The kingdom of God is at hand for you

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 10:1-9.

After this the Lord appointed seventy (-two) others whom he sent ahead of him in pairs to every town and place he intended to visit.
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 his 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.'

Commentary of the day
Pope Benedict XVI
General Audience of 13/12/2006 (© copyright Libreria Editrice Vaticana)

Timothy and Titus : two of Paul's collaborators

Three Letters traditionally attributed to Paul are addressed to his two closest collaborators, two to Timothy and one to Titus. 'Timothy' is a Greek name which means "one who honours God". Whereas Luke mentions him six times in the Acts, Paul in his Letters refers to him at least 17 times (and his name occurs once in the Letter to the Hebrews). One may deduce from this that Paul held him in high esteem...

Then, as regards the figure of Titus, whose name is of Latin origin, we know that he was Greek by birth, that is, a pagan (cf. Gal 2: 3). Paul took Titus with him to Jerusalem for the so-called Apostolic Council, where the preaching of the Gospel to the Gentiles that freed them from the constraints of Mosaic Law was solemnly accepted... After Timothy's departure from Corinth, Paul sent Titus there with the task of bringing that unmanageable community to obedience...

To conclude, if we consider together the two figures of Timothy and Titus, we are aware of certain very significant facts. The most important one is that in carrying out his missions, Paul availed himself of collaborators. He certainly remains the Apostle par excellence, founder and pastor of many Churches. Yet it clearly appears that he did not do everything on his own but relied on trustworthy people who shared in his endeavours and responsibilities. Another observation concerns the willingness of these collaborators. The sources concerning Timothy and Titus highlight their readiness to take on various offices that also often consisted in representing Paul in circumstances far from easy. In a word, they teach us to serve the Gospel with generosity, realizing that this also entails a service to the Church herself... Through our commitment in practice we can and must... be rich in good deeds and thus open the doors of the world to Christ, our Saviour.

Persecutor transformed into preacher

Marcos 16: 15-18

15 At sinabi ni Jesus sa kanila, "Habang kayo'y humahayo sa buong mundo, ay ipangaral ninyo sa lahat ng tao ang Magandang Balita. 16 Ang sinumang sumampalataya at mabautismuhan ay maliligtas, ngunit ang ayaw sumampalataya ay paparusahan. 17 Ang mga sumasampalataya ay bibigyan ng kapangyarihang gumawa ng mga himala: sa pangalan ko'y magpapalayas sila ng mga demonyo at magsasalita ng iba't ibang wika. 18 Hindi sila maaano kahit dumampot sila ng ahas o uminom ng lason; at gagaling ang mga maysakit na papatungan nila ng kamay."

(English Version)
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 16:15-18.

He said to them, "Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature.
Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned.
These signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will drive out demons, they will speak new languages.
They will pick up serpents (with their hands), and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them. They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover."

Commentary:

From heaven's height Christ's voice overturned Saul. He received a command to carry out his persecutions no more and fell face downwards to the ground. He had first to be knocked down and afterwards raised up; first struck, then healed. For Christ would never have come to live in him if Saul had not died to his former life of sin. Cast down to the earth in this way, what was it he heard? «Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goad» (Acts 26,14). And he replied: «Who are you, Lord?» Then the voice from on high continued: «I am Jesus of Nazareth whom you are persecuting». The members are still on the ground while the head cries out from the heights of heaven. It is not saying: «Why are you persecuting my servants?» but «Why are you persecuting me?»

And Paul, who had put all his energy into his persecuting, is already preparing to obey: «What do you want me to do?» The persecutor is already transformed into preacher, the wolf has become a sheep, the enemy a defender. Paul learns what he is to do: if he has become blind, if this world's light is held back from him for a while, it is so as to make the light within shine in his heart. Light is taken away from the persecutor so that it may be given to the preacher; at the very moment he no longer saw anything of this world, he saw Jesus. This symbolizes the believer: those who believe in Christ must fix the eyes of their soul on him without paying attention to outward things...

So Saul was led to Ananias; the ravaging wolf is led to the sheep. But the Shepherd, who guides everything from heaven above, reassures it...: «Don't worry. I will show him what he will have to suffer for my name» (Acts 9,16). What wonder is this! The wolf is led, a captive, to the sheep... The Lamb who died for the sheep teaches them not to be afraid any more.

Jesus stretched out his hand, touched him, and said, "Be made clean."

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 5:12-16.

Now there was a man full of leprosy in one of the towns where he was; and when he saw Jesus, he fell prostrate, pleaded with him, and said, "Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean."
Jesus stretched out his hand, touched him, and said, "I do will it. Be made clean." And the leprosy left him immediately.
Then he ordered him not to tell anyone, but "Go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses prescribed; that will be proof for them."
The report about him spread all the more, and great crowds assembled to listen to him and to be cured of their ailments,
but he would withdraw to deserted places to pray.


Commentary of the day : Saint John Chrysostom
Jesus stretched out his hand, touched him, and said, "Be made clean."

Jesus did not just say: «I will do it. Be made clean.» He went further: «He stretched out his hand and touched him.» Now here is something worthy of our notice. Given that he cured him by an act of his will and with a word, why did he touch him with his hand? For no other reason, it seems to me, than to demonstrate that he is not inferior but superior to the Law and that, from now on, nothing is impure for those who are pure... Jesus' hand did not become impure at the leper's contact; to the contrary, the leper's body was purified by means of the holiness of the hand. For Christ did not just come to heal bodies but to raise up souls to sanctity, and here he teaches us to care for our soul and purify it without bothering ourselves about external ablutions. The only leprosy we need to be afraid of is leprosy of soul, that is to say, sin...

As for us, let us show thanksgiving to God at all times. Let us thank him, not only for the gifts he has given to us but, still more, for those he has granted to others. In this way we shall be able to destroy our envy and nurture and increase our love of neighbor