By
our Baptism, we are claimed for Christ, made Christians to prepare
ourselves to be sealed by the Gift of the Holy Spirit at
Confirmation. And, by our Confirmation we are made disciples, we are
sent forth, like those in our Gospel today, in order to bring the
message of Christ far and wide.
And, by that, we are given the ability to walk out into the world as lambs among wolves, with no money bag, sandals or sack, or, in modern terms, no cell phone, purse or wallet, motivated and led strictly by our desire to bring the message of Christ to every single person we meet, guided, as we are, by confidence in Christ, by trust in His Word, and by the love of Him who motivates us.
For, this is, literally, our vocation as Christians, which is why it says that Christ appointed 72 others, a biblically symbolic number, which is represented as everyone. That means that our first and most important vocation, our meaning as Christians, from Baptism to burial, is to bring the message of Christ to others, to be a laborer in the vineyard of the world, to become a witness of our faith, to become a true disciple whose sole purpose is to evangelize, by both our words and our actions.
So that the more we live that vocation, the more we embrace what God has asked of us, the more gifts He will bestow upon us. In fact, when these 72 returned, they returned rejoicing, and not just that, they were amazed at what they were able to accomplish in Christ’s name. For, as it says: demons were even subject to them and they were given power to ‘tread upon serpents’ and scorpions and upon the full force of the enemy, with the guarantee that with that power, nothing would harm them.
The reason, however, was not because of anything they did, but, rather, because of what Christ did within them. For, their power was not their own, and their authority was in the very name of Christ Himself.
That is why this Gospel is more than just a simple re-telling of how Christ sent out His disciples, it is meant for all of us, because it is, in essence, our instruction manual as Christians, it shows us how to go out into a world that is quickly learning to dislike Christians, it reminds us of the challenges that await us, but, it also reminds us that in any encounter we are to always invoke Christ and that when we encounter opposition or even the very face of evil itself, that we not be afraid, but, rather, invoke His Most Holy Name, a name that, as St. Paul says elsewhere, causes “every knee to bow, of those in Heaven, and on earth and under the earth.”
Truly, that is what it means to be sent, that is what it means to have power in this world today, because true power does not come from ourselves, it comes from God, and the way we attain that power sounds like a contradiction to the world, because true power comes from true humility.
In fact, in the words of St. Paul from our second reading, if we must boast, we must do so in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sign of what the world sees as weakness, torture and death, but to us, indeed, is a sign of life, of victory and strength.
And, while we are all called to this task of evangelization, while every single one of us is being sent, in this day and age, especially, where merely mentioning that you are Christian much less Catholic means ridicule or even violence, it is a greater challenge than it has even been before.
In fact, statistically speaking, it is said, that 1 out of 9 Christians, throughout the world, are currently being persecuted for their faith. And, since the news doesn’t cover most, if not all, of what is happening with Christians, the other day an African priest was executed in the Congo after being kidnapped, while simply taking a walk with another priest after an ordination.
As someone who used to teach Church History, it seems, history is repeating itself, and, now, as in the days of early Christianity, Christians are seen as a threat, as counter cultural, as living pointless lives, by those who do not believe, because they pray or simply live their faith.
Yet, it was also this type of environment that helped the Church to flourish and grow, and it is this type of environment that all of us are all called to bring Christ to in season and out of season.
Because, no matter the challenges, no matter who we are, if we go out into the world as lambs among wolves, we know that we can accomplish what God has asked of us if we trust in Him.
So that, in the inspiring words of St. Louis DeMontfort, words that he gave to his own disciples when they were being sent out: “[We] shall have in [our] mouths the two-edged sword of the Word of God. [We] shall carry on [our] shoulders the bloody standard of the Cross, the Crucifix in [our] right hand and the Rosary in [our] left, the sacred names of Jesus and Mary in [our] hearts, and the modesty and mortification of Jesus Christ in [our] own behavior.”
And, while he required a couple more things than Jesus, these are our modern tools and necessities for evangelization, the weapon of the Rosary as St. Pio called it, and the Crucifix, the reminder of why we are being sent in the first place.
