FRIENDS and SERVANTS of the WORD
JANUARY 26, 2023
Third THURSDAY of Ordinary Time
WORD of the DAY
The Lord appointed seventy- two others
whom he sent ahead of him in pairs to every town and place
he intended to visit. (Luke 10: 1)
How shall I live this Word? 
If we consider ourselves disciples of Jesus, we are invited to bear witness to His teachings, as we wrote yesterday, and as witnesses we are also invited to go wherever He is going. He wants to meet all men and women so He sends us ahead to prepare the ground, but it is He who acts, not us. This helps us reduce our spiritual pride when we think that we are converting people with our activism. We must be humble like the Baptist, ‘but the one who comes after me is stronger than me whose sandal laces I am not worthy to untie’. (cf. Gospels of: Matthew 3:11; Mark 1:7; and Luke 3:16). In addition to being humble, we must bear witness to His commandment, that we love each other as He has loved us (cf. John 15:12). Only if we act with at least one other person, can we purify our human love and make it ever more similar to that of Jesus and demonstrate how much we are His disciples (cf. John 13:35). Once again, the Lord invites us to be humble and to act together with others to learn meekness (cf. Matthew 11:29), never alone.
Lord, help me to destroy my pride so that I can be meek and humble in heart like You.
The Voice of Pope Francis Angelus 3 July 2022
We can elaborate perfect pastoral plans; activate well-done projects; organize the least details. We can convoke crowds and have many means, but if there is no readiness to fraternity, the Gospel mission does not advance.
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E-mail: srmterzo@gmail.com Website: www.sanbiagio.org info@sanbiagio.org Blog: livingscripture.wordpress.com Comment by Claudio Del Brocco
