Book of Amos 7,12-15. Amaziah, priest of Bethel, said to Amos: "Off with you, visionary, flee to the land of Judah! There earn your bread by prophesying, but never again prophesy in Bethel; for it is the king's sanctuary and a royal temple." Amos answered Amaziah, "I was no prophet, nor have I belonged to a company of prophets; I was a shepherd and a dresser of sycamores. The LORD took me from following the flock, and said to me, Go, prophesy to my people Israel."
Psalms 85(84) 9ab-10.11-12.13-14. I will hear what God proclaims; the LORD –for he proclaims peace to his people. Near indeed is his salvation to those who fear him, glory dwelling in our land.
Kindness and truth shall meet; justice and peace shall kiss. Truth shall spring out of the earth, and justice shall look down from heaven.
The LORD himself will give his benefits; our land shall yield its increase. Justice shall walk before him, and salvation, along the way of his steps.
Letter to the Ephesians 1,3-14.
Brothers and sisters: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens, as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before him. In love he destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ, in accord with the favor of his will, for the praise of the glory of his grace that he granted us in the beloved. In him we have redemption by his blood, the forgiveness of transgressions, in accord with the riches of his grace that he lavished upon us. In all wisdom and insight, he has made known to us the mystery of his will in accord with his favor that he set forth in him as a plan for the fullness of times, to sum up all things in Christ, in heaven and on earth. In him we were also chosen, destined in accord with the purpose of the one who accomplishes all things according to the intention of his will, so that we might exist for the praise of his glory, we who first hoped in Christ. In him you also, who have heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and have believed in him, were sealed with the promised holy Spirit, which is the first installment of our inheritance toward redemption as God's possession, to the praise of his glory.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 6,7-13. Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over unclean spirits. He instructed them to take nothing for the journey but a walking stick--no food, no sack, no money in their belts. They were, however, to wear sandals but not a second tunic. He said to them, "Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave from there. Whatever place does not welcome you or listen to you, leave there and shake the dust off your feet in testimony against them." So they went off and preached repentance. They drove out many demons, and they anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.
ANGELUS 15 July 2018 Dear Brothers and Sisters, Good Morning,
Today’s Gospel passage (. Mk 6:7-13) narrates the moment Jesus sends the Twelve [Apostles] on mission. After calling each of them by name “to be with him” (Mk 3:14), listening to his words and observing his gestures of healing, he now calls them again to “send them out two by two” (6:7) to the villages he was going to visit. It is a sort of “internship” of what they would be called to do following the Resurrection of the Lord, through the power of the Holy Spirit.
The Gospel passage pauses on the style of the missionary which we can sum up in two points: the mission has a centre; the mission has a face.
First of all, the missionary disciple has his centre of reference who is Jesus himself. The narrative indicates this by using a series of verbs which have him as the subject — “He called to him”; he “began to send them”; he “gave them authority”; “he charged them”, “he said to them” (vv. 7, 8, 10) —, so that the going out and working of the Twelve appears to be radiating from a centre, reaffirming the presence and work of Jesus in their missionary actions. This demonstrates that the Apostles have nothing of their own to proclaim, nor any abilities to manifest, but rather that they speak and act as “emissaries”, as messengers of Jesus.
This episode of the Gospel also applies to us and not only to priests but to all baptized people called to witness to the Gospel of Christ in the various spheres of life. And for us too, this mission is authentic only in so far as its unchanging centre who is Jesus. It is not an initiative of faithful individuals nor of groups and not even of large gatherings. It is the mission of the Church, inseparably united to her Lord. No Christian proclaims the Gospel “on his/her own”, but is only sent by the Church who received the mandate from Jesus himself. Indeed it is Baptism that makes us missionaries. A baptized person who does not feel the need to proclaim the Gospel, to proclaim Jesus, is not a good Christian.
