Gospel (Mt 9,35-10,1,6-8) - At that time, Jesus traveled through all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, announcing the gospel of the Kingdom and healing every disease and every infirmity. Seeing the crowds, he 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! Therefore pray to the Lord of the harvest to send workers into his harvest." Calling his twelve disciples to him, he gave them power over impure spirits to drive them away and heal every disease and every infirmity. And he sent them commanding them: «Turn to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. As you go, preach that the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, raise the dead, purify the lepers, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give."

The commentary on the Gospel by Monsignor Vincenzo Paglia

Jesus continues to travel through the cities and villages "proclaiming the Gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every infirmity". With these words, the evangelist Matthew wants to summarize the mission that Jesus himself entrusts to every Christian community. And in particular there is one word that explains this mission: compassion. It is a term that indicates a visceral, profound emotion. More than a feeling, it is an internal movement that does not make one remain neutral, but leads one to step outside of oneself to change situations. It is compassion for those crowds disbanded and exhausted like sheep without a shepherd that pushed Jesus to become shepherd of those sheep. And it is from this compassion that the call of the disciples and the mission that the Lord entrusts to them is also born. This page of the Gospel questions Christian communities about their compassion towards today's crowds, towards the large abandoned suburbs, towards the poor who continue to grow in every part of the world. Jesus chooses twelve disciples, as many as the tribes of Israel, so that from those twelve a people renewed by the Gospel may be formed. And thanks to the word of the Gospel they receive real power: that of changing hearts, of defeating evil, of gathering together and loving the poor, of bringing peace to all, of eliminating injustices, and thus hastening the kingdom of God. And Jesus adds: "Freely you have received, freely give." It is a command as extraordinary as it is opposed to the materialistic mentality of our time. Christians are called to rediscover and bear witness to the gratuitousness of the gift, which is an essential part of evangelical love.