Gospel Reflections for July 12 2015
The Gospel begins nicely enough. Jesus sends His disciples on a short mission to nearby villages to preach the Gospel message. However, He is sending them into a pagan, hostile, and sometimes violent world. What was He thinking? This is not an easy task!
After all …this small band of Christians were the only Christians in the entire world! I wonder how they must have felt. They were going to areas that had never heard of Jesus, or salvation, or unconditional love. Did they feel lonely and outnumbered against insurmountable odds? …No, they did not!
They had a profound sense that Jesus would be standing in spirit right with them, just as He always promised. They would face anyone with Jesus standing with them, and the Gospel indicates that they were successful in their first mission.
Look at what they were facing. The difference in size between Rome and Christianity was vast. Christians numbered only a few dozen people and yet the empire was about the same size as the United States is today. Rome had the clear advantage and so should have worn down those early Christians so that they would succumb to pagan religion. That did not happen. It would be those first Christians who would change pagans into followers of Christ and not the other way around! That is exactly what did happen. After just a few hundred years the entire Empire converted to Catholicism. How that happened is a subject of intense scholarship today. One reason is given by the pagans themselves. “See these Christians, how they love one another!”
The calm confidence and love for every person of those early Christians, who felt the presence of Our Lord with them every day, turned the vast Roman Empire around.
This Gospel invites us to have that same spirit of calm confidence and love of those first century Christians. Our nation has changed a lot in the last few years, in ways that seem surprising to many. We face numerous changes involving marriage and the family and other secular political assaults. The early Church did not panic nor should we.
We will draw on the same virtues of love, compassion, and courage that the first Christians found so helpful. These are the virtues we will need when facing any challenge today.
Let us draw on the same sources of strength that they did, and that proved so amazingly successful in the very first years of the Church.
God Bless!
Fr. Dave
As usual I am inspired by your commentary on the Gospel. It makes me think of how difficult it is to be confident and fearless in our relationship with the world “out there”. All it takes is to remember that Christ is standing right there at our side, but I often fail to realize it. My prayer is that the Holy Spirit will help me with that realization.
Yes, pray for Jesus to be at your side, and all will be well.
Thank you Fr. Dave for this very beautiful message! I have been very disturbed and angry about what has been happening in our Country, and your message calmed my soul. I now can look at these things with more trust in God’s Divine Mercy, knowing that He is the one who is in control.
God Bless You,
Jean
You are most welcome!
Thank you for this profound reminder of our Christian commitment. We pray that we
will remember and resolve to daily practice love, compassion and courage as we face
each day’s challenges.
Or, as the Brits say: Keep calm and carry on!
So happy to have to back in the ‘hood!
Bob and Rose Mary
Yes, I am very grateful to be here in the area. This is God’s country!
Again, Fr. Dave, your reflections on the gospel for Sunday are solace and light for worries about affairs in our nation and the world. Thank you for the reminder about the lives of the apostles. I pray thoughts about their success amid sacrifice will encourage my hope and confidence.
I find the example of early Christians to always be remarkable and inspirational.
Father Dave
It is a very difficult world for young adults to grow up in. The secular media has so many mixed messages. It seems to glorify evil and the dark forces. There are sects of Christianity that do not preach the values of Jesus.
Why do you think that these false religions are so prevalent today? It seems that we still have paganism today.
It is great that you are at St. Rose!! I enjoy your homilies!!
thank you!
“Draw on the same sources of strength as they did” …. and “be amazingly successful”………..Great advise again!
Yes, the way of the Lord is always successful.
Thanks Father Dave for giving me hope, not just for me, but for my grandchildren more so. Iam so troubled what’s happening in our own country today And hoping that Jesus is always in their hearts. amen
We are always people of hope, …because we follow Our Lord!
Thank you Fr. Dave for your insightful commentary. It is always so helpful and interesting.
The disciples knew how to love and care for others because they had walked with Jesus, seen Him
care for the sick, have compassion on the poor, the downtrodden the prisoners and anyone that asked.
Him for His help.
