What a gift the Lord has bestowed upon his disciples. Filled with and emboldened by the Holy Spirit, they are set to go out across the land and touch the lives of those who sorely need love and care. So great is the love of the Father that he empowers them to go out, heal, inspire, cleanse, and truly make the way of the Lord.

The task at hand, though, is one with challenges. As the scripture points out, it will not always be a glamorous assignment. Their possessions are few, the road ahead will be emotionally wrought, and they will be met with resistance. Thankfully, the allotment of the Holy Spirit bestowed upon them was undoubtedly rich. For these men, how could there not be a sense of the greatest praise and glory for the Lord as they witnessed their own inspiring deeds and actions?

Today’s society would not all gladly welcome the teachings of these men. There would be many sandals clapped together to erase the dust of the moral decline we see. Our collective job of discipleship is even harder as we face the degradation of our beliefs and the rise of an enthusiastically amoral society. Our new challenge is to overcome with patience and grace and continue to walk in the way of the Lord as these disciples went out two by two.

As we go about our day, we should pause to think of the modern-day disciples who help to heal the physically wounded and especially pray for those whose work is to empower the mentally challenged, the brokenhearted, and those soon to pass to the Father.

We can, too, follow in the disciples’ footsteps and go out and do the Lord’s work on a daily basis. As my Mother shared with me countless times on the way to Our Lady of Mount Carmel school as a child, “We are only here for a short time. Show in your actions your faith in the Lord.”