From the Gospel acclamation: “May the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ enlighten the eyes of our hearts, that we may know what is the hope that belongs to our call.”
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark (Mk 6:7-13)
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.
In today’s Gospel, we hear Mark’s account of the commissioning of the Twelve Apostles. As he prepares them for his mission, Jesus tells them not to provide for themselves but to trust in God’s providence in the welcoming people they would encounter. In accordance with the Father’s will, Jesus guides them toward stripping away all that is not of God so that they may bring witness to others for the praise of his glory. Emphasizing this facet of sharing the Good News, and including not only the apostles but all the faithful, Saint Paul says in the second reading: “In him we were also chosen, destined in accord with the purpose of the One who accomplishes all things according to the intention of his will, so that we might exist for the praise of his glory, we who first hoped in Christ.”
God, guide me in the way of success, not in the ways of the world but in your ways. The measure of success is fidelity to you and not results. As the world has it, there is always more to gain in a restless pursuit to the end, and I find frustration in that time after time. But you call me to something else entirely, to what Saint Paul referred to as “every spiritual blessing in the heavens . . . to be holy and without blemish.” As Mother Teresa said, “God does not require that we be successful only that we be faithful.” Help me, Lord, know the hope that you call me to, and give me the courage to respond to you faithfully in accordance with your will.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.