14 July 2024

14 July 2024 - 15th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Transcript

Reading:  

Mark 6:7

Write:  

Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two…

Reflect:   

One Church, Encountering Jesus, Making Disciples, Living Mercy, Sending Apostles.

This is the motto for Midtown Catholic. The first four parts are also the motto for the archdiocese. But as we were reviewing this in the Pastoral Council at Midtown Catholic since I arrived here two years ago, we decided to add a fifth point.

I am convinced that every Catholic is called to be an apostle. Not necessarily with the capital “A” that is specifically for those who are the successors of the Apostles, namely the Bishops. But every one of us is called to an apostolic ministry. That apostolic ministry may be as simple as being in our own families. Or it may extend to some other apostolate – there are certainly enough of them around in the archdiocese.

But what does it mean to be apostolic? I think we need to know where we are from and where we are going. Jesus took time with his disciples before sending them out on mission. For many of you that length of time that you are taking spending time with Jesus learning as a disciple needs to expand – it is time to be an apostle. Pope St. John Paul II called for a new evangelization to move throughout the church. This is what it means: to move from being a disciple to being an apostle. I am going to be bold in what I’m about to say – and some of you may not be happy with it – if you have not begun to be an apostle, to share your faith with others, you are failing Christ and his church.

Whoa! Seriously? Yes!

But I am convinced that everybody here, with the exception of some of the small children possibly, have had experiences of faith that are well worth telling. We do not have the luxury of sitting around in our day in the church expecting God to do things when we are not willing to get out and share the gospel. So many people moan about how many people are falling away from the faith. And I am suggesting to you that Pope St. John Paul had the right answer when he called for a new evangelization to strike from the church into the world.

All of us know people that could be evangelized. They are our coworkers, our neighbors, even our families. But some of you probably say, “I don’t know what to say!” My answer to that is very simple. Why are you here today? What makes you come to listen to some old priest like me blather on about some aspect of the faith? What holds you here? Answering those questions is the way you will evangelize. Tell your story!

Apply:   

I want to tell you another part of my story. When I entered the Army after high school, I walked away from the church. That is not too surprising. Many young people do that. But when I was stationed in Fort Belvoir in Virginia, I felt a call back to church. Well, I knew I needed to go to Confession. And I received the typical three Our Father’s and three Hail Mary’s as my penance. I knelt down in the church and decided I would pray the Hail Mary’s first – I could not remember how to start the Hail Mary! Now how does the Hail Mary start? I could not remember. Now I find it laughable, but at the time it was very frustrating. So I decided I would pray the Our Father’s and then return to the Hail Mary’s. I prayed the Our Father’s – but I still could not remember how to start the Hail Mary!

Well, I was kneeling in front of a statue of Our Lady, so I said to her: “look, if you will help me to remember your prayer, I will build a devotion to you in my life.” Guess… what… happened… next! That’s right! I remembered the Hail Mary! I am convinced that Our Lady put a block in my memory so that I would say what I said!

Oh, she can be sneaky! Unfortunately, it has taken years for me to develop that devotion. Such wasted time. You see, shortly after this event I fell into a crowd of evangelicals who did not like Mary. I bought into some of the things they said. And even when I walked away from those things, my thoughts were still affected by what they said.

In the past, part of me has been… reluctant to embrace all of the stuff the Catholic Church says about Our Lady – not the doctrinal stuff, I have no problem with the dogmas of the Church and Mary, I never did. But talking about these things to non-Catholics has been… difficult at times.

But I am just now finishing a book titled “For the Love of Mary”. It is really good.

So what I’m trying to say here today is to give you one of my stories of conversion and evangelization. No, it is not always easy to step out in faith and be an apostle. But it is what God calls us to be. There are no exceptions. Repeat: there are no exceptions! Every one of us is called to be ready to share with the world why we believe what we believe.

I am convinced one of the reasons why the Catholic Church has lost so many members in recent decades is because we have not been able to share our reason for hope – our reason for remaining in the faith.

One Church, Encountering Jesus, Making Disciples, Living Mercy, Sending Apostles.

This is our calling. None of you – none of us – are exempt from this calling. Where are you called to be an apostle? Do not tell me you do not have stories of your faith that you can tell. I have urged you before to think about how you would tell someone what your faith means to you. I urge you again. Find your stories. Memorize your stories. Then look for ways to share them with those that you are called to.

In his day Jesus sent his disciples out two by two. In our day he is calling us to go out again and bring the lost sheep of the church home.

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