GOSPEL REFLECTION OF POPE FRANCIS - 07/12/23 (Wednesday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time)

From the Gospel according to Matthew

Mt 10:1-7

Jesus summoned his Twelve disciples

and gave them authority over unclean spirits to drive them out

and to cure every disease and every illness.

The names of the Twelve Apostles are these:

first, Simon called Peter, and his brother Andrew;

James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John;

Philip and Bartholomew,

Thomas and Matthew the tax collector;

James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddeus;

Simon the Cananean, and Judas Iscariot

who betrayed Jesus.

Jesus sent out these Twelve after instructing them thus,

"Do not go into pagan territory or enter a Samaritan town.

Go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

As you go, make this proclamation: 'The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.'"

WORDS OF THE HOLY FATHER

Our efforts to seek the face of God are born of the desire for an encounter with the Lord, a personal encounter, an encounter with his immense love, with his saving power. The twelve apostles described in today’s Gospel (cf. Mt 10:1-7) received the grace to encounter him physically in Jesus Christ, the incarnate Son of God. Jesus – as we heard – called each of them by name. He looked them in the eye, and they in turn gazed at his face, listened to his voice and beheld his miracles. The personal encounter with the Lord, a time of grace and salvation, entails a mission: “As you go”, Jesus tells them, proclaim the good news: ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand’” (v. 7). Encounter and mission must not be separated. (Homily, Santa Marta, 8 July 2020)

Source:

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/word-of-the-day/2023/07/12.html

Amen +

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, be with us always until the hour of our death. Amen. +

May the Lord + bless us, protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life. Amen. +  

Examination of Conscience and Guide to Sacrament of Confession:

https://mycatholic.life/catholic-prayers/examination-of-conscience/

Ultimate Catholic Parents Guide:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=Ls6IcexZAls

Summary and Defense of Catholic Teachings:

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/word-of-the-day.html