Because, in the end, as we are sent, as we are witnesses of the Christian faith, we truly have nothing to fear, for, as Christ has reminded: “In the world you shall have distress. But have confidence. (He says) I have overcome the world.”
And, by that, we are given the ability to walk out into the world as lambs among wolves, with no money bag, sandals or sack, or, in modern terms, no cell phone, purse or wallet, motivated and led strictly by our desire to bring the message of Christ to every single person we meet, guided, as we are, by confidence in Christ, by trust in His Word, and by the love of Him who motivates us.
For, this is, literally, our vocation as Christians, which is why it says that Christ appointed 72 others, a biblically symbolic number, which is represented as everyone. That means that our first and most important vocation, our meaning as Christians, from Baptism to burial, is to bring the message of Christ to others, to be a laborer in the vineyard of the world, to become a witness of our faith, to become a true disciple whose sole purpose is to evangelize, by both our words and our actions.
So that the more we live that vocation, the more we embrace what God has asked of us, the more gifts He will bestow upon us. In fact, when these 72 returned, they returned rejoicing, and not just that, they were amazed at what they were able to accomplish in Christ’s name. For, as it says: demons were even subject to them and they were given power to ‘tread upon serpents’ and scorpions and upon the full force of the enemy, with the guarantee that with that power, nothing would harm them.
The reason, however, was not because of anything they did, but, rather, because of what Christ did within them. For, their power was not their own, and their authority was in the very name of Christ Himself.
That is why this Gospel is more than just a simple re-telling of how Christ sent out His disciples, it is meant for all of us, because it is, in essence, our instruction manual as Christians, it shows us how to go out into a world that is quickly learning to dislike Christians, it reminds us of the challenges that await us, but, it also reminds us that in any encounter we are to always invoke Christ and that when we encounter opposition or even the very face of evil itself, that we not be afraid, but, rather, invoke His Most Holy Name, a name that, as St. Paul says elsewhere, causes “every knee to bow, of those in Heaven, and on earth and under the earth.”
Truly, that is what it means to be sent, that is what it means to have power in this world today, because true power does not come from ourselves, it comes from God, and the way we attain that power sounds like a contradiction to the world, because true power comes from true humility.
In fact, in the words of St. Paul from our second reading, if we must boast, we must do so in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sign of what the world sees as weakness, torture and death, but to us, indeed, is a sign of life, of victory and strength.
And, while we are all called to this task of evangelization, while every single one of us is being sent, in this day and age, especially, where merely mentioning that you are Christian much less Catholic means ridicule or even violence, it is a greater challenge than it has even been before.
In fact, statistically speaking, it is said, that 1 out of 9 Christians, throughout the world, are currently being persecuted for their faith. And, since the news doesn’t cover most, if not all, of what is happening with Christians, the other day an African priest was executed in the Congo after being kidnapped, while simply taking a walk with another priest after an ordination.
As someone who used to teach Church History, it seems, history is repeating itself, and, now, as in the days of early Christianity, Christians are seen as a threat, as counter cultural, as living pointless lives, by those who do not believe, because they pray or simply live their faith.
Yet, it was also this type of environment that helped the Church to flourish and grow, and it is this type of environment that all of us are all called to bring Christ to in season and out of season.
Because, no matter the challenges, no matter who we are, if we go out into the world as lambs among wolves, we know that we can accomplish what God has asked of us if we trust in Him.
So that, in the inspiring words of St. Louis DeMontfort, words that he gave to his own disciples when they were being sent out: “[We] shall have in [our] mouths the two-edged sword of the Word of God. [We] shall carry on [our] shoulders the bloody standard of the Cross, the Crucifix in [our] right hand and the Rosary in [our] left, the sacred names of Jesus and Mary in [our] hearts, and the modesty and mortification of Jesus Christ in [our] own behavior.”
And, while he required a couple more things than Jesus, these are our modern tools and necessities for evangelization, the weapon of the Rosary as St. Pio called it, and the Crucifix, the reminder of why we are being sent in the first place.
Because, in the end, as we are sent, as we are witnesses of the Christian faith, we truly have nothing to fear, for, as Christ has reminded: “In the world you shall have distress. But have confidence. (He says) I have overcome the world.”
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