Today’s readings draw our attention to God’s call to biblical characters – such as Amos and the Twelve Apostles – as well to each of us today. This call, then as now, isn’t devoid of challenges but is about witness.
Today, Jesus commissions the Twelve to go out to the world. He empowers them to confront the unclean spirits. For many people today, unclean spirits can encompass various forms of difficulties and injustices. However, Jesus underscores the importance of our response through simplicity in our lives.
His followers are being sent out not with policies, money, strategic solutions etc… but a simplicity, with a dependence on others and trust in God. Following Jesus is about understanding what it means to be “filled with the Holy Spirit” (Lk 4:1). In the early Church, the baptised are called to be “guided by the Spirit” (Ga 5:16), to allow themselves to be guided in everything by the Spirit.
Today, we can then ask ourselves: how do we live our relationship with the Holy Spirit that we have received in our baptism?
In the face of myriad challenges in our world, Pope Francis exhorts us to be Spirit-filled Evangelisers, “fearlessly open to the working of the Holy Spirit” (EG 259), surrendering all we possess in a generous commitment. This call transcends individuality, summoning us to embrace our roles as collaborators in the care of creation, bringing Justice and Peace to all places in our world.
Christ Has No Body
Christ has no body but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks
Compassion on this world,
Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good,
Yours are the hands, with which he blesses all the world.
Yours are the hands, yours are the feet,
Yours are the eyes, you are his body.
Christ has no body now but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks
compassion on this world.
Christ has no body now on earth but yours.
Teresa of Avila (1515–1582)
Ronan Barry
