Jul 6 Sun
Presently, who is the Lord sending out?
Today’s Gospel recounts how Jesus sent two-man teams of disciples to every town and village He intended to visit, to prepare the people there for him. In a similar way, John the Baptist had prepared Israel for Christ. This initiative both advanced the evangelization of Israel and formed many disciples to be apostles.
The Apostles and the other disciples did exactly as Jesus told them. Later, our Lord will give them the task of going out to the whole world and preaching the Good News to all people.
Jesus told them to pray for apostolic vocations: “The harvest is abundant, but the laborers are few; so, ask the Master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.”
We must pray for two kinds of evangelists. First are the missionary evangelists who fan out to the farthest corners of the world, for Jesus intends to visit every place.
Second are the apostles who must penetrate our own culture to Christianize it, without going out of their environment. We are these new evangelists! We who are out in the world are like lambs among wolves. This is why we have to be as cunning as foxes yet remain as innocent as lambs.
Each is responsible for his or her area of duty, and they each know that, as they fulfill that duty, they are working for the successful outcome of the whole project in solidarity with everyone else.
St. Josemaría: “None of you is an isolated piece. If you stop, you make everyone else stop. The apostolic activities we carry out personally, all come together day by day to form a great woven fabric that we offer to God. If we all fulfill our work, if we are faithful and dedicated, this great fabric will be beautiful and faultless."
Our specific apostolic task isn't handed to us ready-made, as if we only needed to watch over it statically to keep it going. It is divine and human activity. We each have to put ever-renewed efforts and initiatives into developing it, to reach more souls and extend our apostolate further and further. We must fulfill our tasks, for the whole Church to achieve the divine goal God has set us: that of bringing all souls to him.
We must not reject those who reject us; we must never give up on bringing them to the Catholic faith. Instead, we seek them out and accompany them into the house of our Father God.
Another conclusion is that our pastors deserve our material and spiritual support because they offer us their total dedication.
Our pastors are performing miracles, with God’s grace, they foster the miracle of holiness. Thus, they must confront evil in themselves and help others to overcome it.
Our Lady is always there, close to our Lord, reminding us lovingly of the obligation we have towards her Son: Do whatever He tells you. She will intercede for the results of each one's personal apostolic task.