UNDÉCIMO DOMINGO DEL TIEMPO ORDINARIO – 2026

Queridos hermanos y hermanas: las lecturas de este domingo nos recuerdan una gran verdad: somos el pueblo elegido de Dios. Dios nos ama tanto que envió a su Hijo, Jesucristo, para salvarnos del pecado y conducirnos a la vida eterna. Jesús vino no solo por los justos, sino también por los pecadores, llamando a todos a la conversión y ofreciéndoles su misericordia. En respuesta a este gran amor, estamos llamados no solo a creer en Jesús, sino también a convertirnos en sus discípulos y misioneros.

Hace algunos años, después de predicar sobre la necesidad de más discípulos y misioneros en la Iglesia, un hombre se me acercó y me dijo:

—Padre, quiero ser misionero.

Le respondí:

—¡Qué bueno! Pero dime, ¿cuál es tu motivación?

Él contestó:

—Padre, estoy decepcionado de mi familia. Quiero irme lo más lejos posible de ellos.

Evidentemente, esa no era la razón correcta. El trabajo misionero no es una vía de escape de nuestras responsabilidades; por el contrario, es una respuesta al llamado de Dios. De hecho, uno de los lugares más difíciles para vivir y compartir nuestra fe suele ser nuestra propia familia. Es fácil hablar de Dios a los desconocidos; es mucho más difícil dar testimonio de Cristo entre quienes nos conocen mejor.

Esto nos lleva a una pregunta importante: ¿Cuál es la diferencia entre ser un seguidor y ser un discípulo?

Un seguidor puede admirar a alguien desde la distancia. Un discípulo entra en una relación personal. Un discípulo escucha, aprende, obedece y sirve. Un discípulo conoce a Jesús personalmente, sigue sus enseñanzas y participa en su misión.

En el Evangelio de hoy, Jesús mira a la multitud con compasión porque están como ovejas sin pastor. Entonces dice: «La cosecha es abundante, pero los trabajadores son pocos, rueguen, por lo tanto, al dueño de la mies que envié trabajadores a sus campo». Después llama a los Doce Apóstoles y los envía a predicar, sanar y llevar la misericordia de Dios a su pueblo.

Fijémonos en algo importante: Jesús los envía primero a su propia gente. Antes de ir a tierras lejanas, están llamados a servir a quienes tienen más cerca. Lo mismo sucede con nosotros. Nuestro primer campo de misión no está en un lugar lejano. Está en nuestro hogar, nuestra familia, nuestro trabajo, nuestra escuela y nuestra comunidad.

¿Cómo podemos cumplir esta misión?

Primero, mediante la oración. Jesús nos pide que oremos para que haya más trabajadores para la cosecha. Toda misión comienza con la oración y depende de la gracia de Dios.

Segundo, mediante nuestro testimonio. Las personas observan cómo hablamos, cómo tratamos a los demás y cómo vivimos nuestra fe. Tal vez nunca viajemos a otro país como misioneros, pero podemos anunciar a Cristo por medio de nuestra bondad, honestidad, paciencia, perdón y amor.

A veces, el sermón más poderoso no se predica con palabras, sino con la vida. Cuando las personas ven paz en nuestro corazón, alegría en nuestra vida y fe en medio de las dificultades, comienzan a preguntarse de dónde viene nuestra esperanza. En esos momentos tenemos la oportunidad de compartir la razón de nuestra fe: Jesucristo.

Hermanos y hermanas, si realmente seguimos a Jesús, nos convertiremos en sus discípulos. Y si nos convertimos en sus discípulos, también seremos sus misioneros. Preguntémonos hoy: ¿Cómo puedo reflejar mejor a Cristo en mi familia, entre mis amigos y en mi lugar de trabajo?

Que el Señor nos ayude a ser discípulos fieles, misioneros valientes y testigos vivos de su amor. Que nuestras palabras y nuestras acciones acerquen a otros a Jesús. Amén.

P. Luis Segura

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ELEVENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME – 2026

Dear brothers and sisters, today’s readings remind us of a beautiful truth: we are God’s special possession. God loves us so much that He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to save us from sin and lead us to eternal life. Jesus came not only for the righteous but also for sinners, calling all people to repentance and offering His mercy to everyone. Because of this great love, we are called not only to believe in Jesus but also to become His disciples and missionaries.

A few years ago, after I preached about the need for more disciples and missionaries, a man approached me and said, “Father, I want to be a missionary.” I replied, “That is wonderful. What is your motivation?”

He answered, “Father, I am disappointed with my family. I want to go as far away from them as possible.”

