top of page
Saint Gertrude Parish - Lasne
June 14, 2026
On this page you will find:
The readings for Mass, the Mass leaflet with the choice of hymns
A sample universal prayer available for download, in PDF and editable Word formats.
A meditation on the Sunday Gospel, a spiritual text and commentary by Marie-Noëlle Thabut
11th Sunday of the T O
"The harvest is plentiful,
but there are few workers.
Therefore pray to the Lord of the harvest
to send workers for his harvest.
Matthew 9:36 – 10:8
Readings from the Mass
Mass leaflet
Universal Prayer
Consult the Lectio Divina page, which invites you to read the Gospel in a prayerful atmosphere so that you may be touched in your heart. It is important not to rush to read commentaries or homilies before having this personal experience of encountering Christ in Scripture.
Next, if you wish, you can read the meditations below which will enrich your personal reading and meditation.
MEDITATION POPE FRANCIS
I wish to express my gratitude to all those who, during my stay at Gemelli Hospital, showed me their affection, concern, and friendship, and assured me of their support through prayer. This human and spiritual closeness was a great help and comfort to me. Thank you all, thank you from the bottom of my heart!
Today, in the Gospel, Jesus calls the twelve apostles by name—by name—and sends them out. As he sends them, he asks them to proclaim one thing: “As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near’” (Mt 10:7). This is the same message with which Jesus began his preaching: the kingdom of God, that is, his loving lordship, has drawn near; he is coming among us. And this is not just another piece of news, but the fundamental reality of life: the closeness of God, the closeness of Jesus.
Indeed, if the God of heaven is near, we are not alone on earth, and even in difficulties, we do not lose faith. This is the first thing to tell people: God is not distant; He is Father. God is not far away; He is Father; He knows you and loves you; He wants to hold your hand, even when you walk steep and rugged paths, even when you fall and struggle to get back up and continue on your way. He, the Lord, is there with you. Moreover, often in moments when you are weaker, you can feel His presence more strongly. He knows the way; He is with you; He is your Father! He is my Father! He is our Father!
Let us remain with this image, for proclaiming that God is near invites us to see ourselves as a child walking while holding his father's hand: everything appears different. The world, vast and mysterious, becomes familiar and safe, for the child knows he is protected. He is not afraid and he learns to open himself up: he meets other people, makes new friends, joyfully learns things he didn't know, then he goes home and tells everyone what he has seen, while growing within him the desire to grow up and do the things he saw his father do. This is why Jesus starts from this point, this is why the closeness of God is the first proclamation: by remaining close to God, we overcome fear, we open ourselves to love, we grow in goodness, and we feel the need and the joy of proclaiming.
If we want to be good apostles, we must be like children: sit "on God's knees" and look at the world with trust and love, to testify that God is Father, that He alone transforms our hearts and gives us that joy and peace that we cannot obtain for ourselves.
To proclaim that God is near. But how to do it? In the Gospel, Jesus recommends not saying many words, but performing many acts of love and hope in the name of the Lord; not saying many words, but doing deeds: “Heal the sick,” he says, “raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give” (Mt 10:8). This is the heart of the proclamation: free witness, service. I tell you one thing: “those who talk too much” always leave me very perplexed, with their long speeches and their nonexistent actions.
Let us therefore ask ourselves a few questions: we, who believe in God's presence, do we trust Him? Do we know how to look to the future with confidence, like a child who knows he is being held in his father's arms? Do we know how to sit on the Father's lap through prayer, through listening to the Word, through receiving the sacraments? And finally, closely united to Him, do we know how to inspire courage in others, to draw closer to those who suffer and feel alone, to those who are far away, and even to those who are hostile to us? This is the concrete aspect of faith; this is what matters.
And now, let us pray to Mary, that she may help us to feel loved and to convey closeness and trust.
AR — DE — EN — ES — FR — HR — IT — PL — PT
POPE FRANCIS
ANGELUS
Place Saint-Pierre, Sunday, June 18, 2023
[ Multimedia ]
Homily
Draw from the source
“The crowds were weary and dejected…” This is the sad state of the people of Israel described in the Book of Exodus. But God does not remain indifferent to this tragedy. He called Moses to lead his people out of slavery. Having reached the end of their journey, this people is called to a review of their lives: “Remember all that you have received from the Lord despite your unfaithfulness…” It is all of this that you must bear witness to; by the way you live, you must show all peoples what a life renewed by the covenant truly is.
In his letter to the Romans (second reading), the apostle Paul emphasizes the immensity of God's love. Christ gave his life not to reward our merits; we had nothing to do with it; only the blood of Christ made us righteous. Through his death and resurrection, we are reconciled with God; we are already saved. What is asked of us is to open our hands and our hearts, to welcome this life of Christ, and to allow ourselves to be transformed by him.
In the Gospel, Saint Matthew shows us Jesus' compassionate gaze upon the crowds. He sees them bewildered and dejected, like sheep without a shepherd. What concerns him is not only the distress of each individual, but above all their lack of leadership. They have no one to guide them.
Jesus then made a decision: he called his disciples and asked them to pray to his Father to send missionaries to these bewildered crowds. He then proceeded with the recruitment. The Gospel tells us of the twelve apostles whom Jesus called. He sent them on their mission. Initially, they were to limit themselves to the people of Israel; they were to heal the sick, raise the dead, and cast out demons; above all, they were to proclaim that the Kingdom of God was near; God loves all people and desires their happiness. After Pentecost, this good news would be proclaimed to the whole world. The workers of the eleventh hour would receive the same salvation as those of the first.
