“Fear makes the wolf bigger than he is.”

“The moment we begin to fear the opinions of others and hesitate to tell the truth that is in us, and from motives of policy are silent when we should speak, the divine floods of light and life no longer flow into our souls.” 

Gospel Text: (MT 10:24-33)

Jesus said to his Apostles:

“No disciple is above his teacher,

no slave above his master.

It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher,

for the slave that he become like his master.

If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul,

how much more those of his household!

“Therefore do not be afraid of them.

Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed,

nor secret that will not be known.

What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light;

what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops.

And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul;

rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy

both soul and body in Gehenna.

Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin?

Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father’s knowledge.

Even all the hairs of your head are counted.

So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

Everyone who acknowledges me before others

I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father.

But whoever denies me before others,

I will deny before my heavenly Father.”

Today’s gospel is a wonderful exhortation by Christ for the Church and for each of us when we face the enormity and complexity of the forces of evil in our lives  and our world.  I don’t know about you, but as I learn more about these forces, the more I’m tempted to think they are too big for us.  It seems we do not know how to cope with them, we cannot deal with them on our own, and we cannot stop them let alone destroy them!

If we give in to fear, we think thoughts which are not of God. This has many bad effects because "a thought" is the source "of every act" and "the root of all conduct is the mind" (Sir 37:16-17).

If we give in to fear, we think of ourselves as slaves (Gn 50:18-19). However, Jesus freed "those who through fear of death had been slaves their whole life long" (Heb 2:15).

If we give in to fear, we are intimidated, that is, manipulated (Mt 10:26). Fear is often used to silence us about the Lord (Mt 10:27).

We "have no fear" (Gn 50:21) when we believe that God our Father will provide for us (see Gn 50:21) by working together all things — even bad things — for our benefit (Rm 8:28; Gn 50:20).

We "do not fear" when we believe that no one can destroy our souls except God (Mt 10:28), Who does so only if we insist on not trusting Him and living for Him.

We "have no fear" when we believe that God the Father knows and loves us personally, individually, and tenderly (see Mt 10:29-31).

"Therefore have no fear" (Gn 50:21).

“Truth wears a crown of thorns”

Let us not forget: we are a pilgrim church, subject to misunderstanding, to persecution, but a church that walks serene, because it bears the force of love.” ― Blessed Oscar A. Romero: (1917 – 1980: Archbishop of El Salvador and martyr)

Gospel Text: (MT 10:16-23)
Jesus said to his Apostles:
“Behold, I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves;
so be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves.
But beware of men,
for they will hand you over to courts
and scourge you in their synagogues,
and you will be led before governors and kings for my sake
as a witness before them and the pagans.
When they hand you over,
do not worry about how you are to speak
or what you are to say.
You will be given at that moment what you are to say.
For it will not be you who speak
but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.
Brother will hand over brother to death,
and the father his child;
children will rise up against parents and have them put to death.
You will be hated by all because of my name,
but whoever endures to the end will be saved.
When they persecute you in one town, flee to another.
Amen, I say to you, you will not finish the towns of Israel
before the Son of Man comes.”

Jesus was always realistic during His earthly life. So it’s no surprise that He says to His Apostles, “I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves”. His words were true in the first century, and are so also today.

Today, the Gospel emphasizes the troubles and contradictions we Christians have to suffer because of Christ and his Gospel, and how we must stand firm and persevere to the end. Jesus promised us: «I am with you always, until the end of the age» (Mt 28:20); but He did not promise his disciples an easy journey; on the contrary, He told them: «Everyone will hate you because of me» (Mt 10:22).

The reminder that we will be tested because of our faith could frighten many, but we are assured that the Father is with us. The prospect of facing not only crises, but everyday burdens without this assurance would be a crushing burden. As you continue your journey, remember that God has promised to be with us, to be our guide, and to help us to find the courage to spread His word.

“Providence, not human prudence, succeeds.”

Providence chooses the humble and confounds the worldly wise. - Blessed Luigi Guanella: (1842–1915: Catholic priest from Northern Italy. He is the founder of several religious institutes.)

Gospel Text: (MT 10:7-15)
Jesus said to his Apostles:
“As you go, make this proclamation:
‘The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.’
Cure the sick, raise the dead,
cleanse the lepers, drive out demons.
Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.
Do not take gold or silver or copper for your belts;
no sack for the journey, or a second tunic,
or sandals, or walking stick.
The laborer deserves his keep.
Whatever town or village you enter, look for a worthy person in it,
and stay there until you leave.
As you enter a house, wish it peace.
If the house is worthy,
let your peace come upon it;
if not, let your peace return to you.
Whoever will not receive you or listen to your words—
go outside that house or town and shake the dust from your feet.
Amen, I say to you, it will be more tolerable
for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment
than for that town.”

