VaticanNews portal, on June 13, 2026, published a Gospel commentary for the Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, authored by Fr. Luke Gregory, OFM, of the Custody of the Holy Land, under the theme “Serving without counting the cost.” The article presents a reflection on the Gospel passage (Matthew 9:36–10:8) in which Jesus, moved by compassion for the crowds “like sheep without a shepherd,” sends out the Apostles with authority over unclean spirits and commands them to proclaim that “the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” Fr. Gregory frames the passage as a call to universal human service, empathy, and community engagement, emphasizing selfless giving, emotional and psychological healing, and the breaking down of social barriers. The reflection is entirely naturalistic, reducing the supernatural mission of the Church to a vague humanitarianism devoid of doctrinal content, sacramental life, or the necessity of eternal salvation. This is not merely an omission—it is the hallmark of the conciliar apostasy, which has replaced the preaching of Christ the King with the worship of man.
The Gospel According to the Conciliar Sect: A Humanitarian Sermon Without Dogma
The article begins with a superficially pious observation: “At the sight of the masses, the loving heart of Jesus was stirred with compassion for those who appeared lost, troubled, and abandoned: ‘like sheep without a shepherd.'” This imagery, drawn directly from Matthew 9:36, is immediately stripped of its theological weight. In the mouth of Our Lord, these words are not a sentimental invitation to “empathy” but a divine diagnosis of a people deprived of true pastoral authority—a condition that, as St. Pius X warned in Lamentabili sane exitu (1907), is the direct consequence of Modernism, which “causes the heritage of humanity to be rejected, and often leads to the most grievous errors” (Prologue). The conciliar sect, having systematically dismantled the Church’s teaching authority, the Holy Mass, and the sacraments, now presumes to diagnose the same malady it has caused—and offers itself as the cure.
Fr. Gregory writes: “This poignant imagery serves as a vital reminder of our shared responsibility towards one another and the urgency of human connection in tumultuous times.” There is no mention of sin, grace, the sacraments, or the eternal destiny of souls. The “shared responsibility” is reduced to a horizontal, human fraternity—precisely the error condemned by Pius XI in Quas Primas (1925), where he lamented that “the hope of lasting peace will not yet shine upon nations as long as individuals and states renounce and do not wish to recognize the reign of our Savior.” The article’s silence on the supernatural order is not accidental; it is the defining characteristic of the post-conciliar apostasy, which, as the Syllabus of Errors (1864) already foretold, seeks to “separate the Church from the State, and the State from the Church” (Error 55) and to reduce religion to a purely natural phenomenon.
“The Harvest is Abundant, but the Labourers are Few”—Or Is the Harvest Itself a Lie?
The article cites Our Lord’s words: “The harvest is abundant, but the labourers are few,” and interprets them as a call for more volunteers in humanitarian service. Fr. Gregory writes: “This assertion resonates deeply, reminding us that whilst the need for compassion and service has never been greater, the willingness to engage in that service often pales in comparison.” He then adds: “Jesus instructs us to ‘ask the Master of the harvest to send out labourers for His harvest,’ which challenges us to pray and seek divine guidance in recruiting those willing to offer their time and talents for the betterment of humankind.”
“Betterment of humankind”—this is the language of the Masonic lodges, not of the Catholic Church. Pius IX, in the Syllabus of Errors, condemned the proposition that “the teaching of the Catholic Church is hostile to the well-being and interests of society” (Error 40), and in his allocutions he repeatedly identified the sects—”whether they be called masonic or bear another name”—as the source of the “frauds and machinations” waged against the Church. The conciliar sect has adopted precisely this masonic vocabulary: “betterment,” “human connection,” “empathy,” “breaking down barriers.” The true harvest—the salvation of souls through the preaching of the Gospel, the administration of the sacraments, and the submission of nations to Christ the King—is entirely absent.
St. Robert Bellarmine, in De Romano Pontifice (Book II, Chapter 30), taught that “a manifest heretic cannot be Pope,” for “a non-Christian in no way can be Pope… The reason for this is that he cannot be the head of something of which he is not a member; now, he who is not a Christian is not a member of the Church, and a manifest heretic is not a Christian.” The conciliar sect, having embraced the errors condemned in Lamentabili and Pascendi Dominici gregis—including the evolution of dogmas, the denial of the supernatural origin of revelation, and the reduction of faith to “man’s self-awareness of his relationship to God” (Proposition 20)—has manifestly departed from the Catholic faith. Its “labourers” are not labourers in the vineyard of the Lord but workers in the field of the Antichrist.
The Apostles Without Authority: A Mission Stripped of Power
Fr. Gregory writes: “Jesus summoned His twelve disciples and imparted to them authority over unclean spirits, enabling them to heal every disease and every illness. This divine empowerment was not bestowed lightly; it came with the responsibility to serve others selflessly.” The word “selflessly” is a modern sentimental gloss that obscures the true nature of apostolic authority. The Apostles were not merely “empowered” to perform acts of kindness; they were given potestas—juridical power—to teach, govern, and sanctify, with the authority to forgive sins (John 20:22-23), to offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, and to bind and loose on earth and in heaven (Matthew 18:18).
