Making Room + Next Week’s Gospel Reflection
On limits, wisdom, and letting go, followed by NEXT Sunday’s Gospel reflection and discussion questions
Note From Me: Making Room
I have a drawer in my bedroom that won’t close.
It’s not broken. It’s just too full.
Every morning, I try to shove it shut and every morning it pushes back. A sweater sleeve catches. A T-shirt bunches up. The drawer slides almost closed and then springs open again.
This drives Dan crazy because he says I’m damaging the dresser (I might have done this a time or two before). I know I shouldn’t do this, and I know exactly what the problem is.
There are too many clothes in the drawer. The solution is obvious: take some things out. Instead, I keep trying to force everything to fit. And as I stand there wrestling with the drawer, I sometimes see that this isn't the only place where I am forcing things to fit.
The other day, as I pushed and rearranged and leaned against the drawer one more time, I thought about some other places were I do the same thing.
When my day feels crowded, and I try to squeeze in one more commitment. When my calendar feels full, and I look for ways to become more efficient. I don’t want to let go; I want to keep taking on, in denial about what it costs. When I’m overwhelmed, my first instinct is often to figure out how to organize it all better, rather than asking whether something needs to be removed.
But sometimes the answer isn’t better organization.
Sometimes there’s just too much in the drawer.
Wisdom is not cramming more into our lives; it’s having the courage to let some things go. Not because they’re bad. Just because they don’t all belong right now. The problem is believing everything has to fit.
Today I’m learning this: It’s not about the drawer.
With grace,
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Sunday Gospel Reflection: Moved With Compassion
Gospel for Sunday, June 14, 2026
Matthew 9:36-10:8
One of the most beautiful details in this Gospel is that everything begins with the heart of Jesus. Before He sends the apostles out on mission, before He gives them authority, before He instructs them what to do, He looks at the crowds. And what He sees moves Him deeply.
“They were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd.”
Jesus does not look at people with frustration or judgment. He sees their confusion, their wounds, their loneliness, and His heart is filled with compassion.
That same compassionate gaze rests on us today.
There are times when we are the troubled and abandoned ones. We feel lost, overwhelmed, uncertain, or spiritually weary. Jesus sees us in those moments and draws near with tenderness.
But this Gospel also reminds us that we are not only recipients of His compassion. We are meant to become instruments of it.
The apostles were ordinary men with ordinary weaknesses. Yet Jesus called them by name and sent them out to bring His healing, hope, and truth to others. He did not wait until they were perfect. He simply asked them to go and share what they had freely received.
The same invitation is ours.
Most of us will never preach to crowds or travel the world as missionaries. But every day, God places people in our path who need encouragement, kindness, prayer, or simply the reassurance that they are not alone.
The harvest is still abundant. There are still wounded hearts waiting to encounter Christ.
Perhaps the laborer Jesus is asking for today is you.
Without cost you have received. Without cost, give.
Questions for Journaling or Small Group Discussion
1. When have I felt like one of the “troubled and abandoned” sheep Jesus describes in this Gospel? How did God care for me during that time?
2. What does this passage reveal about the heart of Jesus and the way He looks at people who are struggling?
3. Who in my life right now might be in need of compassion, encouragement, or spiritual support? How might God be inviting me to reach out to them?
4. Jesus chose ordinary, imperfect people to be His apostles. What gifts, experiences, or opportunities has God given me that He may want to use for His purposes?
5. Jesus tells His disciples, “Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.” What blessings have I freely received from God, and how can I share them more generously with others?
6. Jesus says, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few.” How might God be calling me to participate more actively in His work, whether in my family, parish, workplace, or community?