Divine Providence means that God rules the world and everything in it. Nothing happens by chance. Everything that happens in this world is either positively willed by God or at least permitted by him. And to those who love him all things even the evil works together for good.

God has a plan for our life. But just like other architects who use contractors and subcontractors to execute their plans, so God submits the execution of his plans to secondary causes, to creatures. And often, because our faith is weak we do not see behind this person or that event, the loving providing hand of God.

We want to see the plan working out in all of its details, and according to our way of thinking. “But our thoughts and our ways are not God’s thoughts and God’s ways.” According to our way of thinking the necessary effect of a life of virtue is esteem, joy, tranquility and success. And a life of sin and vice necessarily brings misery, shame and failure. But how different are the thoughts of God who sometimes blesses us with failure and curses us with success.

Not only do we want to see the plan of our life working out in all of its details and according to our way of thinking, we also want to see it worked out now. We live in a world of speed and instant results. We forget that our lifetime is only a moment in God’s eternity. And it is for Him to determine when the “fullness of time will be.”

Followers follow, and those who don't follow aren't followers - To follow Jesus means to follow Jesus into society.

“Now, what happens if you eliminate anything from the Bible that offends your sensibility and crosses your will? If you pick and choose what you want to believe and reject the rest, how will you ever have a God who can contradict you? You won't! You'll have ...A God, essentially, of your own making, and not a God with whom you can have a relationship and genuine interaction. Only if your God can say things that outrage you and make you struggle (as in a real friendship or marriage!) will you know that you have gotten hold of the real God and not a figment of your imagination. So an authoritative Bible is not the enemy of a personal relationship with God. It is the precondition for it.” ― Timothy Keller: (Christian apologist and author)

Gospel Text: (MT 10:1-7)
Jesus summoned his Twelve disciples
and gave them authority over unclean spirits to drive them out
and to cure every disease and every illness.
The names of the Twelve Apostles are these:
first, Simon called Peter, and his brother Andrew;
James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John;
Philip and Bartholomew,
Thomas and Matthew the tax collector;
James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddeus;
Simon the Cananean, and Judas Iscariot
who betrayed Jesus.

Jesus sent out these Twelve after instructing them thus,
“Do not go into pagan territory or enter a Samaritan town.
Go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
As you go, make this proclamation: ‘The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.’”

In today’s Gospel, Jesus commissions the twelve Apostles. Throughout the New Testament, we learn of the humanity of these men who Matthew names and who Jesus loves and trusts with continuing his mission. They are from varied backgrounds. They doubt, question, argue, and betray. They are human. And Jesus loves them; we can also believe that we too are loved by God.

So here’s the thing, when we have reacted to a situation with a human but perhaps not so wise choice, when we do things we later regret, we can know that indeed, we are loved. We can know that God embraces us in our humanity, in our weaknesses, in the bad times as well as the good.

In our own day, there are many fallen-away Catholics, and of course we pray for them. But we can do more for them than just pray. With the sort of love that Jesus held in His Sacred Heart when he looked at the crowds and said, “the harvest is abundant, but the laborers are few”, we can listen with compassion to those who are wounded. We can offer gentle instructions to those who don’t know what to do to begin living their faith—to begin again to receive the sacraments, the gifts of grace which come from the apostles and which build upon the apostles’ ministry of reaching out to others.

It’s the bishops’ responsibility—and the responsibility of those priests who work under their bishops—to bring those lost sheep back into the fold through the sacraments. But often, it will be ordinary Christians who point those lost sheep in the right direction.

Poor God, how often He is blamed for all the suffering in the world!

Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. – Isaiah: (Old Testament Prophet - 8th Century BC)

Gospel Text: (MT 9:32-38)
A demoniac who could not speak was brought to Jesus,
and when the demon was driven out the mute man spoke.
The crowds were amazed and said,
“Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.”
But the Pharisees said,
“He drives out demons by the prince of demons.”

Jesus went around to all the towns and villages,
teaching in their synagogues,
proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom,
and curing every disease and illness.
At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them
because they were troubled and abandoned,
like sheep without a shepherd.
Then he said to his disciples,
“The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few;
so ask the master of the harvest
to send out laborers for his harvest.”

Instead of being appreciative of the good work Jesus is doing by getting rid of the demons, the Pharisees in today’s gospel accuse him of being in cahoots with the demons. They say the demons listen and obey him because he is a demon, maybe king of the demons to have such control over demons. But this is ridiculous.

Adding evil to evil only adds to the evil – it does not take it away. Adding darkness to darkness makes it darker; it takes light to dispel darkness, just as it takes good to dispel evil. The demons would be strengthened by more demons, not dispelled by them.

A house divided cannot stand. Satan would not try to get rid of the demons. That would be counter to his intentions.