The second characteristic of the missionary’s style is, so to speak, a face, which consists in the poverty of means. His accoutrement responds to a criteria of modesty. Indeed the Twelve have the order to “take nothing for their journey except a staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belts” (6:8). The Teacher wants them to be free and unhampered, without reserves and without favours, certain only of the love of the One who sends them, strengthened only by his Word which they go to proclaim. The staff and the sandals are the gear of pilgrims because that is what the messengers of the Kingdom of God are, not omnipotent managers, not irreplaceable officials, not celebrities on tour. Let us think for example of this Diocese of which I am Bishop. Let us think about some saints from this Diocese of Rome: Saint Philip Neri, Saint Benedict Joseph Labre, Saint Alessio, Blessed Ludovica Albertoni, Saint Frances of Rome, Saint Gaspare del Bufalo and many others. They were not officials or business people, but rather humble workers of the Kingdom. This was the face they had. And to this “face” also belongs the way the message is received: it can happen that one is not welcomed or listened to (cf. v. 11). This too is poverty: the experience of failure. The experience of Jesus who was rejected and crucified anticipates the destiny of his messenger. And only if we are united to Him, who died and Rose, can we find the courage to evangelize.
May the Virgin Mary, the first disciple and missionary of the Word of God, help us to convey to the world the message of the Gospel in a humble and radiant exultation, beyond any rejection, misunderstanding or tribulation.
FAUSTI - "Call forth the twelve and began to send them" The Twelve were first called each one individually to follow him. Then they were formed as a community to "be with him". Now they are sent to the brothers in two by two. This passage is a "travel breviary", so that the senders do not forget to reproduce the Face of those who send them. It is the identity card of the Apostolic Church, that is, sent by Jesus - whose mission was in poverty - and passed through failure, concealment, powerlessness and smallness. Those sent to their brothers and sisters receive the greatest gift of the Father: they are fully associated with the Son, who shares in the mystery that he proclaims. With the sending of the twelve, Jesus is no longer alone. He began to be the first of many brothers, a grain that had already multiplied. This first mission to Israel is already a harvest that is sown for a later one, which will be ever more abundant, until the end of time, when all men will eat the bread of the Son. The proclamation of the Gospel is always in poverty, because it proclaims the Cross that has conquered the world. More than what needs to be said, Jesus shows concern for what needs to be. What you are, he cries out louder than what you say. It is true that the Word of God is effective in itself; it is not my testimony that makes it credible. However, my counter-attestation has the power to make it incredible. In evil I always have greater power than in good: I cannot create a flower, but I can destroy it! The poverty that Jesus "orders" comes from the joy of those who have discovered the treasure (Mt 13:44), and leads to victory over the sin of the world - which consists in the desire to have, to have power and to appear, mortal instruments devised by the fear of death. His poverty is not a deprivation, but a supreme value, rather the sum of the values of his life. For God, being Love, is poor. His having is His being, and His being is being of the other, in the gift of Himself of the Father to the Son and of the Son to the Father, in the one Spirit. For us too, poverty is the condition for love. For as long as you have things, give things, when you have nothing, give yourself. Only then do you truly love and can share. Moreover, what you have divides you from the other, what you give, unites you, and makes you in solidarity with him. As long as you are not poor, everything you give is just an exercise of power. Already in the A. Testament poverty, smallness and impotence are the means that God chooses to overcome. In fact, he chose what is foolish and weak to confuse the wise and the strong, what is ignoble, despised and nothing, to reduce to nothing the things that are (1 Cor 1:27). On the other hand, we know the grace of our Lord Jesus who, from being rich, became poor so that we might become rich through His poverty (2 Cor 8:9). Peter and John had learned this lesson well when they performed the first miracle of the nascent Church. They made the cripple walk with the words: "I have neither gold nor silver, but what I have I give you: in the name of Jesus Christ, the Nazarene, walk". (Acts 3:6). If they had had silver and gold, they would have done a good work, maybe an institute for cripples! But faith can only come from the announcement made in weakness, because it is a free response to the Word of Christ. For this reason Paul presents himself in weakness, with much fear and trepidation, placing all his wisdom in Christ, and in Christ Crucified (1 Cor 2:2). And he says: "When I am weak, it is then that I am strong (2 Cor 12:10), strong in trust in God, whose weakness is stronger than men. Jesus sends his people into poverty, just as the Father sent Him.
Book of Amos 7,12-15.
