SAINT MARIA GORETTI, VIRGIN AND MARTYR (OPTIONAL MEMORIAL)

Jesus sent out these Twelve.

We might wonder how the experience of the Twelve applies to us today. Do we go into the streets and cry out, “The Kingdom of heaven is at hand”? Do we demonstrate God’s kingdom by healing the sick, raising the dead, or casting out demons? Certainly it’s possible; God can and does work miracles through us. But that’s generally not our day-to-day experience.

If looking at the feats performed by the disciples discourages you, don’t forget the point of what Jesus was saying here. The signs the apostles worked weren’t meant to be an end in themselves. They were meant to point people to the presence of God’s heavenly kingdom on earth. They were meant to point people to Jesus himself, who is the ruler of this kingdom.

Physical healings, exorcisms, and the like still happen today, and sometimes they happen through us! But they aren’t the only signs of God’s presence on earth. There are many other ways to demonstrate the love, joy, and peace of the kingdom to the people around us.

Certainly pray that your child be healed or that a friend be set free from a sinful habit. But also be open to whatever way the Lord wants you to be a sign. Think, for instance, about the deep impact your faith can have on other people. Think about how dramatic a “sign” it can be if you forgive someone who has deeply offended you. Or the “sign” of being kind to someone whom others completely ignore. Or what about the “sign” you perform simply by trying to live out the virtues of purity, humility, gentleness, and faithfulness in your relationships?

When you focus your heart on Jesus’ presence in you, you become a sign that points to him wherever you go. You can begin just by making this prayer of St. John Henry Newman your own every morning: “Shine through me, and be so in me that every soul I come in contact with may feel your presence in my soul. Let them look up and see no longer me but only Jesus!”

This is the calling of every Christian; this is the way we point to God’s kingdom here on earth. It’s a calling Jesus fulfilled in the Twelve, and it’s a calling he is happy to fulfill in us.

“Lord, shine through me!”

Hosea 10:1-3, 7-8, 12
Psalm 105:2-7
Matthew 10:1-7