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.” (Mt 9:35-10:1, 5a, 6-8)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/120322.cfm
After telling the disciples to ask the “master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest,” he then sends THEM out. Like them, we think that the Lord wants to call other people to the work of evangelization when really Lord sends US! Perhaps that’s why Pope Francis keeps reminding us that we are “missionary disciples.” Saint Francis Xavier was a companion of Saint Ignatius of Loyola and one of the first Jesuit missionaries to carry the gospel to Asia.
These reflections are a result of more than 40 years of ministry as a Roman Catholic priest. Most of these years I spent in the Diocese of Charlotte which covers Western North Carolina. Now I am retired, and live in Medellín, Colombia where I continue to serve as a priest in the Archdiocese of Medellín.
Saint Francis Xavier, presbyter, December 3