Pope Francis mirrors the disciples in showing his great love for the poor and the outcasts of society.
God invites us to that same challenge today – to care for and love one another.
We live in a troubled world, where many disregard that our purpose on earth is to reach our
eternal salvation.
.
Well said!
Your comments were the same as what I was thinking when reading the scripture. At a couples for Christ meeting last night we talked about the same thing about not looking at what the world is doing, pray for them but keep focused on what God wants us to do and that is pray and evangelize. Went for a walk with a neighbor today and talked to her about going to a Couples for Christ meeting, looks like she is going to go. Then ran into a lady who happens to work in a place as a care giver to senior citizins where I used to take communion. She hasn’t been going to church because her young one is too noisy in church. She goes to Peter Claiver and is Filipino and hope she will try the crying room over there. Also think she will be going to the meeting to deepen her relationship with Our Lord. It seemed like an appointment from Our Lord. More fun ahtn thinking of pokitics, etc.
Thanks for sharing this story.
“See these Christians, how they love one another!” This is such a powerful statement and truly touched my heart. Thank you.
The loving behavior of the early Christians truly changed the world.
Fr. Dave,
Well said, and very well written. In real life application, I was particularly strictened by your references to “spirit of calm confidence and love” and the virtues of “love, compassion and courage” – so profound and apropo today as it was then, and will be here after!
With heartfelt gratitude, Joe
You are very welcome.
Thanks Fr. Dave for your comments on the Scripture reading. Love and compassion are the gifts that seem to call forth the best in people of all times. However, I find that today there is also a great indifference, but I know that in the end Love will prevail. I also find that this deep conviction of being loved and sent into our wold and in these times is a mission given to us by Jesus and therefore fear can and will be overcome.
Beautiful message! Thanks for sharing that.
YAY for the early Christians!!! EVERYTIME I feel myself doubting, I draw my courage to have more faith from these early Christians. Especially, my favorite hero, St. Paul. I mean, it’s MIND BLOWING that this is what happened. So really, how are we to ever doubt? How can we ever feel that we can’t face the challenges that our church faces today? Calm confidence and Love. What a wonderful example these early Christians set for us. We are so lucky to have these heroes as part of our history! Praise be to God.
Well said!
Father Dave, Loved your commentary!!! We must Love one another and have love, compassion, courage to bring a most precious faith centered on love, a giving love, a giving of self to others to the world!!!!! I love the saying be the difference you want to see in the world!!!The apostles were the difference filled with the Holy Spirit to bring God’s love to the world!!Knowing Jesus gave them meaning and purpose in life and filled with His Holy Spirit they had the love,compassion and courage to spread our precious faith and to even die as they did for it!!! Each one of us must be the difference we want to see in the world for Jesus and stand up for our beautiful, precious beliefs!!!No one can take our faith or our love from us and we will change the world!!!! With God, Jesus, and Our blessed Mother living in us we will make a beautiful difference for good!!!!
With love, Franca and Dick
YEs, faithful and faith-filled Christians can change the world!
Thank you for the reminder about Jesus’ extravagant commitments to us. It’s easy to forget His presence in this time, in this place.
Last month I attended a wedding here. Packed church – a dilapidated German Gothic cathedral – on a Sunday afternoon. Amid the chaos of the event I was overwhelmed by the palpable presence of Christ in our midst when the priest put his hands on the shoulders of the couple as they stood before him. He spoke to them quietly, personally for a good 20 minutes, as if nothing else around them existed for those moments.
I don’t know, of course, what he said, but if body language really is 90% of communication, his message impacted the newlyweds in a way that will last a lifetime.
Jesus is with us here in this time and this place. This is a tough place for Catholics to practice their Faith, but they really do. Please remember the Faithful of this wonder-filled land in your prayers.
Thanks for sharing this remarkable and impressive story of the priest at the wedding. I was impressed at his manner and decision to speak so personally and meaningfully to the wedding couple. I think the world will change for the better one marriage at a time. Please be assured of my prayers for all the Chinese people.