Canon 188.4 of the 1917 Code of Canon Law states that “every office becomes vacant by the mere fact and without any declaration by reason of tacit resignation… if the cleric publicly defects from the Catholic faith.” The conciliar sect, by its public and notorious embrace of Modernism—including the errors condemned in Lamentabili, such as the denial of the inspiration and inerrancy of Holy Scripture (Propositions 9-19), the reduction of revelation to “man’s self-awareness” (Proposition 20), and the claim that “the Church is an enemy of the progress of natural and theological sciences” (Proposition 57)—has defected from the Catholic faith. Its “priests” possess no authority from Christ, for, as Pope Celestine I declared regarding Nestorius, “he who has departed from the faith with such preaching cannot depose or remove anyone.”
“The Lost Sheep of the House of Israel”—Or the Lost Sheep of the Conciliar Sect?
The article states: “In further instructing His disciples, Jesus emphasised the priority of reaching out to ‘the lost sheep of the House of Israel.’ This may ignite discussions regarding our modern interpretations of ‘lost sheep.’ In today’s context, who might these individuals be? They could be the marginalised, the struggling, the voiceless, or even those who have strayed from their paths.”
This is a deliberate evasion. Our Lord’s command to go “to the lost sheep of the House of Israel” (Matthew 10:6) was a specific, temporal instruction with a clear theological meaning: the Gospel was to be preached first to the Jews, the chosen people, before being extended to the Gentiles. It was not an invitation to a vague, modernist “inclusion” of all marginalized persons. The conciliar sect, by contrast, has inverted the order: it preaches to the “marginalized” while excluding the true faithful—those who profess the integral Catholic faith, who attend the Traditional Latin Mass, and who reject the apostasies of Vatican II.
Pius XI, in Quas Primas, declared that “the Kingdom of our Redeemer encompasses all men” and that “it matters not whether individuals, families, or states, for men united in societies are no less subject to the authority of Christ than individuals.” The conciliar sect, by reducing the Kingdom of God to a humanitarian project, has denied the universal kingship of Christ—the very foundation of the social order. As the Syllabus of Errors condemned: “The Church is not a true and perfect society, entirely free—nor is she endowed with proper and perpetual rights of her own, conferred upon her by her Divine Founder” (Error 19). The conciliar sect is precisely this: a society that has renounced its divine constitution and submitted itself to the spirit of the world.
“Without Cost You Have Received; Without Cost You Are to Give”—But What Has Been Received?
The article concludes with the phrase: “Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.” Fr. Gregory interprets this as a call to “offer with open hands and open hearts,” challenging “the deeply ingrained human tendency to quantify value.” This is a Pelagian distortion. The “free gift” received by the Apostles was not a vague “talent” or “resource” but the fullness of divine grace, the deposit of faith, the power of orders, and the authority to sanctify souls. As St. Paul wrote: “You were redeemed not with corruptible gold or silver… but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot” (1 Peter 1:18-19, cited in Quas Primas).
The conciliar sect, having rejected the propitiatory sacrifice of the Mass, the necessity of baptism for salvation, and the reality of original sin, has nothing to give. Its “Communion” is an idolatrous simulacrum; its “absolution” is a theatrical farce; its “service” is the service of Mammon disguised as the service of God. As Our Lord warned: “Without Me, you can do nothing” (John 15:5). The conciliar sect, having severed itself from the true Vine, can only produce the fruit of apostasy.
The Abomination of Desolation: A Church Without a Shepherd
The article’s final paragraph reads: “Our world, much like those ancient crowds, is in need of shepherds—guides who offer hope, healing, and love. Let us strive to become those shepherds, embodying the teachings of Christ, working together to create a community where all can feel valued and supported.”
This is the language of the Antichrist. The conciliar sect, which has occupied the Vatican since 1958, has produced not shepherds but wolves. It has offered not hope but despair; not healing but the poison of religious indifferentism; not love but the cold charity of human fraternity. Pius IX, in the Syllabus of Errors, condemned the proposition that “in the present day it is no longer expedient that the Catholic religion should be held as the only religion of the State, to the exclusion of all other forms of worship” (Error 77). The conciliar sect has gone further: it has declared that “the Church has not the power of defining dogmatically that the religion of the Catholic Church is the only true religion” (Error 21, Syllabus)—a proposition it has enshrined in the heretical documents of Vatican II.
The true Church endures—not in the structures of the conciliar sect, but in the faithful who profess the integral Catholic faith, who attend the Traditional Latin Mass, and who await the restoration of the social reign of Christ the King. As Pius XI declared: “His reign, namely, extends not only to Catholic nations or to those who, by receiving baptism according to law, belong to the Church… but His reign encompasses also all non-Christians, so that most truly the entire human race is subject to the authority of Jesus Christ” (Quas Primas, citing Leo XIII, Annum Sanctum).
The harvest is indeed abundant—but the labourers are not those who serve the conciar sect. They are those who remain faithful to the immutable Tradition of the Church, who reject the Modernist apostasy, and who pray for the restoration of the Kingdom of Christ on earth. Adveniat regnum tuum—Thy Kingdom come. Not the kingdom of the Antichrist, which now occupies the Vatican, but the Kingdom of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of kings and Lord of lords.
Source:
Lord’s Day Reflection: Serving without counting the cost (vaticannews.va)
Date: 13.06.2026