St. Pio of Pietrelcina, priest 

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊

Proverbs 30:5-9

Every word of God is true,

he is a shield in whom man can find refuge. Add nothing to his words lest he rebuke you and take you for a liar.  O God, two things I beg of you, do not deny me them before I die. 

Keep lying and falsehood far away from me, give me neither poverty nor riches. Give me just as much food as I need lest, satisfied, I deny you and say, “Who is Yahweh?” Or else, out of necessity, I steal and profane the name of my God.

 

Ps 119 29, 72, 89, 101, 104, 163

Your word, O Lord, is a lamp for my feet.

 

＊＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊＊

Luke 9:1-6

Then Jesus called his twelve disciples and gave them power and authority to drive out all evil spirits and to heal diseases. And he sent them to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.

He instructed them, “Don’t take anything for the journey, neither walking stick, nor bag, nor bread, nor silver coins; and don’t even take a spare tunic. Whatever house you enter, remain there until you leave that place. 

And wherever they don’t welcome you, leave the town and shake the dust from your feet: it will be as a testimony against them.” So they set out and went through the villages, proclaiming the good news and healing peo­ple everywhere.

 

Gospel Reflection：

To be given God’s power does not make our work and mission easy to carry out. It even puts us into inconvenient and difficult situations. We are mocked, belittled, even suspected of being possessed by the devil.

Many saints who, in their unstoppable energy doing the work of God, are not rewarded. Instead, they are shamed to the point of being persecuted. These harsh returns, however, do not weaken their energy springing from God’s power.

St. Francis of Assisi was dragged and charged in court by his very own father, but he continued taking care of leppers. Maximilian Kolbe was starved to death for assuming the punishment of another prisoner, but he continued work as if was not vaunting days toward death. When we receive the power of God, it does not make us invincible, but we become unstoppable.