Through Lent with Pope Francis
When we live out a spirituality of drawing nearer to others and seeking their welfare, our hearts are opened wide to the Lord’s greatest and most beautiful gifts. Whenever we encounter another person in love, we learn something new about God. Whenever our eyes are opened to acknowledge the other, we grow in the light of faith and knowledge of God. If we want to advance in the spiritual life, then, we must constantly be missionaries. The work of evangelization enriches the mind and the heart; it opens spiritual horizons; it makes us more and more sensitive to the workings of the Holy Spirit, and it takes us beyond our limited spiritual constructs. This openness of the heart is a source of joy, since “it is more blessed to give than to receive”
Evangelii Gaudium 272
Scripture
Luke 10:1-11 NCB
After this, the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place he intended to visit. He said to them: “The harvest is abundant, but the labourers are few. Therefore, ask the Lord of the harvest to send forth labourers for his harvest. “Go on your way. Behold, I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. Carry no money bag or sack and wear no sandals. Greet no one on the road. Whatever house you enter, let your first words be, ‘Peace to this house!’ If a man of peace lives there, your peace will rest on him; if not, it will return to you.
“Remain in the same house, and eat and drink whatever is offered to you, for the labourer deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house.
Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat whatever is set before you.
Cure the sick who are there, and say, ‘The kingdom of God has come unto you.’
“But whenever you enter a town and the people do not welcome you, go out into the streets and say, ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to us we wipe off our feet as a sign against you.
Yet know this: the kingdom of God is at hand.’”
Thought for Today
How has God surprised you through your encounters with other people?
What word, phrase or image comes to mind when you spend time in conversation with Jesus about your own mission?
Music
Send Me Lord – written by Matt Redman, Josh Silverberg & Mitch Wong