Jesus went around to all the towns and villages,
teaching in their synagogues,
proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom,
and curing every disease and illness.
At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them
because they were troubled and abandoned,
like sheep without a shepherd.
Then he said to his disciples,
“The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few;
so ask the master of the harvest
to send out laborers for his harvest.”
Then he summoned his Twelve disciples
and gave them authority over unclean spirits to drive them out
and to cure every disease and every illness.
Jesus sent out these Twelve after instructing them thus,
“Go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
As you go, make this proclamation: ‘The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.’
Cure the sick, raise the dead,
cleanse lepers, drive out demons.
Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.” Mt 9:35-10:1,5,6-8
I think there are two separate messages today. First, Jesus is teaching us that He came to pick 12 men representing the 12 tribes of Israel to start a Church. He knew he would be leaving. He gave these men power to baptize, heal, raise from the dead, cast out demons, and forgive sins. Through Apostolic Succession we can trace our Church’s leaders back to Peter. This power has been handed down through the laying on of hands and ordination, things Christ put in place while He was on earth to continue when He left. I would like to take time today to show respect and honor to all young men who have answered the call or are discerning their call to the priesthood. These men lead very busy and exhausting lives of service and place themselves as instruments in the hands of God totally dedicated to Jesus Christ. We would not be able to get to heaven without them; that is powerful stuff. They feed our souls and give it what is necessary, God’s grace. We would not be able to be baptized, end of story, no salvation. We would not be able to reconcile ourselves with God and grow in our fight to be purified. We would not be able to receive Jesus Christ, Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. We would not be able to witness Jesus Christ crucified and offer up ourselves totally at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass without our priests. We would not be confirmed with Holy Spirit to be soldiers for Christ without a Bishop laying his hands on us in Confirmation. We would not have a witness to our vows in marriage to make two souls become one and die to self to love the other. In our final moments, we would not have someone to give us our final confession and Eucharist and send us on our way purified to the heavenly gates. We would not have anyone to run our parishes, lead us, guide us, inspire us and most importantly be a model of Christ for us. We would not have Churches and schools working together to educate our youth in the faith. We would not have anyone to visit us at our youth group events. We would not have anyone to bless our families, our homes, our businesses, our crucifixes, our holy cards, medals, books, wreaths, water, students, and the list goes on. We would not have anyone to say Mass for the Sisters or Discalced Carmelite nuns. We would not have anyone in our hospitals to visit the sick and heal them with oil, blessings, and prayers. We would not have anyone to lead us in rosaries and funerals for those who have passed away. We would not have anyone to teach in our high schools and universities. We would not have chaplains like Fr. Kapaun who give their lives on the front lines to care for the our troops. We would not have anyone rise in their studies and thankless works to become the next bishop or pope. We would lose our Christ Vicar on earth. Thank you for the heroic men who have died to self and put on Christ everyday in a thankless and tireless vocation with a great reward, bringing as many souls to heaven as they possibly can while bringing their own soul to Christ to live in the eternal reward of heaven.
Second, Jesus teaches us that we have been given everything through God’s grace. We did not earn our life, but we are called to do something with it. We have been created by God willing us into existence with the help of our parents. The way we look, hair color, eye color, height, weight, etc. comes from our parents but only God can give us our souls. Nobody asked before they were born to be put into a certain place in the world with a certain set of people. We have all been put in certain places and circumstances in the world. We have been given everything without cost and we are asked to give without cost. We are called to be the best version of ourselves in the place God has put us and in the circumstances around us. We were created out of love and we are called to share this love. We are called to love like the love of Christ crucified: 1. a free choice based on knowledge, 2. permanently, 3. as a gift of self, and 4. life giving. This is true love. You have it and today Jesus is calling you to share it!
Today’s Advent challenge: Give your parish priest a card filled with thank yous and a gift or some extra cash, invite him over to dinner, take him fishing or hunting. Thank him for all he does physically and spiritually. Answer the call if you feel God is calling you. Give without considering the cost, love like Christ loves you.
We are saints in training! Become a saint!
Christian YOLO
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