RispondiEliminaAmaziah, priest of Bethel, said to Amos: "Off with you, visionary, flee to the land of Judah! There earn your bread by prophesying,
but never again prophesy in Bethel; for it is the king's sanctuary and a royal temple."
Amos answered Amaziah, "I was no prophet, nor have I belonged to a company of prophets; I was a shepherd and a dresser of sycamores.
The LORD took me from following the flock, and said to me, Go, prophesy to my people Israel."
Psalms 85(84)
9ab-10.11-12.13-14.
I will hear what God proclaims;
the LORD –for he proclaims peace to his people.
Near indeed is his salvation to those who fear him,
glory dwelling in our land.
Kindness and truth shall meet;
justice and peace shall kiss.
Truth shall spring out of the earth,
and justice shall look down from heaven.
The LORD himself will give his benefits;
our land shall yield its increase.
Justice shall walk before him,
and salvation, along the way of his steps.
Letter to the
Ephesians 1,3-14.
Brothers and sisters: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens,
as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before him. In love
he destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ, in accord with the favor of his will,
for the praise of the glory of his grace that he granted us in the beloved.
In him we have redemption by his blood, the forgiveness of transgressions, in accord with the riches of his grace
that he lavished upon us. In all wisdom and insight,
he has made known to us the mystery of his will in accord with his favor that he set forth in him
as a plan for the fullness of times, to sum up all things in Christ, in heaven and on earth.
In him we were also chosen, destined in accord with the purpose of the one who accomplishes all things according to the intention of his will,
so that we might exist for the praise of his glory, we who first hoped in Christ.
In him you also, who have heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and have believed in him, were sealed with the promised holy Spirit,
which is the first installment of our inheritance toward redemption as God's possession, to the praise of his glory.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ
according to Saint Mark
6,7-13.
Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over unclean spirits.
He instructed them to take nothing for the journey but a walking stick--no food, no sack, no money in their belts.
They were, however, to wear sandals but not a second tunic.
He said to them, "Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave from there.
Whatever place does not welcome you or listen to you, leave there and shake the dust off your feet in testimony against them."
So they went off and preached repentance.
They drove out many demons, and they anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.
POPE FRANCIS
RispondiEliminaANGELUS 15 July 2018
Dear Brothers and Sisters, Good Morning,
Today’s Gospel passage (. Mk 6:7-13) narrates the moment Jesus sends the Twelve [Apostles] on mission. After calling each of them by name “to be with him” (Mk 3:14), listening to his words and observing his gestures of healing, he now calls them again to “send them out two by two” (6:7) to the villages he was going to visit. It is a sort of “internship” of what they would be called to do following the Resurrection of the Lord, through the power of the Holy Spirit.
The Gospel passage pauses on the style of the missionary which we can sum up in two points: the mission has a centre; the mission has a face.
First of all, the missionary disciple has his centre of reference who is Jesus himself. The narrative indicates this by using a series of verbs which have him as the subject — “He called to him”; he “began to send them”; he “gave them authority”; “he charged them”, “he said to them” (vv. 7, 8, 10) —, so that the going out and working of the Twelve appears to be radiating from a centre, reaffirming the presence and work of Jesus in their missionary actions. This demonstrates that the Apostles have nothing of their own to proclaim, nor any abilities to manifest, but rather that they speak and act as “emissaries”, as messengers of Jesus.
This episode of the Gospel also applies to us and not only to priests but to all baptized people called to witness to the Gospel of Christ in the various spheres of life. And for us too, this mission is authentic only in so far as its unchanging centre who is Jesus. It is not an initiative of faithful individuals nor of groups and not even of large gatherings. It is the mission of the Church, inseparably united to her Lord. No Christian proclaims the Gospel “on his/her own”, but is only sent by the Church who received the mandate from Jesus himself. Indeed it is Baptism that makes us missionaries. A baptized person who does not feel the need to proclaim the Gospel, to proclaim Jesus, is not a good Christian.
