Let us pray with today’s Gospel Reading (Mark 6:30-34)

Lord Jesus Christ,
You welcomed Your apostles as they returned from their mission, You listened to their joys and struggles, and You invited them to rest awhile in Your presence. Teach us, Lord, to come back to You after our labors and our burdens, to lay before You all that we have done and failed to do, and to find renewal in Your gentle call.

Lord, when You saw the crowds, tired and scattered like sheep without a shepherd, Your heart was moved with compassion. You did not turn away in self-concern, but gave Yourself again in teaching, healing, and love.

Lord Jesus, grant us hearts like Yours, able to balance quiet prayer with generous service, able to rest in You without closing ourselves to others, and able to serve without forgetting our need for You. In a world that rushes without rest and suffers without guidance, make us instruments of Your compassion. May we recognize You in the weary, and allow ourselves to be renewed so that we may give without growing empty.

Good Shepherd, lead us to places of quiet with You, and then send us out once more to feed Your people with the bread of Your Word
and the witness of our lives. Amen