Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
June 14, 2026
Exodus 19:2-6a | Romans 5:6-11 | Matthew 9:36—10:8
Lately, I’ve been feeling pretty troubled and abandoned, as I consider the state of our world with violence, greed, environmental exploitation, and the horrific maldistribution of wealth. But here Jesus says “like” sheep without a shepherd. It is the sensation, not the reality. We have so many shepherds in our lives, in our world, and throughout history. Jesus is present, embodied in so many courageous and loving people. We have to pause, to look and to listen to meet them and him.
I am a Maryknoll lay missioner and, since 1996, have walked the streets of São Paulo, Brazil, sat on the patio of hundreds of prisons, and pestered the courts and offices of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol here in El Paso, Texas. I hear the stories of migrants, their families and neighbors, women imprisoned by unjust systems in various countries, and those exploited by economic policies that fill the pockets of a few people at the cost of so many. I am currently an immigration attorney in El Paso, trying to give access to justice and legal remedies for migrants who have suffered human trafficking and violence in the United States.
For almost a year, I have been working with a young woman who was cruelly separated from her three underage children. They lived together in Georgia, waiting to defend their asylum claim in immigration court, when, unexpectedly, in a traffic stop, ICE grabbed Brenda, whisked her off to detention across the country, and abandoned her children in Georgia.
It took too long to get the gears moving, but a village of people united to support them, from a big law firm in Georgia whose pro bono team dedicated themselves to protecting the children, and then, later, their mom. The attorneys flew across the country to defend Brenda in her asylum case. Another attorney, a specialist in the field, agreed to mentor them through the process. We supported Brenda in a myriad of ways, from visits to preparing for her hearings with her, and another volunteer interpreted for the attorneys when they came. By a miracle of incredible dedication and persistence, and justice, served by two different judges, Brenda was released this week and reunited with her children while her asylum case is pending. Meanwhile, another team sprang into action to shelter her before she traveled, secure a next-day plane ticket, give her a phone and more.
We are reminded that we are not abandoned, not shepherd-less, and certainly not alone. We know grace in every dandelion flower, every chirping house finch, every smile of a stranger, every embrace of a mother reunited with her children.
We are the shepherds, but we are also lost sheep in need of help. We are the disciples, and Jesus sends us out to cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, and drive out demons. We are called to go out to our neighbors, to those that we judge (sometimes wrongly) or that society tells us are not worthy. And we trust they will do the same for us. Jesus doesn’t say, “get your house in order first,” but calls us to head out to the fields for the harvest.
When I meet migrants like Brenda who have suffered extreme injustice and danger in their home countries and again in this country at the hands of intentionally cruel policies, I pray that they trust me despite my flaws and failings, despite my being ungodly and limited.
Acts of kindness and justice surprise us all that time, and we are reminded that Jesus is right here in our midst. Brenda was a shepherd to me, always clear about what she wanted and needed, but also trusting me to work with her. She, and Jesus, know that I am imperfect, “ungodly” at times, but always worthy. Justice, goodness, care for the neighbor are all present, and will flourish again, if we give without cost; if we go out to the harvest, and if we hearken to God’s voice and keep our baptismal covenant with God.
Maryknoll Lay Missioner Heidi Cerneka joined the lay mission organization in 1996. After serving incarcerated women in Brazil and Kenya, she began her current assignment, to the U.S.-Mexico border, in 2019. She serves as a pro bono immigration attorney in El Paso, Texas.
To read other Scripture reflections published by the Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns, click here.
Featured image: Human rights advocates participate in an outdoor procession organized by the New York chapter of Catholics in Communion on the feast of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ in New York City on June 7 to publicly express support for immigrants, migrants and refugees. (OSV News photo/Gregory A. Shemitz)
