Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 10, 1-12
Jesus appointed seventy-two other disciples
whom he sent ahead of him in pairs
to every town and place he intended to visit.
He said to them,
“The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few;
so ask the master of the harvest
to send out laborers for his harvest.
Go on your way;
behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves.
Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals;
and greet no one along the way.
Into whatever house you enter, first say,
‘Peace to this household.’
If a peaceful person lives there,
your peace will rest on him;
but if not, it will return to you.
Stay in the same house and eat and drink what is offered to you,
for the laborer deserves his payment.
Do not move about from one house to another.
Whatever town you enter and they welcome you,
eat what is set before you,
cure the sick in it and say to them,
‘The Kingdom of God is at hand for you.’
Whatever town you enter and they do not receive you,
go out into the streets and say,
‘The dust of your town that clings to our feet,
even that we shake off against you.’
Yet know this: the Kingdom of God is at hand.
I tell you,
it will be more tolerable for Sodom on that day
than for that town.”
Go out and announce
1. He sent them in pairs. It’s Jesus who calls you and sends you forth. If there’s something essential in Christianity, it’s community life: you should not isolate yourself, because doing things alone may lead you to fall into self-centeredness, when you want all the spotlight to be on you. Individualism does not help in preaching. This is not good for a Christian, that’s why Jesus teaches you that you should share your path, let yourself be helped and help, because cutting yourself off from others ends up cutting off the beauty of living. The Church is a community, there are no classes of members or users. It’s not a matter of saying yes to Jesus, no to the Church. If you believe in Jesus you become part of a community.
2. Lambs among wolves. There are always difficulties in life and for us Catholics, they are challenges. But remember that in this world many will try to ridicule and defame you. Wolves have also got into the sheep pen; they’ve got into the Church itself and try to tear us apart. But keep praying, Jesus will never leave you alone, He is the Good Shepherd.
3. Peace. We are preachers of peace; we announce peace, and we must bring peace to others. We shouldn’t cause conflicts, nor should we be conflictive. Today we need people of peace. Let’s strive to bring peace and be heralds of peace. If you can, visit Jesus in the Eucharist. When you are in front of the Tabernacle, pray for the strength of priests. Will you do that? They need your prayer so that they can go to heaven. What are you doing for your priest?
Always remember that something good is on the way!
God bless you and protect you in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
