Thursday, July 8, 2021

 Thursday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time

(Genesis 44:18-21.23b-29.45:1-5; Matthew 10:7-15)

FOCUS, the Fellowship of Catholic University Students, was founded in the late 1990s to bolster the faith of Catholic university students.  Its “missionaries” personally raise money for their own upkeep by asking friends and relatives for donations.  Today the organization has missionaries on 170, mostly secular campuses.  They call Catholic students together for Scripture study and discipleship training.  In some ways FOCUS follows Jesus’ design in today’s gospel.

However, Jesus does not want his missionaries to teach at this point.  They are to proclaim the God’s kingdom by actions even more than words.  They heal the sick as best they can and drive out demons of vice and doubt.  Their way of life also proclaims God’s goodness.  They take no money for provisions but depend on the Providence of God working through the generosity of people.  They are not to worry if people ignore their proclamation.  Knowing that they tried, they can wipe the dust from their feet of the places that showed no interest.

The Church is calling not only campus missionaries but all Catholics to proclaim the goodness of God.  We do this by living our lives as a testimony to Jesus Christ.  Like him we want to embrace the poor and the suffering.  But for many of us first we have to treat well our children and grandchildren. Like Jesus also we want to continually express our gratitude to the Father.  And like him we want to bear any hardship as a sacrifice for the salvation of others.  We do not have to know much theology, but we must proclaim the goodness of God. 

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