Daily Gospel Reflection
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July 14, 2024
Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two
and gave them authority over unclean spirits.
He instructed them to take nothing for the journey
but a walking stick—
no food, no sack, no money in their belts.
They were, however, to wear sandals
but not a second tunic.
He said to them,
“Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave.
Whatever place does not welcome you or listen to you,
leave there and shake the dust off your feet
in testimony against them.”
So they went off and preached repentance.
The Twelve drove out many demons,
and they anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.
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.”
Prayer
Lord, today you sent your disciples out on a mission to spread the good news that the kingdom of God is now among us. You sent them two by two. Grant us both the zeal to spread the message of your Gospel wherever you have placed us in life and grant us the support and encouragement of companionship in faith so that we may never lose heart in our daily efforts on your behalf. Amen.
Saint of the Day
St. Kateri Tekakwitha was a Native American who was known as the “Lily of the Mohawks" for her purity and devotion.
She was born in 1656 in what is now New York; her indigenous name is Tekakwitha. Her father was a Mohawk warrior, and her mother was an Algonquin who was captured and brought into the Mohawk tribe.
When she was four years old, both of her parents and her brother died of smallpox. Tekakwitha survived the disease, which left scars on her face and damaged her eyesight; she was adopted by her extended family. As she grew up, she would avoid social gatherings because of her scars, and sometimes wore a shawl or veil over her face.
When she was 17, Tekakwitha’s family encouraged her to marry, but she refused. Soon after that, she met a Jesuit missionary and began learning about the Catholic faith. When she was 19, she was baptized, and took the name “Catherine,” or “Kateri,” after Catherine of Siena.
Because of her faith, and her unusual reluctance to conform to traditional practices to marry, Kateri was shunned from her family and village. They ridiculed her, gave her difficult workloads, and threatened her. She left her home village to live in a Jesuit mission for Native Americans on the St. Lawrence River south of Montreal.
She continued to grow in the faith there, practicing rigorous mortifications. In 1679, Kateri formally dedicated her virginity to God, and encouraged a number of other women who felt the same calling.
When she was 24, her health faltered, in part due to her zealous fasting and harsh bodily disciplines. Kateri died during Holy Week in 1680. She is reported to have appeared to several of her friends and family after her death, telling them that she was “on her way to heaven,” and a number of cures were reported by people who appealed to her help in prayer.
St. Kateri was canonized in 2012 following a miracle in Washington State when a boy was cured of a flesh-eating bacterium through her intercession. The chapel in Welsh Family Hall is named after St. Kateri Tekakwitha, and the image and statue shown above are displayed there.
St. Kateri Tekakwitha, Lily of the Mohawks—pray for us!