"IF EVERY TINY FLOWER WANTED TO BE A ROSE,

   SPRING WOULD LOSE ITS LOVELINESS." 

                       - Saint Therese of Lisieux   

A Carmelite nun called the “Little Flower,”

who lived a cloistered life of obscurity in the convent of Lisieux, France.

And her preference for hidden sacrifice did indeed convert souls.

Thérèse Martin entered the convent at the age of 15 and died in 1897 at the age of 24.

Life in a Carmelite convent is indeed uneventful and consists mainly of prayer.

 

 ＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊     

 Job 19:21-27

Have pity

My friends, have pity, for God's hand has struck me! Why do you hound me as God does?

Will you never have enough of my flesh? Oh, that my words were written,

or recorded on bronze with an iron tool, a chisel or engraved forever on rock!

For I know that my Redeemer lives, and he, the last, will take his stand on earth.

I will be there behind my skin, and in my flesh I shall see God.

With my own eyes I shall see him – I am not another. How my heart yearns!

 

Ps 27:7-8a, 8b-9abc, 13-14

 I believe that I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.

 

＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊     

Luke 10:1-12

After this, the Lord appointed seventy-two other disciples, sent them, two by two,

ahead of him, to every town and place where he himself was to go.

And he said to them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.

So you must ask the Lord of the harvest to send workers to his harvest.

Courage! I am sending you like lambs among wolves. Set off without purse or bag or sandals;

and do not stop at the homes of those you know.

 

Whatever house you enter, first bless them, saying, 'Peace to this house!'

If a friend of peace lives there, the peace shall rest upon that person.

But if not, the blessing will return to you. Stay in that house,

eating and drinking at their table, for the worker deserves to be paid.

Do not move from house to house.

 

When they welcome you to any town, eat what they offer you.

Heal the sick who are there, and say to them: The kingdom of God has drawn near to you.'

But in any town where you are not welcome, go to the marketplace and proclaim:

'Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off and leave with you.

But know for a certainty that the kingdom of God has drawn near to you.'

I tell you, that on the Day of Judgment it will be better for Sodom than for this town.

 

Gospel Reflection ：

What baggage do I have to let go?

Missionaries go on missions to different parishes or basic ecclesial communities.

As such, they are itinerant and must transfer from one place to another.

Hence, they bring as few things as possible. Nowadays, we call it "travelite" or traveling light.

Jesus sends his disciples to villages with nothing to bring. It's a bit of an exaggeration,

but Jesus may want to make a point. The more baggage we have, the more difficult it is to move or be available.

 

So much of our lives are lived with baggage that hinders us from sharing in the mission of Christ,

according to our state of life. It may not only be material baggage

but also the emotional baggage of the past that hinders us from continuing to be

faithful disciples of the Lord. We may ask, what baggage do I have to

let go of to be a true missionary disciple of Jesus?