Jesus appointed seventy-two other disciples and said to them, “Go on your way; behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves. Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals”(Lk 10:3-4).

The opening of today’s Gospel continues the same theme of the past few days and that is the call of a radical dependence on God. Jesus sent his disciples out with no money, no credit cards, no sack, no luggage, no sandals, no Crocs. They were to rely solely on divine providence. They were taught by Jesus to believe and trust in the Father, and now they would put both to the test.

How well could we fare today? Are we even willing to leave the house or go to the next room without our cell phones?

Jesus meets us and accepts as we are and where we are but calls us to go deeper, to invite us to expand beyond our present understanding and practices. We may say to ourselves that we are not capable of being a great saint like the Apostles, but that would miss the point of who a saint is. A saint is not necessarily one who sought to be great but one who was willing to surrender all to God, and most doing so, step by step. They accepted and put into practice what God invited them to do.

We are given the same invitation that the saints have received but we may still be allowing ourselves to be lured away by distractions, diversions, demands, material enticements, and emotional twists and turns. It is good to assess often, if not daily, where and how we expend our energy and time. How much of what we are thinking about and spending our time doing is aligned with God’s will? The material things we have accumulated, are there things we can let go of? What we have, what we think, and how we spend our time, is good to discern and be more intentional about.

If you might feeling a bit overwhelmed or may be doing ok but feeling like you would like to have some more time with God, St. Mother Teresa offers us some good advice. “God speaks in the silence of the heart.” Making some time for silence is a good place to start. Find a comfortable place to sit, take some deep slow breaths, and then ask God to reveal to you what he would like you to bring into your life and by doing so what you would need to let go of to make the space. Who better to guide us than the one who gave and continues to sustain our life?

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Photo: A quiet moment at the end of my Rosary walk

Mass readings for Thursday, October 3, 2024