The second characteristic of the missionary’s style is, so to speak, a face, which consists in the poverty of means. His accoutrement responds to a criteria of modesty. Indeed the Twelve have the order to “take nothing for their journey except a staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belts” (6:8). The Teacher wants them to be free and unhampered, without reserves and without favours, certain only of the love of the One who sends them, strengthened only by his Word which they go to proclaim. The staff and the sandals are the gear of pilgrims because that is what the messengers of the Kingdom of God are, not omnipotent managers, not irreplaceable officials, not celebrities on tour. Let us think for example of this Diocese of which I am Bishop. Let us think about some saints from this Diocese of Rome: Saint Philip Neri, Saint Benedict Joseph Labre, Saint Alessio, Blessed Ludovica Albertoni, Saint Frances of Rome, Saint Gaspare del Bufalo and many others. They were not officials or business people, but rather humble workers of the Kingdom. This was the face they had. And to this “face” also belongs the way the message is received: it can happen that one is not welcomed or listened to (cf. v. 11). This too is poverty: the experience of failure. The experience of Jesus who was rejected and crucified anticipates the destiny of his messenger. And only if we are united to Him, who died and Rose, can we find the courage to evangelize.
May the Virgin Mary, the first disciple and missionary of the Word of God, help us to convey to the world the message of the Gospel in a humble and radiant exultation, beyond any rejection, misunderstanding or tribulation.
FAUSTI - "Call forth the twelve and began to send them" The Twelve were first called each one individually to follow him. Then they were formed as a community to "be with him".
RispondiEliminaNow they are sent to the brothers in two by two. This passage is a "travel breviary", so that the senders do not forget to reproduce the Face of those who send them. It is the identity card of the Apostolic Church, that is, sent by Jesus - whose mission was in poverty - and passed through failure, concealment, powerlessness and smallness.
Those sent to their brothers and sisters receive the greatest gift of the Father: they are fully associated with the Son, who shares in the mystery that he proclaims.
With the sending of the twelve, Jesus is no longer alone. He began to be the first of many brothers, a grain that had already multiplied.
This first mission to Israel is already a harvest that is sown for a later one, which will be ever more abundant, until the end of time, when all men will eat the bread of the Son.
The proclamation of the Gospel is always in poverty, because it proclaims the Cross that has conquered the world.
More than what needs to be said, Jesus shows concern for what needs to be.
What you are, he cries out louder than what you say.
It is true that the Word of God is effective in itself; it is not my testimony that makes it credible.
However, my counter-attestation has the power to make it incredible.
In evil I always have greater power than in good: I cannot create a flower, but I can destroy it!
The poverty that Jesus "orders" comes from the joy of those who have discovered the treasure (Mt 13:44), and leads to victory over the sin of the world - which consists in the desire to have, to have power and to appear, mortal instruments devised by the fear of death.
His poverty is not a deprivation, but a supreme value, rather the sum of the values of his life.
For God, being Love, is poor. His having is His being, and His being is being of the other, in the gift of Himself of the Father to the Son and of the Son to the Father, in the one Spirit.
For us too, poverty is the condition for love.
For as long as you have things, give things, when you have nothing, give yourself.
Only then do you truly love and can share.
Moreover, what you have divides you from the other, what you give, unites you, and makes you in solidarity with him.
As long as you are not poor, everything you give is just an exercise of power.
Already in the A. Testament poverty, smallness and impotence are the means that God chooses to overcome.
In fact, he chose what is foolish and weak to confuse the wise and the strong, what is ignoble, despised and nothing, to reduce to nothing the things that are (1 Cor 1:27).
On the other hand, we know the grace of our Lord Jesus who, from being rich, became poor so that we might become rich through His poverty (2 Cor 8:9).
Peter and John had learned this lesson well when they performed the first miracle of the nascent Church. They made the cripple walk with the words: "I have neither gold nor silver, but what I have I give you: in the name of Jesus Christ, the Nazarene, walk". (Acts 3:6).
If they had had silver and gold, they would have done a good work, maybe an institute for cripples! But faith can only come from the announcement made in weakness, because it is a free response to the Word of Christ.
For this reason Paul presents himself in weakness, with much fear and trepidation, placing all his wisdom in Christ, and in Christ Crucified (1 Cor 2:2). And he says: "When I am weak, it is then that I am strong (2 Cor 12:10), strong in trust in God, whose weakness is stronger than men.
Jesus sends his people into poverty, just as the Father sent Him.