The harvest is great. We are all apostles of Jesus Christ.

Different opinions on the issue of the quality or quantity of priests are spreading around the world. Some say that it is better to have fewer but high-quality priests, others are of the opinion that it is necessary to have more of them so that no one misses the opportunity to find their way to God. “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep among wolves” (Mt 10:16).

In addition to the Twelve, the Lord also sends seventy other disciples and sends them two at a time so that their testimony will be more credible according to the Jewish law for testimony. In any case, the disciples were distinguished from others in their missionary capacity. Jesus “designates” them, thus transferring them to an official role and preaching authority, and sends them as representatives and helpers, because the harvest is so great and the workers are few. They are to ask the Lord of the harvest to send more workers. The seventy-two returned happy and said after their return about their successful mission, during which they carried out Jesus’ command to heal the sick and preach and even cast out evil spirits in Jesus’ name.

Each of us is called to holiness, through the operation of a special initiative of God, by which God chooses some to follow his Son Jesus Christ more closely and thus become his servants and witnesses.  So we all have a lifelong task given by Jesus to be his apostles. Thanks to the profession, a person becomes a part of history. Vocation is not only a personal matter, but the whole Christian community participates in it. The Church encourages communities of believers to pray even more fervently for the Lord to send workers into his harvest.

I turn to all of you with a question: Why can’t we do such an initiative in our parish? So I call on all mothers, women, but also men, to “seize” the initiative and ask for new spiritual vocations for our parish as well. To your task of being today’s apostle, apart from the doubt, that God could also reveal himself through us to all the people with whom we live, work, travel, study, we can also add a prayer towards heaven that God prepares us daily for the task of witnessing to him with our lives, as Jesus did to his disciples. It can be, for example, a cry: Lord, give me the courage and perseverance to witness At the same time, let’s not forget to pray for the priests, especially for those who administered the sacraments to me and celebrate Holy Mass daily near my place of residence.