BEADS OF JOY 09-29-16
“Mission of The 72 and YOU”
©2016 James Dacey, Jr. OFS
My Friends,
Today’s Gospel: Luke 10:1-12 (Mission of The 72 and You)
“After this the Lord appointed seventy others, and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to come. And he said to them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. Go your way; behold, I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and salute no one on the road. Whatever house you enter, first say, `Peace be to this house!' And if a son of peace is there, your peace shall rest upon him; but if not, it shall return to you. And remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the laborer deserves his wages; do not go from house to house. Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you; heal the sick in it and say to them, `The kingdom of God has come near to you.' But whenever you enter a town and they do not receive you, go into its streets and say, `Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off against you; nevertheless, know this, that the kingdom of God has come near.' I tell you, it shall be more tolerable on that day for Sodom than for that town.”
Reflection:
Today I chose the alternative Gospel reading of the day. The reading of the day I already wrote about recently, I actually already wrote about this one to, but there is so much more here to write about.
How do you witness the truth and joy of the Gospel to others? We must go in love, peace and simplicity. Our Lord told the 72, “Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals;” they were to place complete trust in Him and have their undivided attention on the sharing of the Gospel. They had to travel lightly in order to avoid any distraction; they were sent out to work hard and expect no reward or pay. Yes, that may sound harsh, but it was insightfully brilliant. Our Lord’s purpose and plan is always perfect, even though we may not initially understand it, in time it all makes sense. The gospels always tend to lead us to a place that leave us relying fully upon the Lord and trusting completely in Him. So by scriptural examples, we to can do the same. Look at today’s gospel.
So, they went out completely reliant upon the Lord to sustain them. Now that’s faith! It was by that faith in Jesus, that they were able to keep moving forward. And by receiving no payment, this allowed them to work with love, for the care and concern of others; rather than the objective to acquire wealth as their goal and objective, which would have preoccupied their hearts and mind. Our Lord wanted them to be fully focused to the task of sharing the Proclamation of God’s Kingdom. Giving of our life and our time and our talents to our Lord’s service, should be our single most joyful objective in this life. We only have this one life-time to give, but we are uncertain of its length. Let us do all we can to use this time wisely to serve Jesus, by leading others to Him.
Do not allow anything in this life to distract you or mislead you away from Jesus. There are many out there whose only objective is to lead away believers and lead them away to the slaughter. Stay strong to the course of your faith. Stay aware of your surroundings always. Pray daily and ask Almighty God to guide you and protect you in all situations. We live in a world that for now does not like us (Catholics). Yes, there are still millions upon millions of us worldwide; but we must be strong in the wave of hatred against us. Love those who hate us. Pray for those who persecute us. God knows our hearts and of cause, we want to even see those people who are against us saved. God wants everyone saved. We must love everyone, never hate someone, never do anything to harm another. Jesus is the one we must follow and be like, He is our example. Even Jesus on the Cross forgave those who crucified and killed Him. Our hearts must always be filled with love. Be strong my sisters and brothers. See you tomorrow.
LOVE YOU GUYS !!!!
Your brother in Christ Jesus
And His Most Blessed Mother,
Jim (The Rosary Man) Dacey Jr OFS
**(NEW DAILY FEATURE)
Today is Thursday: We pray the Luminous Mysteries:
The Luminous Mysteries
1. The Baptism of Jesus (Matt 3:13-17)
2. Wedding Feast of Cana (John 2:1-12)
3. Proclamation of the Kingdom of God (Mark 1:15)
4. The Transfiguration (Mark 9:2-13)
5. Institution of the Holy Eucharist (Matt 26:17-30)
Glory and Honor and Praise -Lord Jesus
Christ!!
Rosary Man Jim's Luminous Reflections: http://beads-of-joy-blog.blogspot.com/2013/05/the-luminous-mysteries.html