The only reason for my being killed is that I have taught the doctrine of Christ.

                                  I thank God It is for this reason that I die.

                                                                                                                             - St. Paul Miki:

 

St. Paul Miki and companions, martyrs

St. Pedro Bautista, martyr

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊     

Hebrews 12:18-19, 21-24

What you have come to,

Is nothing known to the senses: nor heat of a blazing fire,

darkness and gloom and storms, blasts of trumpets or such a voice that the people pleaded, that no further word be spoken.

The sight was so terrifying, that Moses said: I tremble with fear.

 

But you came near to Mount Zion, to the City of the living God,

to the heavenly Jerusalem, with its innumerable angels. You have come to the solemn feast,

the assembly of the firstborn of God, whose names are written in heaven.

There is God, Judge of all, with the spirits of the upright, brought to perfection.

There is Jesus, the mediator of the new Covenant,

with the sprinkled blood that cries out more effectively than Abel's.

 

Ps 48:2-3ab, 3cd-4, 9, 10-11 O God, we ponder your mercy within your temple.

 

＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊      

Mark 6:7-13

He called the Twelve to him, and began to send them out two by two, giving them authority over evil spirits.

And he ordered them to take nothing for the journey, except a staff: no food, no bag, no money in their belts.

They were to wear sandals and were not to take an extra tunic.

 

And he added, "In whatever house you are welcomed, stay there until you leave the place.

If any place doesn't receive you, and the people refuse to listen to you, leave after shaking the dust off your feet.

It will be a testimony against them." So they set out to proclaim that this was the time to repent.

They drove out many demons and healed many sick people by anointing them.

 

Gospel Reflection ：

"Spreading the Good News."

Each year, thousands of pilgrims walk across Spain along the various routes of the Camino de Santiago to the shrine of Saint James at Compostela.

Once they begin, many realize that, in trying to prepare for every eventuality, they are carrying far too much,

and so, they start jettisoning extra weight from their pack, having understood that they can only accomplish the huge journey

if they only carry the essentials. In the Gospel, the Apostles are travelling light, too.

 

Christ has called them to put their mission of spreading the Good News above all else, and to rely on God,

rather than be slowed down or halted by trying to be self-sufficient.

 

The Japanese martyrs walked 600 miles in ridicule and suffering before finally dying on crosses in Nagasaki. Yet,

their vulnerability and poverty proved to be such a great testament to their faith in Christ,

that it led to people converting to Christianity rather than turning away from it. On our journey through life,

do we try to be self-sufficient, or do we accept our vulnerability and our need for God?

May a simplicity of life show our trust in Christ, and invite others to trust him, too.