This Gospel speaks to us; it prevents us from being indifferent to the physical and moral suffering that afflicts our world. We cannot help but be moved by the material, spiritual, and moral distress of the masses today; many live in disarray and discouragement. Children and young people live without guidance or a future; believers leave the churches because they do not feel welcomed or heard there. They find no answers to their questions.
Faced with this dramatic situation, the most urgent decision is to pray: “Pray to the Father to send out laborers into his harvest…” The Kingdom of God cannot come without our prayer; if we pray to the Father, it is to align ourselves with his love, to draw us into his will. We ask him to transform us so that we may become passionate and effective laborers for the harvest.
This is important because too often we tend to lament the harshness of our times and the uncertain future. We need to rediscover an optimistic and generous outlook. It is through prayer that we learn to love as the Father loves. It is Jesus who asks this of us: “Love one another as I have loved you.” We learn to love the world in God's way, to love the Church despite its weaknesses.
After prayer, Jesus chose the Twelve to entrust to them the mission of the Gospel. He thus laid the foundations of what the Church should be: “a missionary people” sent to all nations. Like the apostles, we are all sent to proclaim that the Kingdom of God is near; this is our mission as baptized and confirmed Christians. Like Bernadette of Lourdes, we are not charged with making people believe, but with speaking and bearing witness; the rest is the work of the Holy Spirit; he goes before us and acts in the hearts of those he places on our path.
During this Eucharist, we turn to the Lord; we ask him to teach us to have the same view as he does of the bewildered crowds of today; to give us strength and courage to bear witness each day to the hope that animates us.
Understanding the Gospel
with Marie-Noëlle THABUT
THE MISSION OF GOD'S EMAILS IS A MISSION OF HEALING
The men of the Old Testament had discovered that God is the God of mercy, that is to say, that he looks down on the misery of man; in turn, the evangelist presents Jesus as the one who is filled with compassion: the two words, mercy in Hebrew and the Greek word translated here as compassion, express the emotion that grips the heart in the face of all suffering; an emotion that is not only of the order of feeling since, very concretely, it is accompanied by a work of healing.
It is clear that the mission of God's messengers (whether Jesus or the apostles) is a mission of healing: to be convinced of this, one only needs to look at the itinerary of Jesus' journey, as Matthew has just described it: Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching, proclaiming the Kingdom, and healing… then, when he calls his disciples, what Matthew notes first, even before giving us their names, is "Jesus gave them authority to drive out unclean spirits and to heal every disease and sickness"… finally, when Jesus gives his apostles the program of their mission, he tells them, "Proclaim that the Kingdom of Heaven has come near. Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons."
At the same time as they proclaim the Kingdom, the Lord's messengers are therefore called upon to give signs of it. And the best proclamation of the Kingdom is victory over evil in all its forms. But for this to happen, one must be deeply moved by the sight of the world's suffering.
It is not only in the face of individual suffering that Jesus feels compassion, but also for his people: “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” The four evangelists, each in their own way, present Jesus as the one who comes to gather the chosen people, a way of saying that in him the promises of the Old Testament are fulfilled; for the awaited Messiah was often presented in the guise of a shepherd. For example, this is how Ezekiel announced him: “I will rescue my sheep, and they will no longer be prey. I will judge between sheep and sheep. I will raise up over them one shepherd, and he will tend them: he shall be my servant David. He will tend them and be their shepherd.” (Ezekiel 34:22-23).
Regarding the people, you have noticed Jesus' recommendation: "Do not go to the Gentiles and do not enter any city of the Samaritans... Go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel," which can be translated as "begin with the chosen people; it is they who will then convert the Gentiles"; this means that in Jesus' mind, it is quite clear that Israel remains the chosen people, whose mission is to convert the world.
YOU RECEIVED FOR FREE: GIVE FOR FREE
I now come to the last piece of advice Jesus gives to those he sends out: “Freely you have received; freely give.” This sums up the entire program of our life of faith in two propositions: first, God’s gift is free: let us welcome this gift freely. Then, second, let us, in turn, learn to live freely.
These two points, and particularly the first, are very difficult for us; let's address them one after the other: first point, "God's gift is free"; this is the very meaning of the word "grace." But, strangely enough, we have a terrible time accepting that God's gift is completely free; the proof is that we are still often tempted to keep score in our relationship with him; we don't dare believe that God gives us everything freely without waiting for us to accumulate merit!
The second point is "give freely": in other words, "act like God." This means several things: first, "like God, expect nothing in return," seek neither esteem nor glory nor love; let everything be selfless, for this is how God acts: "Beware of practicing your religion in front of others to attract their attention… So when you give to the needy, do not boast about it… But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret…" (Matthew 6:1-4). Nor should you expect love: "If you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others?… Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous." » (Mt 5:44-47).
Finally, to love your brothers and sisters, don't wait for them to deserve it. This means saying, "Never let anyone hear you say, 'Those people aren't worth anything…'" You are constantly being saved and freely forgiven; in turn, learn to forgive, help, and lift up unconditionally. And if we want to fully emulate the one who sent us, we must be able to call forth harvesters ourselves without relying on excessive guarantees. Jesus didn't conduct many interviews before choosing his apostles, but he trusted them. Nothing suggested that the fishermen by the lake, the tax collector (collaborator), and the zealot (resistance fighter) could ever form a reliable and effective team; yet Jesus didn't hesitate to entrust them with the harvest because time was of the essence; as everyone knows, a harvest doesn't wait!
bottom of page