowds' desperation, Jesus, in the Gospel, appointed the Twelve to boost the missionaries' capacity in the Lord's vineyard!
➕Dearest apostles of the modern age, the post resurrection injunction of Christ saw Him instructing His apostles to go & make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the Trinity (cf. Mt. 28:20). Clearly, in this injunction, He made the Sacrament of Baptism (which He underwent Himself), a veritable means of incorporation into His Mystical Body. Every baptized, therefore, shares in His threefold mission as a priest, a prophet, & a king. St. Peter, espousing this privileged position of sharing in Christ's priesthood, prophethood, & kingship, classified the baptized as a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a consecrated people...(1Pt. 2:8-9).
➕This Petrine notion actually originated from the Old Testament, as the 1st Reading indicates, where Israel, chosen by the Lord, was under His full protective care. His choice of them would later be extended to the rest of humanity who shares in Abrahamic descendence. Consequently, in making more claims for the expansion of the consecrated people, no more sanguinely but sacramentally, Jesus selected the 12 (representing the 12 tribes) who were to be *sent out* for this great mission. He called them Apostles!
➕At a time when the call for witnessing to the kingdom of God is higher, the Holy Mother Church invites us, the modern day apostles, to embrace Christ's mandate through a conscientious evangelization. She expects us considering the era in which we are to do it from the lens of corporal works of mercy: 1️⃣Feeding the hungry, 2️⃣Giving drink to the thirsty, 3️⃣Clothing the naked, 4️⃣Welcoming strangers, 5️⃣Visiting the sick & homebound, 6️⃣Visiting the imprisoned, 7️⃣Burying the dead & over & above all, 8️⃣Suing for equity, justice, & peace. In other words, we are being conscripted to make up for the lack of laborers in our various fields of endeavor.
➕Most importantly, apostleship is a 'doing word' which is actionable in going out & accomplishing a mission just as Jesus' apostles did. God wants to populate more the circle of His chosen ones. That was why He didn't hesitate to send His only Son to die for us even while we are still sinners. By His death, Jesus made us righteous, reconciling us to His Father. Let us, therefore, go out to minister to our brothers & sisters in our families, schools, clubs, offices, markets etc., using every possible means of communication including the Social Media platforms (Pope Francis calls it the Church in Uscita). For woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel (1Cor. 9:16).
🙏Let us pray: Sender of missionaries, equip us properly in our apostleship. May we never backslide or be found wanting in the accomplishment of our missionary work. Amen!
🙏We pray for all those who work in building of God's kingdom, may they lead exemplary lifestyles demonstrating in words & deeds their calling. May they be imbued with the grace sufficient for the tasks. Amen!
😁Have a blessed Sunday!
🙌He has consecrated us to Himself!
