June 15th, 7:55 AM

Fr. Ryan’s Homily - Day 4

Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

Matthew 9:36–10:8

St. Peter Church, Arromanches, Normandy

As we gather today on Day 4 of our Saint David Parish pilgrimage, we bring with us the experiences, prayers, and graces of these past several days. We have walked in the footsteps of St. Thérèse in Lisieux, climbed to the heights of Mont Saint-Michel, and today we find ourselves here in Normandy, gathered in the beautiful Church of St. Peter in Arromanches. Each stop has revealed another chapter in the story of faith, reminding us that God continues to work through ordinary people in extraordinary ways.

Today’s Gospel begins with a powerful image. St. Matthew tells us that Jesus looked upon the crowds and was moved with pity for them because they were “troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd.”

Jesus sees people not as a mass of humanity, but as individuals. He sees their fears, their wounds, their hopes, and their struggles. His heart is moved with compassion.

As we gather today in this beautiful Church of St. Peter in Arromanches, those words take on a special meaning because earlier we stood on hallowed ground.

We visited Omaha Beach and the American Cemetery. We stood overlooking that shoreline and saw for ourselves how daunting it must have appeared on June 6, 1944. The steep bluffs, the open sand, the exposed approach—everything favored the defenders. Yet thousands of young men stepped from landing craft into chaos, uncertainty, and danger.

Walking among the rows of white crosses and Stars of David at the American Cemetery, we were reminded that freedom is never free. Each marker represents a life, a family, a story, a sacrifice.

Many of those young soldiers were scarcely older than some of our high school students. They answered a call greater than themselves. They left behind comfort and security because they believed there was something worth fighting for and something worth sacrificing for.

In a different way, Jesus speaks about a call in today’s Gospel.

“The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few.”

Then He sends out the Twelve. He does not send them with wealth, power, or military strength. He sends them with a mission: to proclaim the Kingdom of God, to heal the sick, to comfort the suffering, and to bring hope where hope is lacking.

The Church has always understood these words as a call to missionary discipleship. Not everyone is called to be a priest, religious sister, or missionary in a foreign land. But every baptized Christian is sent.

Every one of us has received a mission.

Some are called to witness within their families. Others in their workplaces. Others through acts of charity, kindness, and service. The Lord still looks upon the world with compassion, and He still chooses ordinary men and women to be His hands and His voice.

That mission feels especially appropriate here in Arromanches.

This small coastal town played a vital role in the liberation of Europe. After D-Day, the Allies constructed one of the remarkable engineering achievements of the war—the Mulberry Harbor. Much of it still remains visible offshore today. Through this artificial harbor, millions of soldiers, vehicles, supplies, and provisions entered France. Arromanches became a place through which help, hope, and liberation flowed.

In many ways, the Church is meant to be exactly that.

This parish church dedicated to St. Peter has stood for centuries as a place where grace flows into the lives of God’s people. Here generations of Christians have gathered to pray, to celebrate the Eucharist, to baptize their children, to bury their dead, and to place their trust in God.

Like the harbor outside, the Church exists to bring what people need most—not supplies for the body, but nourishment for the soul.

And there is perhaps no better patron for this church than St. Peter himself.

Peter was not perfect. He was impulsive. He made mistakes. He even denied Jesus. Yet Christ saw something greater within him. Jesus called him, formed him, forgave him, and entrusted him with a mission.

The same Jesus who called Peter still calls each of us.

Standing at Omaha Beach and the American Cemetery, we witnessed the courage of men who answered a call to serve. Here in St. Peter’s Church, we are reminded that Christ asks for courage as well—not the courage to storm a beach, but the courage to live our faith faithfully in a world that often forgets God.

The Lord continues to look upon the crowds with compassion.

He continues to see those who are lonely, wounded, discouraged, and searching.

And He continues to say, “The harvest is abundant.”

The question is whether we are willing to be His laborers.

As we continue this fourth day of our pilgrimage, may the sacrifices we witnessed at Omaha Beach inspire us to greater gratitude. May the faith of generations who worshiped in this church inspire us to deeper discipleship. And may St. Peter intercede for us, that we might answer Christ’s call with generous hearts and become faithful laborers in His harvest.

For the harvest is still abundant.

And the world still needs witnesses to the hope of Jesus Christ.

Amen