Message of Abbot Paul - Wednesday 22nd September

Message from Fr Paul for Wednesday, 22nd September 2021

           The vocation of an Apostle is to be sent on a mission. From his many disciples and followers, Jesus chose twelve to be his closest collaborators, associates and friends. He called them Apostles and they were known as The Twelve. But why twelve? In honour of the twelve sons of Jacob and the twelve tribes of Israel, who were named after them. Subsequently, in later generations, each region, nation or local Church came to regard a particular saint as their specific apostle. So it was that St Gregory the Great became known as the Apostle of England and St Boniface, the Apostle of Germany. Today’s Gospel passage from Luke, (Lk 9: 1-6), describes the very first mission of the Twelve, in particular the instructions of Jesus as to how they were to set about doing their task. Luke writes: “Jesus called the Twelve together and gave them power and authority over all devils and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal. He said to them, ‘Take nothing for the journey: neither staff, nor haversack, nor bread, nor money; and let none of you take a spare tunic. Whatever house you enter, stay there; and when you leave, let it be from there. As for those who do not welcome you, when you leave their town shake the dust from your feet as a sign to them.’ So they set out and went from village to village proclaiming the Good News and healing everywhere.”

           What do we learn from this? To begin with, it is Jesus who sends the Twelve out on their mission. The mission is really his and they are to do his work. They could only fulfil this mission because Jesus himself gave them power and authority to do so. They were to cast out spirits and cure diseases, and they were to proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God and heal the sick. They were not sent to do anything else, but to continue the very mission that Jesus himself had been sent from heaven by the Father to accomplish. There were certain conditions as to how they were to proceed, norms of behaviour marked by simplicity and austerity. Nothing was to detract from the work they were being sent to do. Perhaps today, we have got too used to our creature comforts and affluent lifestyle, but in Peru, when I worked on the parishes of Tambogrande, San Lorenzo and several others, we practically followed the instructions of Jesus to the letter. Admittedly, we lived and worked in desert scrubland, where temperatures were regularly in the high thirties. But what is Jesus saying to you and me today? Simply this, that we should always discern his will for us and do what the Holy Spirit, speaking through the authority of the Church, is guiding us to do.