Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 10, 1-12
After this the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go. He said to them, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest. Go on your way. See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves. Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and greet no one on the road. Whatever house you enter, first say, “Peace to this house!” And if anyone is there who shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will return to you. Remain in the same house, eating and drinking whatever they provide, for the labourer deserves to be paid. Do not move about from house to house. Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you; cure the sick who are there, and say to them, “The kingdom of God has come near to you.” But whenever you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go out into its streets and say, “Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you. Yet know this: the kingdom of God has come near.” I tell you, on that day it will be more tolerable for Sodom than for that town.
Go out and announce
1) He sent them. It is Jesus who calls and sends you. He sent them in pairs, not alone. He gave us a community. That’s what the Church is, one big community that makes no differences among its members. Individualism does not help in evangelization. You can’t say that you love Jesus, but not the Church. If you believe in Jesus, remember he sends you “in pairs,” to make community.
2) Lambs among wolves. Adversities are always there, and we Catholics should consider them as challenges. However, remember that in this world the enemy will try to ridicule and discredit you. The wolves have also got inside the pen, inside the Church. They get in and try to tear us apart. But remain in prayer, that’s the only way to survive among them. Jesus does not leave you alone, He is a good Shepherd.
3) Peace. We are peace preachers. We announce peace and take it to others. We should not be the ones who cause conflicts nor should we be conflictive. Today, we need people of peace. Let’s aim to bring peace and to be peace announcers.
Today, if you can visit Jesus in the Eucharist, be silent when you are in front of the Tabernacle and ask for the strength of our priests. Do you dare to pray for them? They also need your prayers to go to heaven. This is a very good question to end today’s reflection: What do you do for your priest?
God bless you in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. And do not forget Heaven is our Goal.
