July 11, 2019

St. Benedict, Abbot

Mt 10: 7-15

As you go, proclaim the good news, ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. You received without payment; give without payment. Take no gold, or silver, or copper in your belts, no bag for your journey, or two tunics, or sandals, or a staff; for laborers deserve their food. Whatever town or village you enter, find out who in it is worthy, and stay there until you leave. 

As you enter the house, greet it. If the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet as you leave that house or town. Truly I tell you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.

New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.

Our needs will be met

This Gospel takes me back to my days as a member of the Jesuit Volunteer Corps (JVC). One of the four values of JVC is simple living - to learn to separate needs from wants and gain freedom from the material. I struggled as I packed for my year of service, unsure of what was to come and doubting whether or not I would be prepared.

Jesus asks his apostles to live simply as they go proclaim the Good News, and to have faith that their needs will be met on the journey. I would imagine there were a few apostles who doubted Jesus when he told them to leave behind their sandals and second tunic. And yet, their needs were met throughout the journey. How can we renew our faith that God will fulfill our needs, even when we doubt?

—Mikayla Lofton is the Grants Program Manager for the Cristo Rey Network and was a Jesuit Volunteer in Atlanta (‘15-’16).

Prayer

Lord, give me the grace to labor with you without seeking myself - to live the Kingdom in its full reality.

—John Futrell, SJ