Hello, and welcome—whether you're a regular listener or joining for the first time. I'm glad you're here.
My name is Peter Doherty. I'm a Catholic priest and psychologist with a deep interest in the relationship between psychology and spirituality. For a long time, these two fields have viewed each other with suspicion. Yet, in many ways, they belong together. Healthy psychology can strengthen our spiritual lives, and authentic spirituality—grounded in psychological well-being—can bring deeper meaning and resilience to our everyday experience.
In this podcast, I reflect on the Gospel reading for the coming week. It's designed as a resource for those preparing homilies, as well as for anyone who teaches, studies, or simply wants to engage more deeply with Scripture. If you're looking to go further, I encourage you to explore earlier episodes. I draw on psychological research, biblical scholarship, and insights from anthropology to help make the Gospel relevant and accessible.
I approach Scripture as a guide for faith and spiritual growth. The biblical authors understood history differently than we do today, and their writings are richly layered—speaking to identity, faith, and the human experience. There is always more wisdom to discover.
If you find this podcast helpful, I invite you to listen in each week. I also welcome your questions and comments—I value the conversation. And if you think others might benefit, please consider sharing it. If you're listening on YouTube, feel free to leave a review, you can support the podcast by becoming a subscriber, and let me know where you're tuning in from. I would like to take this opportunity to welcome my listners from
In today's podcast, we hear from the Gospel of Matthew 9:36-10:8. This Gospel will be read in churches on June 14, 2026.
In this Gospel, Jesus sends out his disciples to minister to the people. We don’t know exactly at what point in Jesus ministry did he send out the disciples. We have many references of Jesus sending out his disciples to evangelize people from different cultures. I want to draw your attention to several points made in this reading. Jesus instructs them not to go to pagan territory. He is more specific when he cautions his disciples not to go into a Samaritan town. This is very unexpected as we have many scriptural references to Jesus visiting Samaria. For example, we have in John’s Gospel, 4:1–42, where Jesus passes through Samaria, meets the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well in Sychar, and stays with the Samaritans for two days. In Luke 10 we have the parable of the Good Samaritan. Most scholars and Bible resources note that Jesus’ recorded ministry was still took place largely within the land of Israel, There are exceptions In one instance, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon and healed the phoenician/Canaanite woman’s daughter. The passages are found in Matthew 15:21–28 and Mark 7:24–30. Jesus went into the region of the Decapolis, where he healed the demon-possessed man and later healed a deaf and mute man. The scripture passages are found in Matthew 8:28–34, Mark 5:1–20, Luke 8:26–39, and Mark 7:31–37. What do we make of this?
One clue is the author of this Gospel, Matthew. He was a well-educated Jew who converted to Christianity. All through the Gospel he tried to address the concerns of Jewish Christians who wondered if Jesus was the Messiah and fulfilled the prophecies in Isiaih Isaiah. It was the belief that the Messiah would first reach out to the lost sheep of Israel. It’s understandable that Matthew would focus on the concerns of his listeners first and then offer have his own unique perspective. Knowing the history of the writer and their readers is very important in understanding Scripture.
The second point is Jesus calling them to cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers and drive out demons. The problem is that people do not always recover from illness. It is extremely uncommon for people to be resurrected. Did Jesus just give these gifts to the disciples or did he give them to the Christian community. It’s probably a good idea to pause and ask ourselves what is the role of miracles in our faith. Contrary to what many people believe, Jesus used miracles very sparingly and often demanded the people not to share the miracle with anyone. For example, Jesus healed a leper and then told him, “See that you say nothing to anyone,” but to show himself to the priest instead (Mark 1:40–44; also, Matthew 8:1–4; Luke 5:12–14). Matthew 9:27–31). In Matthew 9:27–31, Jesus heals two blind men but after restoring their sight, Jesus warned them, “See that no one knows about it”. Do you remember the raising of Jairus’ daughter? After bringing her back to life, Jesus “strictly charged them that no one should know this”. You can find this passage in Mark 5:35–43 or Luke 8:49–56.
Miracles are a gift from God, they are truly blessings. but they Miracles are not are never meant to build our faith upon, on or even at best nor should they become the central focus of to our faith. The danger is that people will come to see Jesus as a miracle worker. God wants to be known for more than performing miracles. It is very easy to develop an egocentric faith. We can see this happening when all of one’s prayers are petitionary prayers for what we need. Another example is doing good so that we will have a place in heaven or to receive special blessing here on earth. We have an example of Jesus calling out the people who were following him because they wanted to see another miracle rather than hear him preach about God’s Will . In John 6:22–27, we read, the crowd crossed the lake looking for Jesus after he fed them, and Jesus told them they were seeking him not because of the teachings, but because they had eaten and were filled.
My last point, is that it’s perfectly okay to pray for miracles but I urge my listeners to listen to the example in Scripture from Matthew 26:36–46 or Mark 14:32–42 and again in Luke 22:39–46. The passages are often described as the “Agony in the Garden. Jesus knows that very soon he will be embracing the crucifixion. He asks for the cup to pass him by but Jesus asks not my will but yours, meaning the Heavenly Father. Yes, pray for miracles but remain open to God’s Will.
I urge my listeners to pray for the eyes of faith to recognize the Spirit working in their lives and ask for the ears of faith to hear the gentle prodding of the Spirit.
Thank you for joining me.
Next Sunday, June 21, 2026, we will reflect on Matthew 10:26-33, where Jesus calls us to not fear. Jesus promises to be a support to people in time of trouble. This is good news because fear can lead us to make wrong choices.
New episodes are released every Sunday, focusing on the upcoming Gospel. Special thanks to Heather Patel Doherty and Richard Coulombe for their continued support.
