The laborers.

Lectionary: 384
Reading 1
Responsorial Psalm
Gospel
St. Maria Goretti

"The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few..." The gospel the last two days have shown Jesus healing the sick. I struggle with these gospels because my son is sick with a chronic disease and I pray for his healing every day. Still, he suffers. Today's saint was a mere child (12 years old) when she suffered and died. She lived and died with grace and a devout faith and became an example to all of us. Maybe it's not about how we are healed, but more about how we suffer.
One more thing: Our children can suffer with various ailments: learning disabilities, behavioral disorders, ADD, drug addiction, asthma, food allergies, and the list goes on and on. As parents, watching your child suffer and struggle is the hardest thing in the world. Take courage, as I believe that Jesus is calling us, as moms, to be the laborers in his vineyard. We are the ones who become His hands and feet as we tend to them, hold them, drive them to tutoring, encourage them, go to teacher meetings, read food labels, and try to alleviate their suffering as best we can.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, I pray that you heal my child of his affliction, just as you did the mute man in the gospel. Help me to minister to my child as you would, so that his healing can be a means to spread your gospel and love. In your name I pray. Amen. St. Maria Goretti, pray for me.