Jesus drives out demons for good, by good, like lighting the darkness. And these people have to pick a side, just as we do this very day. Do they choose goodness and light and recognize that evil is dispelled by good, or do they choose to see evil and strengthen the evil. They can’t do both, and they can’t stay in the middle. Jesus says whoever is not for me is against me. He is doing good work, but the people are trying to make his good work into something evil. Does this sound familiar? Just open the newspaper today or watch the news and the same sort of thing seems to happen over and over again.

The truth of the matter is evil begets more evil, and only good can overcome it and drive it out.

“The greatest love story of all time is contained in a tiny white Host.”

"As a man must be born before he can begin to lead his physical life, so he must be born to lead a Divine Life. That birth occurs in the Sacrament of Baptism. To survive, he must be nourished by Divine Life; that is done in the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist.” - Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen: (1895 – 1979: American bishop declared Venerable by the Catholic Church)

Gospel Text: (MT 9:18-26)
While Jesus was speaking, an official came forward,
knelt down before him, and said,
“My daughter has just died.
But come, lay your hand on her, and she will live.”
Jesus rose and followed him, and so did his disciples.
A woman suffering hemorrhages for twelve years came up behind him
and touched the tassel on his cloak.
She said to herself, “If only I can touch his cloak, I shall be cured.”
Jesus turned around and saw her, and said,
“Courage, daughter! Your faith has saved you.”
And from that hour the woman was cured.

When Jesus arrived at the official’s house
and saw the flute players and the crowd who were making a commotion,
he said, “Go away! The girl is not dead but sleeping.”
And they ridiculed him.
When the crowd was put out, he came and took her by the hand,
and the little girl arose.
And news of this spread throughout all that land.

Like in Michelangelo's famous scene of the creation of Adam on the vault of the Sistine Chapel when God stretches out his hand and instills life into Adam, so Jesus' touch brings life back into this little girl "I am the resurrection and the life," Jesus said elsewhere, and his touch contains within it that resurrection, with that life, with that total restorative power.

The question for you and me is whether in our lives we humbly reach out to touch Jesus with the faith of Jairus and the woman with the 12 year hemorrhage - or do we just "bump into him," like all those following in the crowd, who, even though they were coming into physical contact with him, were receiving none of his healing and transformative power.

There's obviously a great Eucharistic application to this, when we have the unbelievable privilege not only to touch the hem of Jesus' clothes, but receive his whole body, blood, soul and divinity within. We receive the same Jesus whose feet Jairus grasped!

For many Catholics, however, receiving Jesus in Holy Communion has unfortunately, tragically, become routine. Some of us, including priests, can fail to approach Jesus with the awe, reverence, humility and thanksgiving that should characterize any of us when we recognize we're about to touch God.

First they ignore it, then they laugh at it, then they say they knew it all along.

"We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth, and listen to the song of the siren, till she transforms us into beasts. " – Patrick Henry: (1736 – 1799: A Founding Father of the United States of America)

Gospel Text: ( MK 6:1-6)

Jesus departed from there and came to his native place, accompanied by his disciples.

When the sabbath came he began to teach in the synagogue,

and many who heard him were astonished.

They said, “Where did this man get all this?

What kind of wisdom has been given him?

What mighty deeds are wrought by his hands!

Is he not the carpenter, the son of Mary,

and the brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon?

And are not his sisters here with us?”

And they took offense at him.

Jesus said to them,

“A prophet is not without honor except in his native place

and among his own kin and in his own house.”

So he was not able to perform any mighty deed there,

apart from curing a few sick people by laying his hands on them.

He was amazed at their lack of faith.

Have you ever experienced rejection at any point in your life? I have and it could be very disheartening especially when you have genuine intentions, when you mean good, when your entire disposition is to help and never to hinder; rejection is a very painful and harrowing experience.

We discover from the above passage that our Lord was not discouraged by the rejection; he remained in the game. If we reason carefully we will see that the rejection was an effort to discourage him and bring his mission to an abrupt premature end. Often when we face rejection we eject ourselves; this is wrong.

Is Jesus Christ still being rejected in our day and age? As an individual do I in any way reject Jesus Christ? The truth is that Jesus Christ is still being rejected by many in various ways. We reject Jesus when we fail to trust and obey him. We reject Jesus Christ when we hear the word of God and fail to put it into practice. We reject Jesus Christ in our neighbors, we reject Jesus Christ in the poor, we reject Jesus Christ in some of our daily choices, we reject Jesus in our disconnection from the sacraments (how many of us will be willing to receive him in the most blessed sacrament today?) we reject Jesus when we are more interested in the flesh than in the spiritual; we also reject him in our failure to love others as God loves us.

In today’s gospel passage imagine how the Nazarenes' lives would have changed if they had approached Jesus with faith. Keeping this in mind we should ask daily, as the disciples did: «Lord, increase our faith» (Lk 17,5), so as we may open ourselves more and more and let His love work in us.