GOSPEL MEDITATION - ENCOURAGE DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF SCRIPTURE

June 14, 2026

11th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Matthew 9:36-10:8

A few years ago, I met a woman in my parish who was a successful lawyer. Yet in her free time, she poured her energy into a nonprofit she founded to advocate for children with special needs. When I asked what inspired her, she spoke of her niece, who was born with disabilities. Her niece was both a glorious gift and a constant challenge. Out of that painful, beautiful experience, she felt called to create something lasting for other children and parents. The nonprofit thrived, not because she had mapped it all out, but because she was deeply moved to act.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus is “moved with compassion” for the crowd, for they were “like sheep without a shepherd.” (Matthew 9:36) So he calls his disciples, ordinary men with no special qualifications, and sends them to heal, preach, and cast out demons. Their mission flows not from their skills but from his authority and the Spirit’s gifts.

The Second Vatican Council teaches that the Spirit continually pours out charisms, special graces for the good of the Church and the world (cf. Lumen Gentium 4 & 12). These often arise from the unfolding of our lives: from what breaks your heart, what fills you with hope, what suffering has shaped you. The Spirit works through those very experiences to equip us with gifts that build up others.

What is your charism? Well, what needs around you call you to loving action? This could be where Christ is sending you. Allow your heart to be moved like Christ’s. Then get to work.


— Father John Muir


PRAYER – FOR EVERYDAY AND EVERYBODY


Prayer of Discipleship

Dear Jesus,

You’ve called every soul to yourself, aware of our faults and failures, but also our gifts, perspectives, our talents, and our dreams. As we grow to know you, help us to more fully understand ourselves and, in doing so, to use our unique positions to spread your love to the world.

Amen.



(PRACTICING) CATHOLIC - RECOGNIZE GOD IN YOUR ORDINARY MOMENTS

By Colleen Jurkiewicz Dorman


Laborers

“The harvest is abundant, but the laborers are few.”

This excerpt from Matthew’s Gospel has become a catchphrase in the modern Church. We give ourselves vertigo with the amount of head-shaking we do over the much-lamented “decline in numbers.”

Which numbers, you ask? Well, take your pick — numbers of baptized Catholic children who continue to profess their faith in adulthood, numbers of registered parishioners, numbers of priests ordained each year. All are a fraction of what they were generations ago.

That last one — the priests — that’s a particular worry for us, isn’t it? So we pray, “Send us laborers, Lord! Make them holy. Make them earnest.”

And then we add, in the silence of our hearts: “Make them perfect.”

It’s no secret that part of the reason the pews are empty is because we often find it hard to love the Church if we find it hard to love a particular priest, a particular bishop, or a particular human representative of the Church.

Because that’s the thing about priests and bishops and all the laborers in the field: they are human. They are sinners. Just like you and me.

We must consider this: today’s Gospel lists the Apostles whom Jesus sent out in ministry to heal, console, and evangelize, and right at the end — like a record scratch — comes the name of Judas Iscariot, the betrayer. If ever a laborer failed in his work, it was Judas.

And surely, when he did, his fellow laborers were so demoralized and so disenchanted that they considered laying down their tools and leaving the harvest to wither and die.

But they did not, and we must not.

Without cost we have received, and without cost we are called to give.

So we labor on, for the day is drawing to a close, and the threshing time is near.



11th Sunday in Ordinary Time / June 14, 2026

11º Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario / 14 de junio de 2026

SUNDAY'S READINGS - EXCERPTS TO PLACE IN YOUR COMMUNICATIONS

First Reading:

Therefore, if you hearken to my voice and keep11th Sunday in Ordinary Time / June 14, 2026

11º Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario / 14 de junio de 2026

SUNDAY'S READINGS - EXCERPTS TO PLACE IN YOUR COMMUNICATIONS

First Reading:

Therefore, if you hearken to my voice and keep

my covenant, you shall be my special possession, dearer to me than all other people, though all the earth is mine. (Ex 19:5)

Psalm:

We are his people: the sheep of his flock. (Ps 100)

Second Reading:

But God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us. (Rom 5:8)

Gospel:

At the sight of the crowds, Jesus’ heart was moved

with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd. (Mt 9:36)


my covenant, you shall be my special possession, dearer to me than all other people, though all the earth is mine. (Ex 19:5)

Psalm:

We are his people: the sheep of his flock. (Ps 100)

Second Reading:

But God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us. (Rom 5:8)

Gospel:

At the sight of the crowds, Jesus’ heart was moved

with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd. (Mt 9:36)


Patron Saints

Question:

Why are some saints honored as “patron saints”?

Answer:

Each person is unique and each of us has different gifts, interests, talents, and, yes, even struggles and areas where we need to grow. This is no less true of those holy women, men, and children who have been canonized or beatified.

Because we believe that the saints and blesseds are both models of faith and intercessors, Christians have looked to certain holy people as role models and heavenly protectors for occupations, spiritual charisms, and even places. Although the Church sometimes names a person as a patron saint (e.g. Saint Philip Neri as the patron of Rome, Saint Clare of Assisi as the patroness of television, or Saint Aloysius Gonzaga as the patron of youth and young adults), more often it is popular devotion that inspires lay Christians to turn to a particular saint or blessed for heavenly help and support. This is how, for example, Saint Cecilia came to be honored as the patroness of musicians, Saint Toribio Romo as patron of migrants coming into the United States, and Saint Gertrude of Nivelles as patroness of cat lovers. Although there are official and unofficial lists of patron saints, we should always feel free to ask any and all the saints to give us their patronage and protection in whatever it is that we need.



WELCOME ONE AND ALL TO NORTH AMERICAN MARTYRS PARISH

Our Mission Statement:

We, the North American Martyrs Parish, a strong community of faith, Nourished by the Holy Eucharist, Guided by the Holy Spirit and Trusting in the grace of God, Dedicate ourselves to live God’s Word and Let the light of Christ shine through our Community. We strive to provide sound religious formation for people of all ages; To care for the spiritual, social well-being of one another With particular attention to the stranger and the poor in our midst.

 

“As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’ John 20:21

Recipients of The Catholic Women's Club Scholarship Fund

Ian Thompson - Colebrook Senior

Sienna Grondin - Canaan Senior

Alexis Santamaria - Colebrook Senior

Diane Little presenter

Fr Kyle Stanton and Fr Criag Cheney


Upcoming Events

MAKE PLANS TO JOIN US AT ONE OF OUR CEMETERIES ON July 1ST AT 6PM AS WE PRAY FOR THE REPOSE OF THE SOULS OF OUR LOST ONES.

ST ALBERT ------ ST BRENDAN ------ ST PIUS X