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Commentary on the Gospel for Thursday, October 3, 2024
Saint Francis Borgia
Today we remember Saint Francis Borgia; in the Collect prayer, it says: […] as we celebrate the feast […] teach us to understand that there is nothing in the world comparable to the joy of spending our lives in your service. And the reading from the Gospel of Luke is the account of the mission of the 72.
It may be that parishes, ordinary faithful, and institutes and various Catholic associations sometimes feel overwhelmed by the numerous documents (Vatican, diocesan, parish, etc.) with pastoral plans, strategies for evangelization, programs… We dedicate so much effort to all these «preliminaries» that we have no energy left to put them into practice. The most critical might even say that it would be better to forget about «so much paper» and get to work once and for all.
But let’s not consider these «papers» useless, we need them to a great extent, and the more complex and difficult the social situation, the more so. Jesus, we read in Luke, did not send the seventy-two without more: he provided them with a «guide» with instructions for the case. A guide that provides some clues… First of all, he sends them out two by two, which means that the center of the proclamation is Christ himself, not the leadership ability, eloquence, or persuasion of the one who proclaims. And that it is Christ who moves the community, the incipient Church: the two represent it.
You have to travel light, lest we carry so many things, material or otherwise, that hinder and delay the journey.
A surprising warning that even seems a bit rude: do not greet anyone along the way. But in that historical, geographical, and cultural context, it has an explanation. The greeting did not consist merely of a «good morning» but in a prolonged stop of up to several days.
Stay where you are received and adapt to what is there. That is, accept and embrace their culture, their customs, their unwritten rules… even if the faith in Jesus Christ that you preach leads them to change in certain aspects…
Wherever you are received, heal the sick. That is, the proclamation of salvation must be accompanied by kindness and dedication. If we say that God has given us the mandate to love, we must be consistent.
And be firm and tenacious in the proclamation. If they reject you, perhaps because of the suspicion that you want to take advantage of them, show that you are not going to take even the dust clinging to your feet and make clear the proclamation of the Kingdom that has come for all in Jesus Christ.