Now go - And do the same

Today at Holy Mass we hear in the Gospel of St Luke…….Which by the way today the Universal Church commentates St Luke’s Feast Day - For all you Catholic wonks out there……But back to the Gospel - We hear Jesus sending out “his people”…He sends them out two by two….They have their “marching order”…..Speak the Truth - And speak it in season and out of season - Come hell or high water………”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 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.’ ”…….Notice - These men who were sent out by Jesus himself - All they had was a pure heart and an ironclad will - They were fully committed to the mission at hand - They were “all in!”…These were not “fancy people”…These were not the elite of society…..These were the “everyday man” - People like you and me…..I state all this because I want the reader of this reflection to ponder a question - Have we over complicated the Gospel?…..I sometimes think that to myself…..Jesus was an uneducated man…Scripture tells us He did not even have a “place to lay his head” (ie - He was semi-homeless)……And his 12 friends, were blue-collar guys, also uneducated…..This “crew” was the foundation of the Catholic Church we know today……Men sent out two-by two - With nothing!…..And look how successful they were!…..As Baptized Catholics in the year 2025, we have been given so much - Are we using what has been given to us?……..Maybe its time to get back to the beginning…..Going out - Two by Two - With a pure heart and nothing more…..That is all we need…..No more “programs”…No more powerpoint presentations…No more committee meetings…..Just a pure heart….A soul animated by Sacramental grace…And a Rosary in hand….That is all we really need!

“I chose you from the world, to go and bear fruit that will last, says the Lord”

I have been Catholic my entire life…..I have watched over the years, in some circles of the Church, how we Catholics can’t get out of our own way!…..Someone has a good idea…To make something happen….What happens next?….Ten committee meetings get scheduled…..Four presentations are required…..And before you know it….The “great idea” gets reduced to a watered down manufactured outing of old ladies……….Not Mother Teresa’s sisters!….The Missionaries of Charity are God’s marines….The universal Church needs to watch them more closely….Before I was married, I was the driver for Mother Teresa’s sisters in New York City for seven years….Every Saturday afternoon, I would drive through the Lincoln Tunnel from New Jersey to their convent in Lower Manhattan for 2:00pm…The day started with a Holy Hour before the Blessed Sacrament and following the hour of prayer, the days “adventure” began….It was always something different….And always interesting…..As I drove through the Lincoln Tunnel each Saturday I noticed along the Westside Highway a make-shift community of homeless men and women who collected aluminum cans and plastic bottles….I told the sisters about these people I drove by each Saturday afternoon…How they all lived on the street….And suggested we go and help them…..BOOM!….The sisters agreed…They made some lemonade - Got in my car and we went……This went on for a considerable period of time each week as a result of that first day we went out to meet our new friends…..For the record - The sisters did not “form a committee” to decide how to go about helping these people…They just “rolled up their sleeves” and did it!……Mother Teresa famously said…..“Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person”…….And today Jesus in St Luke’s Gospel tells us something similar….."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……and say to them, 'The Kingdom of God is at hand for you.”……….So what is the take-away here? - Keep it simple……..Don’t turn what should be fundamentally obvious into something it is not…..”The Kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the Gospel”…..Simple!

“The Lord Jesus appointed seventy-two disciples whom he sent ahead of him in pairs to every town and place he intended to visit”

Today St Luke on his Feast Day reminders us…The original followers of Jesus made due!…They did not need much to be authentic disciples and to communicate the message of Christ, as Jesus himself intended it to be lived out and communicated…..What about us?…With all our diplomas….With all the books written…With all the seminars….With all the social programs…Have we lost sight of the basics?…..Are we “getting in our own way”?……..I can teach you the entire Gospel message on one hand and in five words….Ready?….”You - Did - It - Too - Me”……Imagine - I did all that without forming a committee and without a powerpoint presentation…..Go figure?!?………Now go - And do the same………….JMJ

https://www.holywaterbooks.com/catholic-men-will-save-america.html