Sunday 18 June 2023 – XI Sunday in Ordinary Time

+ From the Gospel according to Matthew (9, 36 – 10, 8)

At that time, Jesus, seeing the crowds, felt compassion for them, because they were tired and exhausted like sheep that have no shepherd. Then he said to his disciples: «The harvest is abundant, but the workers are few! So ask the lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest!”
Calling his twelve disciples to himself, he gave them power over impure spirits to drive them away and heal every disease and every infirmity.
The names of the twelve apostles are: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James, son of Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James, son of Alphaeus, and Thaddeus; Simon the Canaanite and Judas the Iscariot, the one who later betrayed him.
These are the Twelve whom Jesus sent, ordering them: «Do not go among the pagans and do not enter the cities of the Samaritans; go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Along the way, preach, saying that the kingdom of heaven is near. Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give».

Word of the Lord.