Matthew 9: 32-38
After they had gone away, a demoniac who was mute was brought to Jesus. And when the demon had been cast out, the one who had been mute spoke; and the crowds were amazed and said, “Never has anything like this been seen in Israel.” But the Pharisees said, “By the ruler of the demons he casts out the demons.”
Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and curing every disease and every sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”
New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.
Boundless Compassion
In many Bibles, the latter half of today’s Gospel is referred to as “the Compassion of Jesus.” Jesus’s compassion here is two-fold. First, Jesus has boundless compassion towards the needy. He is so open and so desirous of the good of others that his heart is moved simply by the sight of them. Even after the non-stop work of teaching, proclaiming, and curing diseases, Jesus does not turn away from the needs of the people. He continues to look for them, to see them in their need, and to allow his heart to be moved by them. At the same time, Jesus does not exhort the disciples to work more intensely, nor does he say that the work is too much for them. Jesus shows compassion to those whom he labors with by calling them, accompanying them, and sending out more labors alongside them into the harvest.
Today let us pray for the grace to notice how Jesus is moved by us, labors for us, and shows us how to have compassion like him.
—Jon Herrington, SJ, is a Jesuit scholastic of the Midwest Province studying philosophy at Fordham University in New York City.
Prayer
O God, what will You do to conquer
the fearful hardness of our hearts?
Lord, You must give us new hearts,
tender hearts, sensitive hearts,
to replace hearts that are made of marble
and of bronze.
You must give us Your own Heart, Jesus.
Come, lovable Heart of Jesus.
Place Your Heart deep in the center of our hearts
and enkindle in each heart a flame of love
as strong, as great, as the sum of all the reasons
that I have for loving You, my God.
O holy Heart of Jesus, dwell hidden in my heart,
so that I may live only in You and only for You,
so that, in the end, I may live with You eternally
in heaven.
Amen
—St. Claude de la Colombière, SJ