Called To Be Missionaries

 

Luke 10: 1-12, 17-20

The Mission of the Seventy-two.^{[a] 1} After this the Lord appointed seventy[-two]^[b] others whom he sent ahead of him in pairs to every town and place he intended to visit. ² He said to them, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest. ³ Go on your way; behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves. ⁴ Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals; and greet no one along the way. ⁵ Into whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this household. ⁶ If a peaceful person lives there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you. ⁷ Stay in the same house and eat and drink what is offered to you, for the laborer deserves his payment. Do not move about from one house to another. ⁸ Whatever town you enter and they welcome you, eat what is set before you, ⁹ cure the sick in it and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God is at hand for you.’ ¹⁰ Whatever town you enter and they do not receive you, go out into the streets and say, ¹¹ ‘The dust of your town that clings to our feet, even that we shake off against you.’ Yet know this: the kingdom of God is at hand. ¹² I tell you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom on that day than for that town

Return of the Seventy-two. ¹⁷ The seventy[-two] returned rejoicing, and said, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us because of your name.” ¹⁸ Jesus said, “I have observed Satan fall like lightning from the sky. ¹⁹ Behold, I have given you the power ‘to tread upon serpents’ and scorpions and upon the full force of the enemy and nothing will harm you. ²⁰ Nevertheless, do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice because your names are written in heaven.”

On this Sunday, "Mission Sunday", at Wheeling Jesuit University, Fr. Walter Buckius introduced Mass with the challenge: "We are all called to be missionaries, and some of us are even called  to leave their own countries." Bong! I heard this directed to me. I had been asked to consider going to Rwanda to help out after the Genocide, frightening in itself, but also complicated by the "important" work I was doing as the Vocation Director (Recruiter)/  I had been rocking back and forth for days on what to do, and the night before after seeing "Braveheart", I asked God to give me a sign.  And here it was,  as clear as could be.. At that Mass that I decided to say YES to Rwanda, a decision that changed my life and the lives of countless others.  I can't thank God enough for the call and the grace to answer it.

Let me repeat the words of Fr. Buckius to YOU, my readers.  What is God calling you to do to carry out his mission, the same mission he gave to the seventy-two? For some, it may mean leaving the comfort of your home-country;  for others, it might mean investing more energy into the evangelization of your family or work place, but indeed, WE ARE ALL CALLED TO BE MISSIONARIES.

Bro. Rene