Clearly, that was not the right reason. Missionary work is not an escape from our responsibilities; it is a response to God’s call. In fact, one of the most challenging places to live and share our faith is often within our own family. It is easy to speak about God to strangers; it is much harder to witness to Christ among those who know us best.

This leads us to an important question: What is the difference between being a follower and being a disciple?

A follower may admire someone from a distance. A disciple enters into a relationship. A disciple listens, learns, obeys, and serves. A disciple knows Jesus personally, follows His teachings, and participates in His mission.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus looks upon the crowds with compassion because they are like sheep without a shepherd. He says, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest” Then He calls the Twelve Apostles and sends them out to preach, heal, and bring God’s mercy to His people.

Notice that Jesus first sends them to their own people. Before they go to distant lands, they are called to serve those closest to them. The same is true for us. Our first mission field is not somewhere far away. It is our home, our family, our workplace, our school, and our community. How do we fulfill this mission?

First, through prayer. Jesus tells us to pray for laborers for the harvest. Every mission begins with prayer and depends on God’s grace.

Second, through our witness. People notice how we speak, how we treat others, and how we live our faith. We may never travel to another country as missionaries, but we can preach Christ through kindness, honesty, patience, forgiveness, and love.

Sometimes the strongest sermon is not spoken with words but lived through actions. When people see peace in our hearts, joy in our lives, and faith during difficult times, they begin to ask what gives us hope. In those moments, we have an opportunity to share the reason for our faith: Jesus Christ.

Brothers and sisters, if we truly follow Jesus, we will become His disciples. And if we become His disciples, we will also become His missionaries. Let us ask ourselves today: How can I reflect Christ more clearly in my family, among my friends, and in my workplace?

May the Lord help us to be faithful disciples, courageous missionaries, and living witnesses of His love. May our words and actions lead others closer to Jesus.

Amen.

Rev. Luis Segura M.S.C.

11th Sunday in Ordinary Time 2026 A

My friends, over the past four months, we’ve celebrated Lent, the Easter Season and the Solemnities of the Most Holy Trinity and Corpus Christi.  We are now in Ordinary Time.

The first sentence in our Gospel describes the depth of Jesus’ love and compassion for humanity:

“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.” 

Now, the New Testament was written in Greek and the Greek word for “pity” or “compassion” in today’s Gospel is “splagchnizomai” which means “from the deepest, inner-most depth of a person.”  That’s how moved Jesus was. The people in the crowd were ordinary men and women who followed Jesus because He preached Hope and Good News. These same people were looked down upon and were treated badly by the political and religious leaders. 

The very next sentence of our Gospel, Jesus said:  “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.”  This is one of the most characteristic things Jesus ever said.  When Jesus and the religious leaders of His day looked at the crowd of ordinary men and women, they saw these people in very different ways.  The Pharisees saw the common people as worthless chaff to be destroyed and burned.  Jesus saw the same people as a precious harvest, “The harvest is abundant.”  The Pharisees goal was destruction.  Jesus’ goal was (and is) salvation.

My friends, the message in our Gospel presents one of the great challenges in Christianity.  The harvest cannot be gathered unless there are laborers to do the harvesting.  Jesus needed help to bring the Good News of love and hope.  So He sent the twelve Apostles to minister to people, beginning in their own country, telling them to stay and minister to the lost sheep in Israel.

Looking at the big picture, there was a whole world who needed to hear the Good News of salvation but, Jesus was never outside of Palestine.  Two things come to mind:

• Jesus told His disciples that they would do greater things than He because He would send the Holy Spirit to them.

• The Parable of the Mustard Seed.  Faith the size of a mustard seed can grow into something huge.

Throughout the centuries, disciples of Christ evangelized, bringing the Good News of the Gospel to all parts of the world.  Thankfully, disciples brought the Good News to you and to me and we became disciples of Christ.  And here we are today, disciples of Christ, being called to evangelize, to bring the Good News to others.

Now, some might say:  “I’m not capable” or “I have no talents so I will pray instead.”  St. James talked about that.  He said, “Prayer and faith without works is dead.”  Pope Francis also said something about prayer, “You pray for the hungry. Then you feed them.  This is how prayer works.”

My friends, Jesus didn’t choose talented and educated scholars, or orators, or people of power and influence.  He chose unlikely leaders, ordinary men who were fishermen, a tax collector, a zealot.  It doesn’t take any specific talent to bring the Good News of the Gospel to others.  It takes the love of God and love for humanity.  We evangelize by what we say and what we do in our everyday life.

In the last sentence of our gospel, Jesus reminds us and encourages us:
“Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.”