The excuses that can arise for not bringing others to Christ are abundant: lack of means, lack of sufficient preparation, lack of time, the smallness of the place where we live or the enormity of the distances from the big city in which we live..., but the Lord continues to tell us all, and especially in this time of so many abandonments, that the harvest is plentiful, and the workers are few. And the harvest that is not gathered in time is lost. St. John Chrysostom left us these words, which can help us to examine in our prayer whether we easily excuse ourselves before that noble duty to which the Lord calls us: "There is nothing colder," says the saint, "than a Christian who is unconcerned about the salvation of others. You cannot adduce your economic poverty as a pretext. The little old lady who gave her coins will accuse you. Peter himself said: I have neither gold nor silver (Acts 3:6). And Paul was so poor that he often suffered hunger and lacked the necessities of life. You cannot claim your humble origin: they were also humble people, of modest condition. Nor will ignorance serve you as an excuse: they were all unlettered men. Whether you are a slave or a fugitive, you can fulfill what depends on you. Such was Onesimus, and look what his vocation was..... Do not use sickness as an excuse, Timothy was subject to frequent ailments (...). Each one can be useful to his neighbor, if he is willing to do what he can". And we want to be faithful to the Lord: to carry out what is in our hands.
The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few...". In hearing this," comments St. Gregory the Great, "we cannot help but feel a great sadness, because we must recognize that there are people who want to hear good things, but there is a lack of those who dedicate themselves to proclaiming them.
So that there may be many good laborers working side by side in this field of the world, each in his own place, the Lord himself teaches us the way to follow: pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. Jesus invites us to pray so that God may awaken in the souls of many the desire for a greater correspondence in this work of salvation. "Prayer is the most effective means of proselytism "5 , of getting many to discover the vocation to which God calls them. The desire for vocations must be translated, in the first place, into a continuous, trusting and humble petition. All Christians should pray that the Lord will send laborers into his harvest. And if we turn to the Lord in petition for vocations, we ourselves will feel called to participate much more boldly in this apostolic work, in addition to obtaining from the Lord workers for his field.
Hablar con Dios